FAQ for Stray, Wayward, & Lost Pets

FAQ for Stray, Wayward, & Lost Pets (via @SEPRR) http://j.mp/FAQLostPets

When anyone finds a Wayward Pet, the course of action is straightforward:

Part One: Finding the Pet's Owner:

1- Secure & safely isolate the animal. Provide a quiet warm location with Bedding, Water, something to chew on, and basic food.

2- Call, Text, AND Email the Contacts on the Tags. (Do all 3!)

3- Visit any vet clinic;Scan for a Microchip. (If there is a MicroChip, the Vet will often secure the pet until it's owner arrives. Your work is done!)

Note: In ITP Atlanta, PetSmart is open on Saturdays. Pets Are People Too behind Ansley Mall is open 24/7.

4- Take Some Pictures and then Empower Your Posts! 15 minute Social Media Primer for Pet Rescuers: http://bit.ly/ngw1c5

5- Post the pictures to a Public Album. (Note: FB requires a user login even if the Album is Public. Google+ is truly public, not requiring a login. Hence, post the photos to G+. )

If all these efforts fail:

Eventually, you will have to take your Wayward Pet to Animal Services. When doing so, Stress to Intake Personnel the Pet is a Stray and NOT "Owner Turn In"

Want to know more? Owner Turn-In's can be Euthanized the same day. Strays have a 7 Day hold / owner recovery period. After which time, the animal is "reviewed" (the "Review Date") given a list of circumstances that may or may have anything at all to do with the disposition or health of the pet, the pet can then be euthanized on or after the Review Date. Groups like BHVF raise money so the Pets can be held for adoption after the Review Date has passed, however there is a finite number of pets that can be held for an extended period of time, and the number varies based upon available resources of money, space, fosters, and volunteers. So fostering is a good way to help these pets live and find a home. Usually all the pets need is a bit of extra time to find a home. Policies can and do vary over time.

Part Two:  Rescuing the Pet after surrender to Animal Services:

• If you plan on making sure the pet survives or is more easily rescued, please consider administering a round of shots before surrendering to Animal Services. Rescues spend most of the funding on vet bills for pets that contracted a condition in animal control. Why? Animals are not usually given shots in any animal control. Fulton County often will thanks to BHVF funding & other grants, but you will need to double check before you turn them in. 
  
  
  Want to know more? Processing in Animal Service is a legal requirement that clears any claim of title the prior owner may have had if the prior owner fails to recover the animal within the Owner Reclaim period. This is enables the animal to be adopted by new owners without the possibility of the prior owner suing for custody of the pet.
  
  
• Identify a Foster with a Rescue Group Willing to Foster the Pet.
• Apply to become a Foster

- Angels is a very good organization that handles cats & dogs of any age/breed/mix (Fostering with Angels)
- Friends of Fulton County Animal Services now has a solid fostering program Contact Robbie Caban, FCAS Volunteer Coordinator for an application.

• Promote the Pet to find a Rescue or Foster: Use this article to empower your Social Media reach and save your new Furry Friend!

Want to know more? Rescue groups focus their efforts on homeless pets on death row in Kill Shelters. While Atlanta Humane Society does kill some pets during the intake process, it is not considered a Kill Shelter. The difference is simply the level of killing that takes place.  View 2009 Animal Control Statistics for GA here.  Even with so-called No Kill Shelters, consider the fate of a pet that arrives after the No Kill Shelter is full? That animal will likely be redirected to a "Kill Shelter" unless immediate fostering/rescue resources can be secured. 

Suffice it to say, that given limited resources of rescues, if the pet is not already on death row, a rescue will not be able to bring (or "pull") the pet into their network without you personally stepping up to foster the pet.

Simply opening your home to the pet as a foster parent and shuttling them to/from adoption events is sufficient.

Find a pet rescue near you: For your own sanity, find a rescue with pet adoption events close to your home.  Visit the larger pet stores near your home and ask the store manager for the rescue groups contact info that hold events at that store. Then apply directly to those groups, then pull the dog yourself as a qualified foster into the rescue. Make sure they have frequent adoption events so you can show off your foster! 

When Apply to become a Foster, ask the Rescue for all the items the pet will need: A kennel, animal ID#, a supply of food, existing health records, medications, leashes, the direct link on the website where the pet is listed (petfinder.com/petharbor.com etc), schedule of remaining vet appointments, location of the vet, and a list of upcoming adoption events.



--
For our Furry Friends!

Bryan "Beau" Grant

Director, SE Pet Rescue Railroad

Co-Founder, Fix Georgia Pets
#PetRescueTwitter Admin: @FCASPets @SEPRR @ANGELSRESCUE @FIXGAPETS @DOGBITECON @TRIBEDOGS

SEPRR Blog:http://sepetrescue.blogspot.com/
Wags McGruff's FB Profile: http://facebook.com/wagsmcgruff
Fan Page: http://facebook.com/seprr
Twitter: http://twitter.com/seprr
Email ListServer: http://pets.groups.yahoo.com/group/SEPRR

Save Homeless Pets Once & For All! Support 3 years of Free Spay & Neuter!
Detailed Policy Proposal http://j.mp/3YFSNGA via @bryangrant

Press Release: Tornado Disaster Recovery: Animal Welfare Response: "Hold and Label Displaced Pets for Owner Recovery"

Please forward to Animal Control Facility Managers, Local Government officials, FEMA operatives, and anyone else involved in the recovery operations that may have some bearing on this issue.

Share on Twitter: 
RT @seprr Tornado Disaster  Animal Rescuers READ & SHARE B4 adopting out recovered Pets to new owners http://bit.ly/jQpHKa #tornado

SE Pet Rescue Railroad, Atlanta GA April 28th, 20
Yesterday, the world witnessed an unprecedented meteorological event, characterized by some experts as Biblical in it's proportions and intensity.

There has been enormous loss of life. Once again, similar to Katrina, the Animal Rescue community is now faced with enormous amounts of displaced pets, separated from their families and homes, wounded, cold, hungry, scared, homeless, and now orphaned from beloved owners who may have been killed during the storm's passage.

When rescuing these pets, please tag/label these pets as "Held for Owner Recovery/Displaced by Tornado Disaster".

Please do not make them available for adoption by the general public until an adequate hold period has expired, perhaps one month at a minimum.

These are beloved members of families, not cast out strays that have been neglected. Treat these Pets like you would a lost child, and return it home.
Please extend Animal Control Hold Periods to accommodate the extended time lines necessary for recovery by the owners, given the dire and extreme circumstances.

When determining an appropriate Hold Period, consider:
-  1,000's of people are actually in the hospital, and will be there for an extended period.
-  1 Million+ are without power today. How long will it take to restore basic access to power, much less shelter, clothing, a hot meal, employment? Who knows?
-  These pets must be rescued now, lest they starve, are stolen, become food for coyotes, or go feral foraging for food.

I write this to ward off a repeat of what unfolded in the aftermath of Katrina, when good intentions of hard-working rescuers had an unintended effect. Many of the rescued pets were put into foster care. Instead of being returned to their original owners, they were adopted by new owners, sometimes 1000's of miles away. Certainly, many rescuers would argue about the reasons why the pets were left behind. The fact is that the rescue movement carte-blanch, saved these animals from their plight, placed them into foster care, and also overlooked the fact their returning owners would be seeking their animals afterwards. We have seen the legal fights and the broken hearts.

This time around, let's do whatever we can to return these pets to their owners. This time there can be no petty arguments and judgements about the intentions of the pet's owners when it takes about 30 seconds for a tornado to rip your world apart with practically no warning at all. That is why people RUN for shelter during tornadoes. There is usually very little advance notice, unless you just happened to be tuned into the right channel at the right time to hear Emergency Broadcast Beacon. Even today, people are easily out of touch long enough to be taken by complete surprise by a tornado, much less over 100 of them of such awesome speed and intensity. There can be no argue. WE MUST ASSUME these owners want their beloved pets returned and are actively worried and seeking them as I write this letter.

A solution is relatively straightforward:

1- When collecting these displaced pets, closely note where the pet was found and document the location where possible.

2- Tag these pets as Displaced and give them longer owner recovery periods, up to one month versus the normal 5 day Hold Period such as we have here in Georgia.

3- Where resources are scarce for housing the rescued pets, place them in foster care, but with the explicit understanding that these pets are Displaced Pet fostered for "Owner Recovery".

4- Please do not, under any circumstances take a Displaced Pet and put it up for adoption without a reasonable time frame for the owner to seek, find, and secure their pet. Do not Euthanize Displaced Pets. These are loved members of families, not cast out strays that have been neglected. Treat these Pets like you would a lost child, and return it home.

5- Do not transport the Displaced Pets out of the market, away from the area where the pet was found. If they do not remain in the animal control or humane shelter nearby where they were found, there is simply no chance for the Displaced Pet to return home.

SEPRR's network is available to ALL Rescuers needing a place to promote their notices, especially for Transport!

Prayers and Good Hunting during your recovery and rescue efforts.

Best wishes,
--
Bryan "Beau" Grant, Director
SE Pet Rescue Railroad
Office:      +1 (678) 389-9903
Fax:         +1 (404) 348-4759
Mobile:     +1 (404) 932-6399

http://facebook.com/seprr
http://twitter.com/seprr
http://twitter.com/bryangrant
(sent from the web at Google Apps)


Reform Companion Animal Laws - Please Sign & Share this Petition:  http://ht.ly/2fDGN

Please Share the word on Twitter:
RT @seprr support laws in #GA to END euthanizing animals http://ht.ly/2fDGN #petrescue #gapolitics