Any pet can be at risk for kidnapping, but there are things you can do to help reduce that risk.
- Don’t leave pets alone outside. Supervise them at all times! If your yard is visible from the street, anybody walking by can see that you are there with your pet — and your pet isn’t a good target.
- If strangers approach you to ask questions about your pet, don’t share details like how much he cost or where you live. Be polite, but don’t be specific.
- If your pet does go missing, report it to police and/or animal control as soon as possible. The sooner you act, the sooner they can act.
- Keep a current photo of your pet handy so you can make posters/flyers if your pet goes missing. Keep some details off the flyers, so you can sort out fake calls from real ones. For example, if Moose went missing, I’d say he was a mostly brown dog with a black snoot and ears. If someone called to say they found him, I’d ask them about little details, like the reverse freckle on his nose. A fake Moose wouldn’t have that, for sure!
- Make sure your pet wears a collar with current ID tags at all times. Yes, a kidnapper will probably take it off… but then you’ve got fingerprints for evidence.
- Think about microchipping your pets. This gives you proof (that is hard to remove) that your pet is yours. A tattoo on the ear or inner thigh is another good identifying mark.
- Think about a GPS system for your pets. You can set it up to send you an alarm if your pet leaves a certain area (like your yard or immediate neighborhood) so you’ll know if your pet has gone wandering. A GPS system can be helpful for tracking missing pets.
Someone in an online pet community told a story today about leaving her dog in the yard for less than two minutes while she went inside to wash her hands. While she was inside, the dog started going crazy barking — when she went back out, she caught a glimpse of two strangers standing by the fence. What were they doing? Were they going to take her dog? She might never know… but she ended the post with a comment like: “even two minutes is too long to leave your dog out alone.”
I agree.