Editor:
Re: Dog owner seeks missing pets, Aug. 16.
I sincerely hope David Birch has located and reunited with his two lost dogs by now. (Editor’s note: They were still missing at PAN press time.)
His misfortune motivates me to share a simple, effective idea based on a true experience that may help others whose pets go missing:
Mazie, a four-year-old mastiff, was a well-loved family pet whose owner once made the mistake of thinking she would enjoy accompanying him on a day of hunting. He did not stop to think that hunting dogs must be trained up from puppies to become used to the perils of the forest – not the least of which is a man who would kill animals for sport – and to become used to the report of guns.
So it was at his first shot that early morning the terrified Mazie took off into the forest. After a day of calling and searching, Mazie’s owner regretfully left the scene to tell his family their wonderful dog was lost.
After a wild night of thunder, lightning and rain, the man returned to that place in the damp forest where Mazie had gone missing. He placed her bed, toys and bowls of food and water in the shelter of the nearest tree. More hours of calling and searching failed to turn up a trace of the dog.
Returning in late afternoon, the man was astounded at what he saw. There was Mazie sleeping in her own bed, her stuffed bear tucked safely under her chin.
I would see it as a public service if the SPCA ran bulletins advising what to do if any pet goes missing and include this idea of making an unfamiliar “point of departure” familiar for a missing animal.
G.C. Roberts, Surrey