Sophie's Great Escape...

...And Safe Return

Sophie, an 18-month-old Lhasa Apso, must have felt she was getting too many baths because she dug a hole under the fence of her guardian's back yard and made a break for it. (She wasn't wearing a collar and tag because she had just been bathed again, after playing in the melting snow and resulting muddy yard.)

The little dog was found several blocks away and dropped her off at a nearby veterinarian's office. The vet assistant called the City of Calgary Animal & Bylaw Services and they came and picked her up. They also kindly gave her another bath, as she was really dirty by this time.

According to her guardian, Lorrie K., Sophie was away two sleepless nights. When she went to the City of Calgary to claim her lost pet, she was very impressed with how clean the facility -- and Sophie -- both were

"As for PetLynx," wrote Lorri. "Thank you so much for letting me use your website to post her picture and information. You have a very good service for all of us pet owners. The PetLynx website was so easy to use! I highly recommend PetLynx to anyone who is looking for his or her lost pet.

Sophie and I would like to thank everyone involved with her return home. She is a special little gift from God to me.

Lorri R., Calgary

Posted by Terri Perrin, Online Communications Editor

When to Help a Stray Pet....

And when to call for back-up!

It is instinctive for most animal lovers to want to rush forward to help a stray pet. Sometimes, however, catching and transporting stray pets should be left to your local humane society or animal services provider.

Whenever you see a stray dog or cat in your neighborhood, THINK SAFETY FIRST! Never put the safety of you, your family or your own pets in jeopardy.

• If the animal is showing ANY signs of aggression, leave it alone. If there is imminent danger to people -- especially children -- call '9-1-1.' In most cases, however, you should contact your municipal animal control centre.

• If you can safely transport it, a sick or injured stray should be taken to your local animal shelter or a veterinary clinic right away. (You will not have to pay for its care.)

• Leave a mother cat or dog with a litter, or an orphaned litter, alone! (Unless they are in immediate danger.) Call your humane society for advice before taking action.

• If you have been able to safely contain the animal, check for any form of identification - PetLynx tag, city license, tattoo, rabies tag, personalized identification tag, or microchip. Call these contact numbers and, if you have no luck finding the owner, register a 'Found' report on PetLynx and call area service providers right away.

• Before taking healthy strays to an animal shelter or vet clinic, do a search on PetLynx. There may already be a record of the lost pet and you may be matched with the owners right away, saving the animal a trip to the shelter.

• If someone claims to be the animal's owner, insist on identification and proof of ownership before releasing him or her.

Kind-Hearted Neighbour Helps Lost Pup

When this little dog went missing her guardians feared they might never see her again. But thanks to a kind-hearted neighbour, this little ragamuffin is now HomeSafe!

Our six-month-old Cocker Spaniel X Bichon puppy, "Bella", loves to dig! A few weeks ago she dug an opening under the fence and decided to investigate what was on the other side. This led to another fence, which she also dug under to bring her to another neighbor. They were sitting at their table in the back porch overlooking the garden when they saw this white, dirty face pop up now and again. They investigated and found our Bella digging in their garden. Bella's collar didn't have a tag on it yet, so they kept her overnight. She got to enjoy their company and some steak, then slept at the foot of their bed. These kind neighbors also placed a "Found Dog" advertisement with the local newspaper. The next morning, they took her to the SPCA.

When my wife, Jane, arrived at the SPCA to look for Bella, the attendant exclaimed,"We have her here!" A very shaky and scared Bella was quickly brought out from the kennels. Once Bella spotted her "Momma," she lunged and jumped and climbed up to Jane's shoulders.

The reunion brought tears of joy to my wife and a lot of relief to Bella. With a name tag now and a renewed love for her momma, Bella headed home to the delight of the all the neighbors. Naturally, we were really pleased the way things turned out .

Later, when I was reading the paper, I spotted the "Lost dog" ad with a phone number. That is how we found the "the other side of the story" and the identity of our kind neighbors who took such good care of our little Bella during her adventure!

Bill C.
Hamilton, Ontario

Local Service Providers: Hamilton/Burlington SPCA

Cat makes a break for it, then gets HomeSafe

Our cats are never aloud outside unless on harnesses, so we were very worried when our five-year-old cat, Diesel, bolted out the door when I wasn’t looking and he would not let me catch him! We live in a town house complex in Regina that is actually "cat heaven" for any cat that is on the loose…. It is surrounded by park, trees, lawn, birds, rabbits, bugs, tall grass and even a creek nearby, so we were even more surprised when Diesel chose to run across a busy street before he disappeared from sight!

The first day he was missing we biked and walked around the neighbourhood calling and looking for him and asking neighbors if he they had seen him. The next night a neighbor who remembered us looking and asking spotted Diesel. Because Diesel was were a collar and tag the neighbour was able to call us.... even though it was close to midnight! Without that collar and tag we definitely would not have gotten our cat back so quickly and things may have been very different!

Thank you very much for this site. It is well done and very user friendly. Keep up the good work and thank you again!

Alex K.
Regina

Local Service Providers: Regina Humane Society