Writing Solutions

"We Can Right It For You"

…in the real world…©

by Gail Paparian

Welcome To Our Family

For the past thirty-one years, I’ve suggested to my husband that we get a dog. He usually smiles, pats me on the head and eventually goes out and buys me another stuffed animal. The collection of cute and cuddly plush toys is amazing.

Granted, unlike children, these life-size pet substitutes have some advantages- they don’t eat, they don’t need to be walked in the rain and they don’t ask you for tuition for graduate school as they approach forty.

Still, there is definitely something to be said for the live version. Whether I caught Bill in a weak moment, or he was just ready, we now have a beautiful English Pointer named Sandy.

It all came together with remarkable ease. I emailed a friend and told her “we were ready.” That was all it took! Within hours, I had at least six electronic responses letting me know that such and such an animal was available for adoption.

Through a series of emails and phone calls with Sandy’s “foster mom”- we made arrangements for all of us to meet. We chose the 5-Star Palm Desert Dog Park. Bill and I waited and watched as a series of canines entered and exited the well-manicured and maintained facility.

We knew when Sandy arrived that she was the one. We accepted her on a ‘two week trial.’ It’s well past the ‘trial’ and we are one big happy family. We’ve established Sandy with a local vet, spent hundreds of dollars on shots, toys and food. We now share the den with our furniture and Sandy’s bed.

The papers that came with Sandy and guesstimates from our vet place Sandy’s age as somewhere between two and three. Until now, she has spent her life in shelters and rescue facilities. I shudder to think what her future would have been without the great gal who has made time in her life to ‘foster’ some of these animals.

Not all animal shelters or “pounds” have the funds to embrace or become a “no kill” facility. It takes lots of money and dedication to keep, rather than euthanize animals. Statistics show that 10 to 12 million are eliminated each year. Doing the math on 10 million, that comes out to approximately 27,473 every 24 hours.

Hey, don’t get mad at the animals, get mad at the pet owners who made a commitment when they purchased, adopted or acquired these animals. It makes me angry. No wonder I am wont to say people are giving the human race a bad name!

That said, there are some good people and one of them is Lindi Biggi. I met her in 1997 when her then and current passion is getting people to microchip their companion animals. A microchip is about the size of a grain of rice and is easily and painlessly injected into the animal. (Did I mention that Sandy is microchipped? That’s the good news and the bad news. Please continue reading).

Through Lindi, I learned about the value of microchipping, which is giving permanent identification status to animals- be they dog, cat or exotic birds. If lost or stolen, the pet can be scanned to determine its identification number and the owner is a phone call away. Well, maybe.

The main chip producers are Avid® and the Home Again chip made by Destron®. Avid is used in most shelters, but both are universal readers. Here’s the part that gets a bit sticky. There doesn’t seem to be a central database. If your pet is microchipped with Avid, the contact information goes into their database. Destron goes to Home Again’s database. Herein lies the problem.

There is little sense in using state-of-the-arts identification technology when the databases don’t talk. How’s that for brilliant!

I’m not sure what the bone is that needs to be thrown to combine the right identification technology with the database management needed to perform adequate communication.

Here’s what could work. First, it would remain the human’s responsibility to keep databases current. Much like when you sell a vehicle, somebody notifies the DMV. That way, if your former car is in an accident, you are not held liable. If you care enough about the animal and the paperwork is readily available, record keeping could become more efficient and therefore, more effective.

Should there be something like a Universal Pet Registry (simultaneously updated through the toll free number and website, a reward could be offered for the return of a lost or stolen animal.

Though administrative holes needing to be plugged, microchipping remains a formidable method to offers safeguards to companion animals. If I had all the answers and the ability to make it happen, it would already be done.

I feel better now. I’ve asked questions and offered solutions. All that is needed is for somebody to implement them. Any takers? ####

Note: The object of our affections