FROM THE HUMANE
SOCIETY OF ELMORE COUNTY
Before we get into 4th of July pet advice – our Shelter & Thrift Store will be closed on Thursday, 4th of July but back open normal hours on Friday, 5 July. Our Tail’s End Thrift Store will also start Christmas in July on Friday with all Christmas items, to include pet Christmas clothing, on sale for 50% off! It may be hot right now, but Christmas really isn’t all that far away so come check out our sale and get ahead while getting great deals!
This year’s 4th of July fun started quite early with fireworks in Wetumpka on Sat, the 29th. So, this is likely to be a long week of noisy celebrations where our pet is concerned. NOW is the time to make sure your pet has identification on their collar – rabies tag, personalized ID tag (which we can make in the shelter in a few minutes for $10 or write your phone number on their collar in indelible ink. And Microchips are simply perfect if your phone number is current on the registry – call your veterinarian for an appointment.
Fireworks are at the top of their ‘petrified of’ list for pets & livestock. The simplest way to keep your pet(s) safe during fireworks is to bring them INSIDE, BEFORE any fireworks start and keep them in until well after all the fun has finished. Close curtains, turn up the TV and turn on more lights. They may still be scared and hide in the house, but at least they will be safe at home. If your pet cannot come in the house, then consider containing it in your garage, shop or barn if it isn’t so hot to be dangerous to your pet; and make sure any hazardous materials/items are safely out of reach of your pet no matter where they stay. If you live where fireworks may continue late into the night, then please just keep your pet INSIDE all night long.
Now, if the worst happens and your pet is lost, don’t delay looking for your pet. Pet owners who immediately start searching exponentially increase the chances of finding their pet.
If your pet is lost, use social media soonest as it truly works. Post photos and information about your lost pet on your personal page as well (make sure to make it ‘public’) as a finder might just go to your page to validate your ownership. Make sure your posts say where (street/neighborhood, city, state) your pet is missing from and for how long so as to not confuse people when your post ends up shared in a different county or even a completely different state. Add a phone number on your posts so people with information can get in touch with you immediately – that means you have to then answer phone numbers you do not know. Update your post often and if your pet is found please also update soonest.
For pets lost in Elmore County call us at 334-567-3377 and leave a message if we are closed. On Facebook we diligently monitor the “Elmore County Alabama Lost & Found Pets” page. You can also email information and pics to us at [email protected] as we do print all of those and keep in our Lost & Found files and will check email even on the days we are closed.
For finders – given that so many of us don’t answer unknown phone numbers, if you think you have found someone’s missing pet, it may be best to text info and pics. Take the found pet to most any Veterinarian or Shelter to be scanned for a microchip, And please don’t jump to conclusions about a pet’s condition as you have no idea how long that pet may have been missing or that it spent the last two days in brambles and mud.
Finders do not have the legal right to refuse to give a pet back to its legal owner and if true neglect or cruelty is suspected then you must get law enforcement/animal control involved. It is also considered extortion (a crime) if you refuse to give a pet back to an owner unless they pay a fee (of course, owners – if you have offered a reward, please do pay up if your pet is found safe and sound). Also, for finders – that pet is NOT yours to rehome/giveaway/sell. Finders HAVE to make all reasonable efforts to help a pet be reunited with its owner and there are no legal number of days for private citizens like there is for bonafide Shelters. If contested in a courtroom it will come down to a question of did both the owner and the finder make all reasonable efforts to reunite the pet with its proper owner. This is one reason we often recommend the pet come to the Shelter as we are in the business of verifying and reuniting pets and have decades of experience doing so.
Have a safe and happy 4th of July!
