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Originally Posted by pstinard  They play fast and loose with the law in my town. Either that, or the law doesn't care about cats. I found a stray cat in the countryside with no ID on it, but she was obviously healthy, except for a few fleas. I took her to the humane society so they could look for the owner, and told them I wanted to adopt her if the owner didn't come forward. That was on a Friday. They told me to come pick her up the following Monday, and on Monday they told me they had already euthanized her. I was so angry. They told me that they had more than enough healthy adoptable cats at the shelter, and basically that the cost of vaccinating her, deworming her, and making sure that she didn't have any pre-existing conditions made her undesirable as a shelter pet. I told them when I dropped her off that I was planning on taking care of all of that, and they told me well, it's too late now. So yes, there are chattel laws on the books, but evidently they are only for the "desirable" animals and to protect the owners if they actually look for their pets. In most instances, though, I seriously doubt that those laws are enforced, and even animal control is willing to look the other way and make their own determination on how the law should be enforced. Now you've got me interested in reading up on the Illinois law...
Sorry, this post isn't explicitly about Yorkies. I'm still bitter about that cat. But you can be sure that I take no chances with Bella. She has an ID collar and is microchipped, and I do not let her out of my reach when I take her outdoors--she is always on a leash or in her stroller. |
I'm so sorry this happened to you with the cat that you found. The problem with shelters is that they do not look for owners. They expect the owners to come to the shelter to physically look at the strays. I believe the laws in IL are that if you are willing to actively search for an owner you can hold the lost pet. Small towns have a horrible reputation of euthanizing. The cat and dog overpopulation is very sad.
As for chipping, collars and never letting her out of your site there is always the possibility of an accident of a loved pet getting away. You just never know. I'm also very careful with all three of mine too. Last year the ComED meter reader left 2 gates open in our yard and THANK GOD a very kind man picked my Bogey up and returned him to my front door. Mine are all chipped and tags as well, but those only work when the person that finds your lost dog is willing to return the pet. Sadly, it's been proved many times that is just not always the case.
