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Originally Posted by megansmomma  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.  |
Thanks! I'll have to look into that end of the law. Once the animal is turned over to animal control, though, things are quite dire, at least here in Champaign County:
Section 7. Impoundment and redemption
When dogs or cats are apprehended and impounded by the Administrator or Animal Control Warden, they must be scanned for the presence of a microchip. The Administrator or Animal Control Warden shall make every reasonable attempt to contact the owner as soon as possible. The Administrator or Animal Control Warden shall give notice of not less than 7 business days to the owner prior to the disposal of the animal. Such notice shall be mailed or delivered to the last known address of the owner. Testimony of the Administrator, or his or her authorized agent, who mails such notice shall be evidence of the receipt of such notice by the owner of the animal. In case the owner of any impounded dog or cat desires to make redemption thereof, he or she may do so on the following conditions:
1. Present proof of current rabies inoculation, and registration if applicable, or
2. Pay for the rabies inoculation of the dog or cat, and registration, if applicable, and
3. Pay the animal services facility for the board of the animal for the period it was impounded,
4. Pay into the Animal Control Fund an additional impoundment fee.
5. Pay for microchipping and registration if not already done.
510 ILCS 5/10.
There are some good things about that law, like forcing the rabies vaccination of unvaccinated animals, and forcing microchipping of animals that are lost and then reclaimed by their owner, but my goodness, if you find a dog and turn it over to animal control, they basically have the right to dispose of it within 7 days! And they will, unless it is a "desirable" animal that they think can be adopted out. (In Champaign County, Animal Control and the humane society work hand in hand--their buildings are right next to each other.) So far, I have found and returned 3 or 4 animals directly to their owners because they had ID tags with names and address. I found a big dog caught by a loose chain in the bushes in my back yard and called animal control because it had no tags. It obviously had an owner, since it had a chain attached to its collar. No signs of abuse (other than it obviously having been chained outside and unsupervised.) Animal control said that the owner would probably contact them when they found their dog missing, but now I wonder how hard they tried to find the owner. It's a cautionary tale to hold on to your babies!