Why a dog license is important to my family | News, Sports, Jobs

I chose to write the above article for the following reason: The Friday night before Christmas, my 14-year-old dog got loose. And I didn’t know what to do except panic.

I have no idea how it happened. But my best guesstimate would be it occurred when someone came over and left the back door open for just a moment too long. It was in that instant she must have planned her route. Miss Mia made that split-second decision to high-tail it out of there. And she did. Inconspicuously. To this day I am still quite puzzled how her wobbly back end and scrawny little legs found the strength to carry her out the door without anyone noticing.

My husky girl can hardly stand up to go outside, let alone make a break for it. Sometimes she doesn’t even go outside because it’s like a journey away. Instead, she says, “To heck with it,” and does what needs to be done then lays back down.

Anyway, I didn’t even realize she was missing for about an hour or so. I was in the kitchen and so engrossed in my holiday baking that I wasn’t paying attention to anything else. I had my music playing and was working on pumpkin roll, fudge and various cookies, trying to get all of my baking done in one night. Christmas was catching up to me. I now had two days in which to cram every single aspect of Jesus’s birthday into approximately 48 hours. Needless-to-say, I didn’t have time to do a walk-through of the house and make sure everyone was in their respective locations. Being as it was already midnight, who would have even thought that something would be amiss?

I mean, there were two days to go before Christmas. It was after midnight. The house was fairly quiet and … well, that should have been my cue right there. The house was fairly quiet.

This never happens. Cats are usually chasing one another. Dogs are literally underfoot waiting for a crumb to fall to earth.

But no dogs were at my feet. That should have been my tipoff.

Upon inspection, Mia was not laying in her dog bed. She was not in the living room where she sleeps, nor in any of the other rooms. She wasn’t tied up outside either. She was absolutely nowhere. And I was stunned. How does a dog that can’t walk, can’t see well and can’t hear anything except a cheese wrapper being opened or the beeping of a microwave, run away? It’s been a week and I still haven’t been able to figure it out.

So, once I grasped the concept I had a walkaway dog (because she couldn’t possibly be considered a runaway) I put an immediate halt to the baking, jumped in the car and drove down the alleys and roads she would go toward during those years which she could run.

I drove for about a half hour. And walking didn’t prove any more productive. Not a sign of her anywhere.

Finally, a police officer said he saw the dog in question and it was now at the pound.

It hadn’t even been an hour and already she was at the pound? Perhaps this was another dog. I mean, how could my 14-year-old handicapped pet be in Wintersville when she was just here not that long ago?

Then I thought, how many dogs get loose and leave home at midnight on Christmas Eve weekend? How many dogs fit the description of being old, tan, having a limp and can’t see or hear well? I concluded we had a winner. And I would somehow have to retrieve her from the shelter. But how? How do you go about doing this? I knew the shelter couldn’t possibly be open for business at 1:30 a.m.

I decided to call and leave a voicemail at the Jefferson County Humane Society. It was all I knew to do. I was told by the police that the dog warden had taken her there and my hands were now tied until morning.

I was both worried and thankful simultaneously. Thanking God she had been located and was safe and warm for the night. She was no longer out wandering the streets alone nor had she gone in the opposite direction and ended up on the highway. But I was worried, too, as she had never before been away from home or spent the night without her sister or me. I was scared that she would be scared in an unfamiliar environment, left with strangers who didn’t even know her name.

The shelter would open at 10 a.m. Thank heavens they are open seven days a week. And how fortunate I felt that she wouldn’t have to spend Christmas alone and locked inside a kennel.

Before I could even leave to go to the Humane Society, I received a call from an employee there, returning my message. She was so kind and understanding. She made my anxiety subside and assured me my dog was fine. She relayed to me what I would need to bring to retrieve my beloved pet and away I went.

My point to this long-winded column and something I believe we all already know, is that in an instant, something tragic can happen. Something terrible can befall any of us, unexpectedly. Oftentimes, there isn’t anything we can do to prevent it. But once in a while, we can.

It is imperative to know your options and the process for locating your pet should they go missing.

Make sure your dog has a license or is microchipped. My dogs never had a license. I had no idea the law required it. I assumed that because my dogs never left the house, there wasn’t a need for it. And then something like this happens and you see its importance.

I came to find out my dog was walking down the main road in the dark and could have easily been struck by a vehicle.

Someone had posted photos on Facebook asking if anyone knew whose dog this was. Yet, no one knew. She does not look like herself anymore. If this would have happened years ago, everyone would have known who she was. Which is another reason to make sure every dog has a license.

If they are found, someone can get in touch of you and save you what feels like a lifetime of searching. Of wondering. Of waiting. That license number can be entered online, informing you of the owner and how to contact them.

So, please, spend the $10 and get your dog their license. You never know when it could reunite you with them should they get away.

It’s truly the best money you’ll ever spend.

(Stenger is community editor of the Herald-Star and The Weirton Daily Times.)

Today’s breaking news and more in your inbox