People who know me well are aware that I have some "hot buttons"
that will make the fight in me come out front and center. I felt one
arise the other day when I read an article about the growing trend of
dishonesty when looking for a lost pet.
We've heard about a
couple: services that will "help" find a pet for a fee. The trucker
scam, where a phone call is placed to a home with a missing pet (information
is gained from lost pet posters or classified ads). The caller claims
to have picked up the pet while driving through town, and for an
up-front fee (to cover costs shipping the pet back, of course), they will return
the pet. Except they don't have the pet. For the more brazen, they
contact the owner to say that yes, they have stolen the pet, and it can
be returned for a price: pay now, or never see your pet again.
This stuff makes me crazy. It makes me shiver down to my core.
My guess is that if you're reading this, I'm already preaching to the choir. But bear with me. When we first conceived of the PetALERTZ program, there was some thought given to whether or not we charge for the service. I thought back to my own experience in losing a pet, a beloved member of the family, and I couldn't reconcile extending my hand for money before I extended it for assistance. I can tell you from firsthand experience, that dealing with a pet that has gotten out of your care is one of the most stressful experiences you'll encounter in life. You focus your energy on seeing them back home safely, but at the same time, you wonder what life will be like if you never see them again. The fear is so penetrating, so foreign, so sudden, and so painful that you feel it in every pore of your body. You think you are alone in this passion, and that it's inconceivable that there's help available. But, in fact, there is.
Help is available by people like you. Others who see pets as part of the family. They may live next door, or they may live two blocks over. But they are there. And just like you, there's reassurance that if you agree to help out, and I agree to help out, our pets can return home safely without landing up in the hands of a predator. Your community is not looking for a monetary exchange. They are as passionate about seeing your pet home safely as you are.There are services that do charge, and I can't say that in an extended emergency, I wouldn't consider purchasing them if I thought it would bring my pet home safely. Pet detectives are one example. But first, I'm going to look to my community, because I know they will be there for me. And I will be there for them. It's simple, and it works. No charge will ever be necessary.
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