Labrador Forums - MOT Your Labrador Now To Protect It's Future

Story as written by Rhoni Elmore, from www.lostlabs.com

Hi everyone,

During my time with Lost Labs and the wonderful people I have met we have all found identifying a dog for the owner can be very difficult at the best of times and is compounded if there is no microchip or tattoo present or where the last photo was a puppy pic for example.
Even if your pet is chipped they can migrate or simply stop working over a period of time.

With the numbers of stolen dogs having risen to approx 250 a month it is a sad fact that as dog lovers we need to go beyond the realms of yestayear to protect our pets.

Apart from the microchipping and the ever increasing popularity of Tattooing, there is a growing and necessary thought pattern of all those connected with any form of missing dogs to take extra measures to protect our dogs.

So, sit down one day with your pet and just spend half an hour going over him. Note everything down.

Any marks, scars, hair regrowth from injury or surgery.

Take a look in their mouth, are there any blotchy marks on the gums or inside the mouth. How are the teeth? Are both top and bottom teeth straight or are some crooked or missing?

Check the paws and nails, are they all the same colour?

The coat, is it all one colour or are there variations? Does the tail etc have any feathering? Is there an obvious ' mane '?

Is you pet stocky or leggy? Does it have a limp or a perculiar or different gait?

Make a list of your full body check and then take photographs. Full face, both profiles ( sideways ) and full body.

Retake photograghs regularly so you always have a recent photo in case the unthinkable should happen.

It is a sad fact indeed that we need to do this but it may well make all the difference to recovering your dog, with so many missing dogs out there you need as much info on them as possible to be able to act quickly.
This will help whether the pet is lost, stolen or gone Awol.

A couple of photos and half an hour of your time could make sure your pet stays in his forever home, forever

Rhoni