Dog, owner reunited after 3 months
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DAYTON — Socks chews on the ears of his dog friend, Buddy, takes time out to lie on Bernadine “Bean” Tenas’ lap and then sniffs the edge of the tablecloth.
Outside Socks can run in a fenced yard and watch the neighbor children and deer run by occasionally. It’s good to be home.
A terrier mix about a year and a half old, Socks had been missing for three months since he beat his owners out the door of their house and took off for a run. Socks had run a couple of times before since “he’s fast and we’re slow,” Bean said, but his owners put up pictures around the community and found him.
A couple of weeks ago, Bean saw his picture in the Twin Rivers Auto ad in the Valley Journal and just knew that was her dog.
She called Karen Duty with Life Savers Animal Rescue, and dog and person were reunited on Jan. 25. Duty and Life Savers called the dog Scotty, but now he’s home and back to being called Socks.
Dogs like Socks with no identification, could run after a deer, follow some children or get lost. Animal lovers catch some of them and take them to a safe place, but pets could get hit on the highway or lose their life to a coyote.
“This happens all too often,” Duty said.
Many people don’t know what to do when they lose or find a pet. The first step, according to Duty, is to make sure a pet has identification on him or her.
“Microchips are always a good bet, because pets can’t lose them,” she continued.
The chips are the size of grains of rice and are inserted just under the skin.
The found pet can then be scanned and identified at most veterinary clinics, and the owner notified.
Most vet clinics and Life Savers Animal Rescue provide this service. Check with your vet or call Duty at 883-0140 for more information on having a pet micro-chipped.
As Bean did, putting up flyers is a good way to let neighbors know a pet is missing.
“Post them in the Post Office, grocery stores and around the neighborhood,” Duty said.
She added that when a pet is located, owners should take down and dispose of the flyers properly.
Also Duty advised calling the surrounding veterinary clinics and animal shelters, since most keep a log of lost and found pets for this purpose.
Duty’s list of places to call in Polson include:
• Southshore Veterinary Clinic, 883-5229
• Polson Animal Clinic, 883-5623
• Vet Care Montana, 883-3456
• Mission Valley Animal Shelter, 883-5312
• Life Savers Animal Rescue, 883-5978
• Anderson Broadcasting, 883-5255
• Lake County Sheriff’s Office, 883-7301
• Tribal Animal Control, 207-7340
