our pets: PET RESCUE
What Do You Do When You Lose or Find a Pet?
BY HANNAH KRIER
PHOTO BY STEVE SCHILLIO
A
pril showers bring May flowers,
but it’s the thunderstorms that
can spook our pets, causing them
to escape from their comfy homes.
With this being a high season for
lost and found pets, the folks at the
Weatherford/Parker County Animal
Shelter have a few insightful tips on
what to do and how to make sure
pets are reunited with their rightful
owners quickly.
Debra Morgan knows about the
pain of having a beloved dog disap-
pear. Morgan went out to her yard
around 6 p.m. on March 1, and
noticed two of her dogs were miss-
ing. In a panic, she got in her car and
drove around the neighborhood look-
ing for her dogs. Exhausted from her
searching, Morgan decided to leave
her gate open a crack in hopes her
dogs would return home.
“I didn’t get any sleep at all. I was
praying, I was worried about them,
and I was up and down all night,”
Morgan explained. “Then I noticed
the next morning one had returned,
but Midnight was nowhere to be
found. I had to go to work, so I asked
my son to post our missing dog on
Facebook, and to continue combing
the neighborhood.”
Nearby, Melissa Chambers
was dining at Railhead BBQ and
witnessed a small black terrier almost
get hit by a car. She quickly rescued
the dog, taking it to work with her
where she knew it would be safe.
Chambers also posted pictures of the
dog on Facebook and notified the
animal shelter about her find.
“When you find a lost dog, bring
it here or to the nearest vet, and
have it scanned for a chip,” said
Weatherford shelter staff member
Kenzie Montgomery. “The sooner
44
you get the dog checked for the chip,
the sooner we can return it home. It’s
not uncommon for people to wait up
to three weeks to notify the shelter
that they have found a dog, causing
unnecessary pain for the family who
has lost their pet.”
Chambers did everything right,
and as a result, Midnight was reunit-
ed with Morgan that same day.