Collar, identification tag could ensure pet’s safe return

As a fellow animal control officer for more than 25 years in a neighboring town, I read with interest the article regarding Frank Faraone, a Monroe animal control officer facing animal cruelty charges over having technicians euthanize a cat that he believed to be ill (“Officer Stands Trial in Cat Euthanization,” Sentinel, Feb. 10).

If the owners of every dog and cat were to simply put a collar and license or identification tag on their pet, as is required by law, a recovered pet could be returned home instead of taken to a shelter, whether found by the animal control officer or by someone else.

In all my time as an animal control officer, I have never taken an animal to the shelter when I could bring him home instead, provided I knew where home was. Pets with tags have almost a 100-percent return rate, while without identification, the chances of being reunited with your animal are only around 50 percent for dogs and 5 percent for cats. In the event of illness or injury, the owners can be contacted, and they could decide the course of treatment, instead of having those decisions being made by someone unfamiliar with the animal and its medical history.

Finally, if cat owners would just keep their cats indoors or tethered, as is required of dogs, it would make for happier animal control officers, neighbors and wildlife. In the long run, the cat will also be happier, as outdoor cats live on average only one-third as long as indoor cats, what with dodging cars, diseases, vengeful neighbors and larger wild animals. Remember, when outdoors, your cat is not necessarily on top of the wildlife food chain.

This or any similar incident can be avoided by the investment of just a few dollars in a collar and tag for your companion. Should your pet wander away from home, an identification tag says you love them enough to want them back.

David W. Blumig

East Brunswick