** February 14th and Pet Theft Awareness day but it is meant to inform you to make sure you have your pet micro-chipped if they get loose and other tips along those lines. Although that is something very important to mean it means something a little deeper. Something that I would rather not talk about on valentines day. So i hope that you would allow me to talk about what it means to mean and talk about the holiday a little early. **
In 2018 I went back home to Maryland to complete my internship for my degree at NCCU. During my last two weeks in Maryland my baby Sundae went missing. I left my internship early to come back to North Carolina to find her. Now, I eventually found her and discovered that she'd gotten out of her sitters yard to play with some neighborhood kids. During that time an adult found her and that person decided to make a profit off of her and sold her to a complete stranger. The only reason I was able to get her back after a little over a week of looking was because the person she was sold to found one of my flyers and she has some distinct features so he was able to identify her.
I realize that most people aren't that lucky to get a pet back once something that dramatic happens which is why I like to make sure I don't miss this holiday. People that have not lost a pet don't realize how much it hurts your heart until (if ever) you've found your pet. For me personally, I didn't even realize how much I had been holding my breathe and sleeping terribly until I got Sundae back.
It is estimated that nearly two MILLION pets are stolen each year! That's roughly 5,500 pets a day! Can you believe that? That is absolutely outrageous!At the end of the day, it is apparently something that happens too regularly so here are some everyday tips to help prevent this from happening to you.
1.) If you can afford it, consider getting an invisible fence. Once you have that you can create a barrier that's further away from the road and that could make stealing your pet a bit more difficult for someone.
2.) Security cameras. This is nice for not only your pets but also for your peace of mind. Security cameras can help in identifying they person who has stolen your snugly loved one as well as hopefully deterring someone from coming to your home to do harm.
3.) Keep an eye on your pet while they're outside. This is probably the cheapest thing you can do while your pet is outside doing their business. If you see any sketchy characters you can easily and quickly retrieve your pet.
There is no 100% sure fire way to make sure that nothing bad happens to your pets. The only thing we can really do is be vigilant, pray, and be good pawrents.
To end today's post I would just like to say thank you for reading this post and that I hope that you all have a great and safe year with your pawfectly purfect pets!