[J m HofMarN]

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/23817557/

This is some excellent scaremongering. If people arent busy trying to steal my ID they're busy trying to steal my chihuahua. News flash, news people, anyone who owns a chihuahua that hasnt had that throat slashy operation performed probably goes to bed every night dreaming that it will be stolen, and anyone dumb enough to actually go to the effort of stealing a chihuahua deserves a chihuahua.

Once a dog has been taken, the thief may wait for a reward to be posted before contacting the dog's owner and offering to return the dog. This may be done under the guise that they bought it from someone else and want to be compensated for the fee they paid. In cases such as this it is advisable to contact your local police before making arrangements.

Wow that's great advice. So any time a pet goes missing and someone finds it, the police must be notified now. I'm sure they'll be happy about this. But that's not the end of the "helpful" advice:

Never leave your dog unattended in a yard

Ah. Ok. Shall I hire someone to watch my dog while it's in my yard? But wait! What if the person I hire is a dog napper! HORROR!

Protect your dog by making sure he is wearing ID tags and has a tattoo or microchip. A microchip is a permanent form of ID that is slightly larger than a grain of rice and is placed just under the skin by a veterinarian. It is encoded with an unalterable code that can be read with a scanner.

Ok tags sure.... Microchip? Tattoo? I think paying the ransom would be cheaper, and as an added bonus it wouldnt involve my dog having a tattoo or being Johnny Mneumonic.

Be vigilant and aware of people watching you or your dog; stay in well-lit areas and keep a cell phone handy at all times.

If someone approaches you to ask about your dog, don't divulge details, especially not the purchase price of your dog or where you live.

A play in one act titled "The only pussy you're getting is from your well guarded canine"

Man: "I couldnt help but notice you watching my dog."
Woman: "Hello, nice dog. Are you from around here?"
Man: "I'M ON TO YOU, DOG STEALING HARPY!"

Fin.

So, honestly, maybe there is the slightest bit of sense in writing this fear mongering drech, but when your ground breaking story has already been well covered by a Disney movie and you're trying to be serious about it, you're pretty far from winning a Pulitzer, fruitcake.

[civilian_number_two]

I agree with your assessment of fearmongering on the part of the writer, etc. But tattooing animals is fairly commonplace. A small code inside one of the ears helps in identification should the animal ever wander off and end up with the SPCA. They can read the code, check the database, and give you a call.

Someone knowingly buying a stolen dog wouldn't be harmed by a tattoo. It's not like you have to scan them at dog parks or routingely prove ownership. But seeing as they are permanent, I suppose in some bizarre scenario they might be applicable in court.

I don't know about the microchip, whether it's common or not. Tagging animals has been around for ages, for herd tracking, but I never heard of a pet owner getting GPS for an animal.

[Slade]

RFIDs for tagging animals is a relatively new thing, but it seems to be slowly picking up speed. I hear about it every once in a while. Some animal control places have scanners that pick up the tags, and some do serve as GPS monitors to that lost pets can be tracked down. It's kinda neat since it aids in recovering the pet if it gets lost (who is usually much safer being taken care of by an owner, given animals are forced to live around us, not the other way around).

[J m HofMarN]

I wasnt aware the tattooing deal was so common place. You learn something new everyday I guess.