It sucks so much when a member of your family isn't with you.I know that's a general blanket statement, but I'm meaning to imply your furry family friends.  Sometimes, stuff happens.  Not that long ago, my Dad's cat, Pickles, got out of the house and was missing for durn near a week!  We looked and looked and called for her, and called the Animal Shelters, I was thisclose to putting up flyers when we found her.

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And sometimes, with the change in weather, pets can go for a runner. It happens.  Sure, nobody wants that, but what happens when it does?

Well, most of the time, someone who sees your animal out and about will either call the Animal Shelter or Animal Control, and they'll make every attempt to get your dog to the shelter.  The Shelter does not in any way want to put someone else's dog or cat up for adoption.  So they tend to go to their Facebook page with photos of animals that clearly have owners and advertise them there.

The best thing you can do is get your pet microchipped.  That way if they do end up at the Shelter or in a Vet Clinic, they can contract you right away.  But if you haven't had that done, or if you adopted a pet and didn't get it updated, you need to provide what they call "proof of ownership".  Now, what is that?

Vet records are great, but photos are better.  If you have more than three photos of your pet on your phone, that's really really good.  If you licensed your pet with the city, those records are good, too.  Either way, don't panic. Just check and call, and if you've got your ducks in a row you'll get your dog back.

Foundingly yours,
Behka

LOOK: Here are the pets banned in each state

Because the regulation of exotic animals is left to states, some organizations, including The Humane Society of the United States, advocate for federal, standardized legislation that would ban owning large cats, bears, primates, and large poisonous snakes as pets.

Read on to see which pets are banned in your home state, as well as across the nation.

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