Jim Stingl, in today's Metro section, writes of a happy ending regarding a missing dog. You can read it here. Visitors to Minooka County Park's dog exersize area have seen posters taped to a bench by the dog park entrance regarding the situation.
As I understood it, Luke and his owner were at the Milwaukee dog park on a very foggy day. It is a large area with a rise in the middle so even on a clear day you can lose sight of your dog if it decides to explore. I found it puzzling that someone would take a dog from within the dog park, thinking that it was abandoned. Now the facts come out.
Luke's owner had removed his dog collar. So, it is reasonable that anyone seeing a dog without a collar and tags would consider that the dog is either lost or abandoned.
From time to time I will see dogs at the dog park without collars. I don't know why someone would remove the collar. While it isn't in the park rules that a collar must be on, I believe that most municipal ordinances require the license to be worn by the dog along with vaccination tags. There is also a rule that dog owners must have a leash with them at all times. Can't use a leash without a collar, right? However, anyone picking up a stray should contact the nearest Humane Society and leave it there with the option to have first refusal should it become available for adoption.
So here's one example where not following the rules creates problems, in this case heartbreak for the owner and the children thinking that they have a new family member.
Fortunately the existing rules at our dog park cover most everything if common sense is used.
