Do You Answer Your Phone for "Scam Likely?" Your Dog Hopes So

Do you answer your phone if the screen says “Scam likely?” If it’s our personal phones, we don’t. If it’s legit, they’ll leave a message. If it’s not, we didn’t want to talk to them anyway.

In the days of landlines and answering machines, everybody always picked up. You couldn’t even tell who was calling. But even then, people were skeptical of cold calls.

Do you know where your dog is? One day we were just hanging out and happened to see a Basset Hound trotting down the sidewalk, all by himself. No leash, no owner in sight. Basset Hounds aren’t exactly "street dogs," so we knew there was probably somebody looking for this escapee.

We went out with a spare leash and called to him. As any savvy neighborhood dog would do, he trotted up to see what kind of treats we were offering. It was easy to get a leash on him, and we saw he was wearing a collar with tags.

After getting the dog inside our fenced yard, we called the number on the I.D. tag. The conversation didn’t go exactly as planned:

• Us: “We have your dog.”
• Owner: “No you don’t. He’s in the back yard. What are you trying to pull?”
• Us: “We’re trying to get your dog back home. He’s a Basset Hound. Go check your yard.”

A few moments of silence, then: “Oh my gosh! How did he get out? Where are you? Is he okay?” You could hear the panic set in.

All’s well that ends well The owners lived just a couple blocks away and came to get him within five minutes. They were incredibly grateful and still crying from the fright he’d given them. It’s a wonderful thing to have the crisis resolved before you even know there is one.

National Pet I.D. Week The only reason that dog was home before his owners knew he was gone was because he was wearing a physical I.D. tag. We didn’t need to find a vet to get him scanned for a microchip because his "return address" was right there on his neck.

April 17 is the start of National Pet I.D. Week. It’s the perfect time to make sure your dog’s tag is up to date.

• Have you moved?
• Changed your phone number?
• Is the old tag so scratched it's unreadable?

Infinite options Think of an I.D. tag as your dog’s jewelry—it's a fun way to reflect their name, breed, or personality. There are endless options out there:

• Traditional hanging tags: The classic choice, available in everything from stainless steel to 3D-printed silicone.
• Slide-on tags: These lay flat against the collar. They’re silent (no jingling!) and much safer for dogs that might get a hanging tag caught on a crate or a branch.

Have some fun, browse some artisan tags on sites like Etsy, and most importantly—keep your dog safe.