There’s plenty of debate on the subject. The question goes all the way back to the dog’s collar tags, and whether the tag should list the dog’s name. Then if the dog goes missing, the question comes up again when fliers are being designed. What are the advantages and disadvantages as you see them?
There is no right or wrong answer. But there are considerations for and against. The final decision is one that you, or the dog’s owner/guardian, need to make.
Many lost dogs have been taken in by persons with less than the best of intentions. It has probably happened many times that when such people have had the benefit of knowing the dog’s name, whether by the tag or from fliers, they have had an easier time assimilating the beloved lost dog into their own lives, and never returning the dog to its owner. That’s a scary thought, that a dog can be “led astray” so to speak, by someone addressing him or her by name.
On the other hand, if the finder is well intended, and has the opportunity to address the dog by name, it can have a calming effect on a dog that has lost its way. Tucker was lost for weeks, also losing a lot of weight and gaining a lot of cockleburs along the way. When he allowed a couple to get close enough to see his tag, and his name, they noticed that he was, as they said, a different dog once he heard his name. He was reunited with his family two days later.
A hazard of publicizing the name of a lost dog that we've seen many times is that when a person that spots the dog wandering or running on its own, recognizes the dog from fliers or other methods through which the word has been spread, then her or she may be more likely to call out to the dog, using its name. Unfortunately, calling a skittish, frightened lost dog is very often the worst thing to do. So in that sense, it can be better to not provide the dog's name to the public, but just a description.
A dog’s first name on its tag has also been known to give a local animal hospital employee a way to find the owner when the dog’s rescuer walked in with him after having picked him up near where the business was located. She searched their customer database for dogs with that first name, and found the dog’s owner within minutes. You can read that story at http://www.drvicki.org/pr-lessons.html.
Another advantage to including the dog's name when spreading the word of a lost dog comes into play when posting ads to Craigslist. In many communities with their own Craigslist, there are good Samaritans that troll the site looking to make matches between lost and found dogs posted there, or perhaps there and such sites as Pet Harbor or Fido Finder. It can make the job easier for these volunteers, who may be juggling numerous missing pets at once, if there are names associated with the lost, or found, dogs they are trying to match up. Mari Levine of Watsonville CA is one such person that does this on a regular basis.
Many dogs that go missing don’t have names that they recognize. For example, a dog new to a rescue situations that has had a troubled past life may be more apt to flee than would a well adjusted dog with a bonded owner. This may include dogs in transport from a rural high kill shelter to a suburban rescue organization, a dog in the fostering stage, a newly adopted dog. If a dog doesn’t recognize its name, then there is less reason to publicize the name that is being used for the dog than if he or she does respond to a name.
What do you think? Does it vary from case to case? What pro's and con's for providing a lost dog's name can you add to the list?
