Since we started looking for a home for Kent I have received exactly 16 emails from people who said their goldens have been stolen.
In ALL the cases the dog was a young male. Less than a year old. NOT neutered.
One of the member who wrote to us told me she went to most shelters in Istanbul looking for her dog. She saw a total of 11 golden retrievers.
She adopted none of them.
What does this tell you? Do you really believe there is a gang of thieves in Istanbul looking for young golden retrievers to steal?
Ok, let me tell you what is happening here:
1. You have failed to honor your responsibility towards your dog. You have lost your dog.
2. Your dog has run away, in most cases, because he is unneutered he has gone following the scent of an unneutered female on heat.
3. You have failed to conduct a proper search for your dog. There are tens of lost goldens in Istanbul shelters waiting for their irresponsible owners to show up. Chances are they wont… instead they will go to a petshop and buy another one (they will loose him again).
Others will come to me with the story of their lost Golden retriever and I will send them away..
How to solve this?
1. Your dog must live inside your home, not in the garden.
2. You MUST neuter your dog, male or female. If your vet tells you not to do it based on any supposed health reasons please pls report your vet to me and I will expose him in front of our community.
3. Please TAG your dog. None of the “stolen dogs” were wearing ANY tags. If the dog has been lost how do you expect anybody to find you? Telepathy?
3. You must become educated on animal / animal welfare issues.
Lack of education is the root of all problems and I am in absolute shock at how uneducated animal lovers in this country are. I suggest you read all the post in this blog and conduct your own research on the net.
Educate yourself. Start right now.
Best
Viktor
v.larkhill@googlemail.com
Wow–I can't believe these Golden people! I wanted to put a comment on the tag issue. In America, I had up to four pets at a time since 1966, and every one of them has had a tag within 48 hours of its arrival. They have also all been tattooed (<1990) or microchipped (>1990), and registered with a pet finding service. Before moving to Turkey in 2007, I had tags made for my dog in Turkish. As soon as we adopted a street kitten this year, the first thing we did was to buy him a reflective collar and order him his own tag from America, just in case he ever escaped from our apartment.
I couldn't agree more!!! There are pockets of such behaviour in North America, but I think many people do follow your rules above. My family always has, for dogs and cats. Even cats who live only in the house can escape accidentally, and be lost if they have no collar and tag. The Ontario Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals has a slogan: "They call them litters, because people throw them away!" We are a consumer society and we treat animals as objects to enjoy for as long as they amuse us, and then we throw them away, or 'lose' them.
Knowledgeable and compassionate people do not treat animals this way.
Sorry, had trouble posting comment. I think it ended up going twice.
I've seen blank tags sold at pet shops in Turkey, but nobody seems to know how/where to engrave them. Wonderful plastic, stainless steel, reflective, etc. tags can easily be ordered online from the USA for about 7-15 TL, including postage. You can fit "GETIRME PARA ODULU" and three phone numbers. I also add the words "EV KOPEGI" or "EV KEDISI" so people know they're not supposed to be wandering around outside. For the outdoor cats that we feed/neuter, I have our tailor make reversable reflective collars with some elastic, so the cat can escape if the collar gets caught. On the collar, I use permanent marker to write our number and our vet's number in case of accident or injury. However, I give it about a 1% chance that any Turk would ever look at the collar and call us… I don't think Turks have ever seen ID on a collar, and they wouldn't have a clue why those phone numbers are there…
Great post. Very true. Microchips work wonders. Pets can escape. The very least you can do is microchip your pet and put a tag on him or her. There are many options out there, but the ROGZ pet passport tags which are available in the US and Australia for $10 each are my favourites. They make no noise and are waterproof. They will never wear down like engraved metal tags. They weigh almost nothing and would be quite cheap to ship anywhere in the world. For cats – especially those who are feral or live on the streets – I really like the US$5 PetMate eco-friendly breakaway collars. Again, they are very light and would be cheap to ship. It will never cease to amaze me that people will spend a fortune buying a purebred puppy or kitten only to turn around and balk at the costs of responsible pet ownership such as microchipping, proper vet care, and a proper diet. Yet another reason why breeding should be outlawed…
None of the rescue centres in the UK will let an animal leave until it is microchipped.
but who is doing this microchip plantation in istanbul i want mine microchipped too but no luck(yes there is luck if you are ready to pay alot of money these guys seling them are snake oil salesman )
sorry i didn’t done my homework well i guess but the ones i meet tried to screw me…. i am checking right now because mine has a tendency to run after the other dogs and i cant persuade
In Belgium the vet will microchip your dog. And of course it’s expensive, but hey it’s not just a thing you bought, you bought a living and loving being. So when you get a dog or cat, you should realize that it will cost you some money (they can get ill, need to be sterilised, … ).
Get the microchip done… you never know what might happen. Even if your dogs lives in the house, and your garden is a closed garden; your dog can get away… So if you love them and if you would miss them in your life: Microchip them! Even if someone would really steal your dog, (which does happen with some breeds in Belgium) you’ll have a bigger shot to find your dog back.
But first of all… If you get a dog, don’t buy an expensive breed… There are many streetdogs or abandoned dogs who are still looking for a home. And who are even prettier than the breeds. Ours is a Thai mix breed and if must say… I never heard this many compliments about our previous dog (a Golden) than about Dharma (our streetsurvivor)
I’ve had a few dogs in my life and never had them microchiped. Reason is they are never un- supervised. They have all had collars and tags. Just got a new rescue puppy on Thursday and I think I will have him done. He likes to run and play and that worries me, because I’d never be able to keep up with him. He will be neutered though at 6 months. He was found by fireman in the National Forest with his brother. They were ready to do a controlled burn. Sad how people that owned them could just dump them.It was only 29* the morning they were found. I took one and the coach from Sam Houston State University took the other one. People just have no heart….It’s sad. I love goldens too but I took this one. He is an Aussie and Border Collie mix. A real sweetheart. Don’t really understand how people think. Any dog is a good dog.
@ Carole: I know what you mean with any dog is a good dog. Because for a dog it doesn’t matter if you have 1 leg or 2 or maybe even 3. Your coulour doesn’t matter, and neither do your clothes, car,… So do the looks of a dog matter to man!
so are you saying a dog should be allowed to go to the toilet in my house so he is never out in the garden … my jack russel was neutered, lived in the house and was only in the fenced yard 5 foot fence in front of 50ft cedar hedges for a few mins at a time to go to the bathroom and/or to enjoy a little sunshine and within 5 mins would be over that fence and exploring the neighborhood…and he is tagged…. have even tried tying him for the short time he is out and he still manages to get loose… so tell me what im doing wrong and i disagree with you that dogs should always be in the house … dogs like to be outside on nice days … that is why they ask to go out every 5 mins on nice days
No Diana
What İ say is that your dog should only be out supervised.. exactly like your kids…
Hi
Your so very right in what you say
My dog is spayed, microchiped and has a collar. Also lives in the house. She is always by my side. I would microchip my cats if anyone would think of checking for one. Since no one microchips their cat’s, no one would check for it, so it would be in vain.