Police seeking the owner of dog
Thursday, May 22, 2008
Fairfield police want to reunite a found black and white, healthy dog with its owner.
But the identity of that owner is the case the police want to solve.
'Petey' was found almost two weeks ago around the River Road area in Fairfield. Normally the police would take stray dogs without collars to the animal shelter, but this dog what is believed to be a French bulldog has been well cared for, which is not typical for strays the police department finds."A stray dog like him with no identification at all is a 72-hour hold," said Fairfield animal control officer Chuck Geurin of the dog found on May 13, "and then they go where ever — if they are adopted out or sent out to an animal rescue group."
The dog, which is either a French bulldog or Boston terrier, will stay in the police department's dog kennels through the Memorial Day holiday to see if the owner calls. It's estimated to be about a year old, Geurin said.
Keeping law and order in the city is one aspect of the police department's role, and Fairfield Police Chief Michael Dickey said another role is community policing — taking a proactive approach to take care of all needs.
"Usually most animals that we get are obviously dumps or obvious strays or we get them back to their owner," Dickey said. "But this one is kind of strange because it's obviously a well-cared-for dog that somebody hasn't claimed."
Dickey and Geurin said 98 percent of the time, dogs like this one, which they are calling Petey, are reunited with their owners quickly.
Geurin said because collars can come off, he recommends that all pets get a microchip, a service that the Animal Friends Humane Society in Trenton offers, which is implanted with the owners information and can be updated electronically.
The department has a
kennel where it can hold stray, seized, abandoned or abused dogs, especially if the shelter in Trenton is full, Geurin said.
Dickey said it is possible the dog could belong to a family in neighboring Ross Twp. or Hamilton.
For more information on Petey, call (513) 829-8201.
Contact this reporter at (513) 755-5112 or mpitman@coxohio.com.
