FORT LAUDERDALE – As many of our subscribers already know, one of the main reason so many pets perish in the Yulin Lychee and Dog Meat Festival is because they are stolen in the middle of the night in suburb neighborhoods in China using electric cattle prod rods and hauled off in small cages on the back of trucks to Yulin, China. The horror that they face upon seizure is absolutely terrible and inhumane.

So many pets are stolen each year in the United States so you need to take steps to protect your precious companions from would-be bandits.

The first step is to always keep your dog on a leash and never leave your dog unattended outdoors. You should never tie your dog to a tree or a lamp post while you step into the supermarket to grab a few things. So often, the dogs that are stolen are reported to have been tied up outside a store. It’s so easy for a thief to decieve your best buddy with a piece of beef jerky and then haul them off in the back of a mini-van. It’s the same tactic pedophiles and kidnappers use to deceive innocent young children playing in parks with fluffy teddy bears and bright-colored candy and lure them off into the bushes or the back of their SUV.

Secondly, you should always be wary of strangers who seem overly interested in your dog. If you are walking your dog and a stranger makes a nice comment such as, “beautiful dog” or “she is so well groomed”, that’s fine, but overly affectionate strangers should be a huge RED FLAG – they are rubbing their scent all over your dog so that when the opportunity arises, your dog will not feel threatened if they decide to snatch them at the right moment.

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Thirdly, you should never leave your dog alone in the car. Even if you crack the window to allow fresh air to enter the vehicle, an open window can easily be rattled out of place or pushed in until it breaks making it cracks making it easy to steal your companion. Most Police Reports on dog theft in the United States highlight that dogs are stolen from unattended vehicles while the owner runs into the store for only 5 – 10 minutes.

Thieves can easily break into your car to steal your precious pet. Thieves are always on the prowl for just the right opportunity to steal a dog and sell them on Craigslist for $500 – $800 or more.

Next, you need to get a microchip for your dog. At some point, if your dog is stolen and sold on the black market, it may need medical care at the vet and most animal clinics have protocol of using microchip scanners to identify stolen pets and scan with speed and accuracy. With the latest microchip technology, it’s easy to track pets and find their rightful owners and prosecute criminals to the full extent of the law.

We strongly recommend a company called “HomeAgain, A Lost Pet’s Best Chance”. Over 2 Million Pets have been reunited with the HomeAgain microchip and it will give your pet the best chance of being returned to you. You will be able to find a veterinarian in your area that will be able to assist with microchip implantation and developing a registration profile with HomeAgain. Thieves will be deterred by a collar tag with the dog’s name and microchip number because in the event of a sale, there is a “paper trail or digital transaction” of some kind leading back to them that leads prosecution by the authorities. Once chipped, they are forever registered. A microchip scanner can easily reunite a pet with its owner in less than 24 hours.

A HomeAgain microchip is about the size of a grain of rice and goes beneath your pet’s skin and it’s your pet’s permanent ID. It can never be removed.

The American Kennel Club reports that the number of stolen pets increases 5 – 10% annually. You never think it’s going to happen to you until a thief anticipates a slip up or misstep and then it’s too late and your pet is gone!

It only takes a few seconds for a would-be thief to nab your pet – make sure you lock your gate and your back yard is fenced in. It only takes a second for you to run into the store and that’s all the time a thief needs to nab your companion. Poor security measures will make your pet susceptible to bandits. Keep your pets behind closed doors and always keep an eye on them when you go for a walk. Treat your pet as you would your child – NEVER – leave your dog unattended in public. If you hire a sitter, always check references. Criminals love to pose as professionals to earn your trust and then rob you blind. You can make your pet less desirable for thieves by spaying or neutering them. If the criminal works for a dog mill, they will not be able to profit from your pet by selling the puppies to the highest bidder on Craigslist. The key to minimizing theft is to always keep your beloved companions within sight and act “as if” you were protecting your own child.

While their personal safety is important, you should also take every precaution to protect your pets health from blood-sucking ticks and fleas. Each year, the tick season becomes more and more deadly. The number of people especially in the Northeastern United States has increased each year who have contracted Lyme disease or Powassan with deadly consequences. There are many different viruses that dogs and people can contract from a deadly tick bite and often ticks bite people and they become critically ill and succumb to tick-borne encephalitis (TBE) which is a human viral infectious disease involving the central nervous system. According to the CDC (Centers for Disease Control and Prevention), a tick-borne virus, Powassan virus, is responsible of encephalitis in people. If you enjoy recreational or outdoor settings (campers, vacationers, tourists, etc.), you are at greater risk of coming in contact with infected ticks and potentially at risk for infection. Essential oils offer a great defense against ticks and fleas.

To learn more about how to use Essential Oils to protect you and your beloved companion this tick season, please read our “Free Training – Essential Oils for Feng Shui“ article. There is a lot of great information that you can apply right now to protect yourself from dust mites, lice, fleas, ticks and even viruses and bacteria sush as MRSA and influenza, which are commonly contracted from public restrooms and fitness gyms.

Be careful, it’s a jungle out there.