Because she had no tag, microchip or license with the county....
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A lesson to all. Microchips are cheap, can’t fall out are are forever. This didn’t have to happen.
Dog Licenses
The law in Arizona requires that all dogs over the age of three months have a license and rabies vaccination. Maricopa County Animal Care & Control licenses dogs in all unincorporated areas in Maricopa County and all other municipalities within Maricopa County with the exception of Fountain Hills and Native American reservations.
Dog owners must complete a license application within 15 days of vaccination. Residents new to Maricopa County and new dog owners must purchase a license within 30 days.
A license is more than just a requirement. It is a benefit to you and your dog. Found dogs with a license can be reunited quickly with their owner.
Your lost dog gets a free ride home. MCACC staff will attempt to bring your dog home to you immediately, skipping a trip to our center.
If your dog does get lost, he or she will get a longer care period at one of our Centers. We will exhaust every option we have to contact you using the information in our database, as well as provide this information to Pets 911.
If your dog bites someone, he/she may be eligible for home quarantine instead of quarantine in our facility or a veterinary hospital.
License fees support the operations and care of the animals in our facilities, return of over 6,500 pets to their homes, and adoption of more than 20,000 homeless pets to new families every year.
All dogs need to be licensed so they have identification in case they get out or become lost, and it’s the law. Even indoor-only dogs confined to fenced yards get loose. The State of Arizona does not require cats to be licensed. It is a good idea to get your cat an id tag. A lost cat with an id tag has a better chance of being returned to her owner.
http://www.maricopa.gov/pets/license/default.aspx
But they only work if they are scanned. (at least the ones here.) The animal could have 50 of them and if the animal is taken inside, moved out of state, or whatever could happen, again unless the chip is scanned it does nothing. If the chips worked where they could just press a button and find the animal wherever, that would be cool.
My son has a dog (he’s chipped) who is a regular Houdini. I told him he should find a GPS system to hang around his neck.