Four times per year bloggers come together to “Be the Change for Animals”. It’s not just for bloggers…everyone is encouraged to read, share, and support causes and people helping animals. Bloggers can write about a cause that is important to them, and readers can share comments and ideas.
If your pet were to go missing, do you know whether or not it is legal to hang signs in your own town, or in neighboring towns? Would it even occur to you to check? Believe it or not, there are towns that have by-laws against hanging signs for lost pets. Living in a rural area as I do, I would never even consider that my town might have restrictions on hanging a sign for a lost pet. Not everyone is so lucky.
Pat Panek, of Littleton, Massachusetts, can tell you all about it, because she has experienced this first hand. It was just after Thanksgiving in 2011 when Pat’s adopted Siberian husky, Bridgett, dug her way out of their yard in only a matter of minutes. This is typical husky behavior, from what I understand. As soon as they realized what had happened, they went out looking. They found Bridgett not far away, but coaxing her back was not so easy. You see, Bridgett was a former puppy mill dog used for breeding, and she went from there to a high kill shelter where Pat found her and knew it was meant to be for them to be together.
But dogs don’t get over that kind of traumatic past easily, and when they escape to run free, they can be very skittish. They tried to lure Bridgett back, but she became frightened and bolted. From there she went very quickly into survival mode, running far away, as many dogs do. This often makes them fearful of all humans, sometimes even their own family.
Most lost pet resources will tell you that one of the most effective things you can do in this situation is to hang signs/posters with a picture of your dog, your phone number, and a reminder : “Please Don’t Chase”. If the dog can be located then there are many methods to lure them to safety. So what happens when you hang those signs and posters, only to find very soon afterwards that they have been taken down? That’s exactly what happened to Pat, and that was only the beginning of what has been a very rough journey for Pat and Bridgett.
Two and a half years later, Bridgett is still missing, but Pat has not given up on her. She was last spotted back in April of this year in the neighboring town of Lincoln. There have been many sightings of Bridgett over this time in 6 different towns. When there is a sighting, once again, the best thing to be done is to hang signs in the area so hopefully the dogs’ location can be pinpointed to a small area and perhaps a trap can be set up in some helpful person’s yard.
Unfortunately Pat ran into this same roadblock in more than one town in her area, and she has spent thousands of dollars on signs, posters, and sandwich boards, sometimes only to find them taken down. She discovered that many towns have by-laws against hanging signs for lost pets (sometimes even missing persons). Many times the town wasn’t kind enough to contact her to inform her of this, but just tore the signs down, as did some other mean spirited people who probably considered them an eyesore. Some of these people just don’t understand that Bridgett can be out there surviving. We’ve all heard stories of pets being reunited with their families’ years after their disappearance, so they can and often do survive.
Pat refuses to give up on Bridgett, and on her journey she has become a certified Missing Animal Response Technician for the Missing Pet Partnership, a national group out of Washington State that helps people find their lost pets. Pat is a team leader for the Lost Pet Consultants group. You can call MPP to speak with a consultant who will help you with their advice and experience if your own pet goes missing. Pat is now helping others who are going through what she is going through, and if you visit Bridgett’s Facebook page you will find posters for many missing pets.
Statistics say that one out of three pets could go missing in their lifetime. Hanging signs is a resource that is desperately needed. Yes, there are other ways to reach out, Pat also created flyers and business cards, and has used social media extensively. If your pet went missing, you would want to use every resource possible.
With that in mind, Pat has started petitions to both the State of Massachusetts, and the United States House of Representatives and Senate; “Signs Save Lives: Zoning Bylaws to Allow for Lost Pet Signs”. It is not just MA communities that have bylaws prohibiting lost pet signs, people in CT, OH, OK, RI, and DE have run into these same issues. Lost pet signs may be prohibited in public and even private areas, or in just certain areas where they might be needed the most. Pat needed a permit to post on her own town common, where many routes converged to lead to other communities, and she was turned down. She could post in other areas, but those signs were frequently taken down by a community member who didn’t like them.
What Pat is proposing to towns is really a WIN/WIN proposition: in her own words: “Sign permits are taken out, for a fee, and with a date of expiry and number on them. The town seal affixed to the permit and then the permit being printed directly on the signs. If a pet owner does not extend the permit or does not remove the signs, the town benefits again by levying fines/sign against the owner. Some towns could possibly have those fines recorded at the RMV, like unpaid excise taxes, making it impossible for the owner to renew their registration/license until the fines are paid in full. For the owner, it’s a slam dunk. Paying a fee for a permit is so much cheaper than replacing all the signs that are taken down by the town or by intolerant residents. If someone other than the owner removes the signs, then a police report can be filed and the person thumbing their nose at the permit can be fined. This is not as easy to accomplish as fining the pet owner, however.”
I think Pat’s proposal makes perfect sense for everyone involved. It is a common sense solution to something that really shouldn’t be an issue in the first place, but the reality is that it is.
Current and future lost pets and their families in many communities, maybe even your community, need your help. If you are a Massachusetts resident, would you please sign Pat’s petition to the State of MA, and if you are a USA resident, sign her petition to the US government?
Click here for MA petition.
Click here for USA petition.
If you would like to learn more about Pat and Bridgett, you can visit their Facebook pages (click on name): Help Bring Bridgett Home and Bridgett’s By.Law, or their website Help Bring Bridgett Home.com.
Yes, it’s very interesting how many constraints there are. We need to do something about it.
My city has a ordinance against signs. I like the idea of getting a permit. The city pays for a code enforcer who removes signs so this would be a way to pay for that cost and provide a way for those who want to post signs to do it without worrying as much that they will be taken down. I like the idea on a city/town or county level. I am less enthusiastic of making a change at the federal level. I think towns or counties should have the choice (well their residents should). Great post. Made me think.
Thank you. You do have a good point there about city/town/county vs. federal level. I think a more local level is always a good place to start anyway. It certainly sounds like your city would be half way there to changing things, since they already have an enforcer in place. Just getting the word out might get some things rolling in some places.
Thank you so much for this post, I too didn’t realize to check local laws. I hope they get Bridgett back soon.
You’re welcome! It’s certainly something I never would have thought of. I hope so too.
I didn’t realize there were so many different ordinances regarding signs. Even if they exist it’s amazing to me that people just rip lost dog ones down, it just makes me sad. They don’t have to actively help look for the animal they can just go by the sign and leave it… The proposal looks good, it seems more than reasonable.
I hope she comes home, and I hope if she’s spotted people will call rather than try to catch her. Even dogs with “normal” and friendly temperaments can easily become skittish on their own.
I hope she is reunited with Bridgette, she has put in so much effort it’s just such a difficult situation, I couldn’t imagine living through that all the time.
I know, I can’t understand what causes people to be just plain mean.
So many people don’t know that chasing a dog or even calling out to it can be bad if they are on the run.
I couldn’t imagine living with that all this time either, and I hope there is another sighting of Bridgett soon that will ultimately bring her back home.
Great ideas on how to search for a lost pet, and good idea to use for BTC.
How sad that some towns and people keep taking down her signs. And how sad that her dog has been missing all this time. Dogs definitely DO survive on their own. Our Meadow was estimated to be out there on her own about 2 1/2 years before she was finally captured.
That is promising to hear that about Meadow, Donna, to know that dogs really can survive. That gives hope.
I just can’t comprehend myself why people (towns are made up of people after all) can’t be more understanding. I hope things can change.
I can only imagine what Pat is going through, the fact these posters were taken down…. I will keep her and Bridgette in my thoughts and tweet the hell out of their story. I know it’s not much but it’s all I can offer.
If they get reunited, please do let us know!!
I will definitely let you know! I hope that is a story that I get to share.
Tweeting and sharing her story is definitely something….I believe that every little bit helps!
Good for her. This happened to me when Cupcake was lost. The city took them all down, but a nice couple went and pulled them from the dumpster and re-hung them. I also had the advantage of a blog and the city, realizing the great human interest in helping me to get Cupcake back, left the signs up the second time around. I would love to see more laws change to allow owners to hang signs of their pets. Love Missing Pet Partnership too.
I’m glad you ran into some nice people during your ordeal, and of course that you had a happy ending to your story. I’m sure you learned more than you ever wanted to know about losing a pet and all that it can entail.
Let’s hope that Pat can get somewhere with her petition.
That is so sad. I sure hope Pat is reunited with Bridgette. I can’t imagine not knowing where your pet is and if they are safe or not. How terrible. My heart breaks for her.
I can’t imagine either. I admire how she holds up, it must be so difficult with a lot of ups and downs.
Wow 🙁
That is just so so so sad. 2 years later and not giving up, that is beautiful! It would be such a fantastic miracle if this beautiful husky could make it back home! I have shared your posts to all of my social networks.
Thank you for sharing this, and I am just in shock that you are not allowed toi hang missing posters in some places! Unreal!
ღ husky hugz ღ frum our pack at Love is being owned by a husky!
Thank you so much for sharing this story, Jenna! I think just spreading the word is so very important.
I hope Bridgett does make it home one day, Pat really deserves that miracle.
The City of Seattle made posting signs illegal for a while. But it was one of those laws that was impossible to enforce. Now the law is similar to the one Pat is proposing only no permit is required. Signs must be removed in a timely major or the sign poster pays a fine similar to littering. The light poles are not caked with years of signs but people can continue to post for whatever reason- and a lost pet is certainly THE most important reason, in my opinion!
Thank you for sharing Pat’s story. Having grown up with huskies (who ran away constantly- despite being taken on very long runs and being trained) I understand her continued search. I am so glad she is turning something negative (continuing to search for Bridgette) into a positive (changing the law.) This is a Blog The Change inspiration we can all very much appreciate.
I’m so glad you think so too, Bethany. Her story really is inspiring. Turning something bad into something good is difficult to do, and it’s always admirable to me when someone can accomplish that.
It sounds like Seattle made a sensible compromise, too bad some of those other cities couldn’t just be sensible about it!
this just broke my heart. I pray that Bridgett will come home! I will be sharing and signing the petitions!!!!
Thank you so much for everything, Caren!! It is really a heartbreaking story, but I hope it can still have a happy ending.
I can only imagine her heartbreak. Hopefully, she will be reunited with Bridgette. She is definitely working to Be The Change!
I admire Pat so much because she never gives up, no matter what she’s up against. I don’t know if I could be that strong in her position. I hope for that reunion so much for her!