Dear Editor,
What does LAPS do? Why are we paying for a Langley animal shelter? What is their purpose?
In March I lost Hallie, a gentle 20-year-old cat with a distinctively crinkled ear. She hasn’t ventured out of the yard in several years and has not even tried to go outside during cold, wet weather.
I called LAPS to see if anyone had brought her to the shelter. They told me that they do not take lost cats, and directed me to a web site petlynx.ca to register my cat, which I did.
I also called TLC, another organization. I left a message but they never returned my phone call.
Neither of these organizations were helpful in finding my cat.
A person hired by the Township of Langley came to my door to see if I had a dog that needed a license. I talked with the person about my lost cat.
A few days later she came to my door asking if I had found my cat, and I told her no. She told me that a cat fitting the description of my cat had been hiding in a carport a few doors down from me, and had come out to lay in the sun on a piece of cardboard left on a lawn.
I was very happily reunited with Hallie, who amazingly survived a week outdoors.
I was also amazed that, other than losing weight and getting a cold which she quickly recovered from, she was fine, but had not been able to find her way home in a week. This attains to the fact that she certainly was no longer a roamer at the age of 20.
She found a spot and stayed there for a week. I have no idea how she ended up a few doors down.
After talking with the neighbours who found her, I found out that they had also called LAPS, who told the neighbours they don’t pick up strays, and if they wanted to bring the cat in they would need to take it to a veterinarian first to have her checked.
LAPS did not tell the neighbours about the website, so they had no idea that they could try to match the cat they found with a registered missing cat.
The neighbours had also called TLC and did not get a return call from one employee, but had another willing to come out to pick up the cat.
Since no one had returned my call, TLC did not know that a cat fitting the description was missing a few doors away.
I feel very fortunate that I had spoken to the dog licenser who was responsible for getting Hallie home again.
My neighbour and I are annoyed with LAPS. Why do we have an animal shelter, if it isn’t to reunite lost pets with their owners?
If it is done on the internet, fine, then we don’t need a shelter. The internet is the way the world is going, but please publicize this so that both the lost and found parties know about it so they can connect.
In retrospect, I should have gone to every door on my street to ask if anyone had seen Hallie, instead of only talking with my immediate neighbours.
I honestly didn’t think she would have survived one night out on her own or wandered that far. She is an amazing cat.
Dianne Kask, Aldergrove