It is an agonizing experience when a dog is lost, both for the owner and the dog. And it can happen so easily, particularly if there are children in the home and the door does not open into a fenced yard.

Too many owners fail to put identification on their dogs and cats to ensure their safe return home. Those of us in animal rescue know that there is no such thing as a dog that is trained to stay in an unfenced yard (or even one with an underground fence). Any dog that sees something beyond the yard like a squirrel, rabbit, dog, skunk, etc. will override any training and take off.

All dogs need to wear a well fitted collar with the dog's license, rabies tags and the owner's phone number at a minimum. Even if the dog has been microchipped or tattooed, these are necessary because whoever finds the dog will not have a microchip reader but will be able to phone the owner right away. One can also put the word “reward” on the ID tag.

If you are traveling, put a temporary ID tag on the pet with the contact information of someone who knows how to reach you. And check periodically to see that the tags are still on the collar.

Out of every 100 dogs that end up in shelters only 17 are ever reunited with their owners.

And what about cats? According to the National Council on Pet Population study, approximately 584,000 cats enter animal shelters in the United States each year as strays and only about 2 percent of these cats are ever reunited with their owners. That means fewer than three out of every 100 cats entering shelters are reunited with their owners. And this number does not include the cats that simply disappear. A good many become feral, breed and raise multiple litters of feral kittens.

Spaying and neutering cats and dogs is in everyone's best interest.

The reason for the minuscule rate of returned cats is shockingly simple - too many owners fail to put identification on their cats to ensure they have a chance of making it back home.

Just like dogs, cats can be microchipped. They can also wear a specially designed cat collar with elastic in it which would allow the cat to escape if it gets caught on anything. There is a debate over whether cats should be legally required to be licensed as dogs are.

The first line of defense for a pet cat is to be kept inside. But accidents do happen, especially in summer when doors and windows are open. Both dogs and cats can end up in research laboratories without identification.

Another line of defense for dogs, and one which could save their lives, is to teach what is called Really Reliable Recall (RRR). RRR teaches a dog to come immediately no matter what is going on.

You will need to choose a special word for your recall, one that is short, easy to remember and is used only for recall. This training can also prevent your dog from picking up something dangerous to eat.

For detailed instructions on how to do this training visit either: www.dogwise.com or www.training-dogs.com/dog-training/teaching-reliable-recall.

Judy Vorreuter is the founder and director of Animal Advocates of the Finger Lakes. Contact her at judy@cayugaanimaladvocates.org