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YOUR
CAMERA PHONE OR DIGITAL CAMERA COULD HELP REUNITE A LOST ANIMAL
WITH ITS OWNER.
With
digital camera technology - especially on phones along with the
ability to instantly post pictures via email and the web, you could
easily help to reunite a lost animal with its owner. If
you see an animal wandering the streets - clearly lost - simply
take a picture ... And now, with LaFAN
you should be able to find a
local animal rescue web site and send
them the picture to display on their lost and found page.
WHAT YOU SHOULD
DO
First,
visit the lost and found web page of the animal rescue organisation
in your local area, which should be listed on the LaFAN
Network List. (If it isn't, contact
them and tell them to join LaFAN!) Then take a note of their email
address and add it to your mobile camera phone address book. In
the event of seeing what is clearly a lost animal, but which you
can't get close enough to secure, take a picture with your phone
and send it, along with a text description (and time seen), as an
email to your local rescue. If you have friends out and about in
the same area, text them too with the picture to enable each of
you to update your local rescue of the animal's whereabouts.
THE
MOST LIKELY SCENARIOS WHERE YOU MIGHT COME ACROSS A LOST ANIMAL
- AND HOW TO RESPOND.
In the street ...
A
dog or cat running loose and looking confused in a busy road.
A lost dog will often walk and run with a sense of urgency - and
quite often in front of traffic, since he or she wouldn't be used
to walking freely near roads without a lead. A dog running amongst
traffic is a sure sign that it is lost. A cat will hurry along scared
and hide where possible in doorways and cry when approached. Cats
in the street are harder to determine whether they are lost or simply
adventuring around their extended territory, so take your time to
asses the situation.
If you are sure the animal is distressed and lost but you are unable
to get close enough to secure him or her, then take pictures ...
as many as you can. Then send the pictures to your local animal
rescue place, giving them details of where you took the photos,
at what time and in which direction the animal seemed to be travelling.
Also provide any other aspects of the animal's condition which a
picture can't describe.
At
home ...
A lost cat can often spot a compassionate household and will tend
to hang around gardens where they sense a
possible food handout and some reassuring affection. However, they
may be far too scared to get too close. Again, take pictures and
send them to your local rescue organisation for them to post on
their lost and found page. Tell them your location and how long
the animal has been with you.
LaFAN
AND LOST ANIMAL PHOTO-TRACKING
The
LaFAN (VeggieGlobal and Looking-Glass) concept of Lost Animal Photo-Tracking
has only become a possibility due to the popularity of mobile digital
photography and the internet. LaFAN intends to continually publicize
this new opportunity in finding lost animals. Lost Animal Photo-Tracking
brings hope and reunification for thousands of animals and their
owners each year.
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