Battery Check

The other day I pulled out of my cul-de-sac onto the fairly busy main road only to see a small, white terrier-type darting in and out of traffic. His tail was down and he looked scared to death. Naturally, I pulled over, got out of my car, scooped the small guy up and put him on the passenger seat. I put on the flashers and searched for an ID tag.

His name was AJ and he was my new best friend. No passenger seat for him; he was in my lap, kissing my face. Well, I had saved his life. Now, to find his home. I called the phone number on the tag and told the person who answered that I had their dog. "What are you talking about?" came the startled reply. "He's in the back yard with an invisible fence."

"No, I said. "He's in my lap in my car. Where do you live?" When she told me, I was amazed. This little guy was fairly far from home and lucky to be in one piece. I returned him to a very thankful owner and told her to check the batteries on the dog's collar.

This is about the fourth time that I have returned an errant pooch wearing an invisible fence collar as well as a traditional one (a good practice by the way since invisible fence collars don't come with hooks for pet ID tags). Now I am a big fan of the invisible fence--the buried wire that sets boundaries for your pet by gently zapping them from their collar when they stray--we have one (as well as a traditional wooden one) and would not have been able to keep Phoebe's predecessor, Lucy, without one. That dog could leap a five foot fence without a running start!

But invisible fences run on buried electric wires that can be cut by over zealous gardeners or fence crews. When that happens, you usually hear a loud, shrill noise. But when the batteries in the collar die, your dog no longer gets his gentle reminders to stay put. The funny thing is when they get out free and clear, they are often too scared to go back in because they think they're going to get shocked. So they hit the road, and you know the rest. In other words, invisible fences are only as good as the people who live behind them.

So here's my gentle reminder to check the batteries in your pet's collar if he or she is protected by an invisible fence. Not every pet is as lucky as AJ.