Dear Governor Snyder,

Please stop the Michigan Humane Society (MHS) from breaking the law on holding times for stray dogs and cats, MCL 287.388. 

Michigan’s stray hold law, in place since 1969, is the only law protecting  lost animals and the rights of pet owners.  Currently an animal shelter that takes in lost pets must hold them for 4 or 7 days, depending on identification, before euthanizing, transferring or adopting out that animal.  These few short days are all owners have to find their lost companion animal at a shelter before that animal is lost to them forever. 

This law has been enforced for decades by the State’s animal shelter licensing body, the Michigan Department of Agriculture (MDARD). But now the Michigan Humane Society is stating publically that the law is invalid and does not have to be followed—using a technicality to support their position. 

MDARD has done nothing to stop them. 

https://michiganhumane.wordpress.com/2015/01/26/a-note-from-matthew-pepper-on-cat-holding-times/

Imagine coming home from a short work trip to discover that your new pet-sitter lost your dog while on a walk and never looked for her.  You embark on a frantic search and learn that the local shelter already adopted your dog out and you have no rights to get her back. 

Or think about your beloved family cat slipping out the door unknowingly and then brought to the shelter by a well-intending neighbor, only to be killed upon entry at a shelter already full with cats.  

These are not unlikely scenarios.  According to national statistics, a family pet is lost every 2 seconds.  Ten million a year.  We love our animals, but accidents happen every day.  Dogs and cats like to get out and explore the world.  It’s a big part of why we have animal shelters and it is why we have stray hold laws.  Even the most loving, responsible owner can have a pet get loose. 

For most of us, having a beloved companion animal go missing is a heart-wrenching experience – now made worse by the possibility that a shelter can immediately dispose of our pets with impunity.

The Michigan Humane Society blames pet owners for low rates of lost animals returned to their owners.  But Michigan’s animal sheltering system is chaotic and outdated. In many counties there are multiple places your lost animal could end up.  Some shelters have very limited hours of operation.  Many don’t answer the phone.  Some have no phone at all.    

We have low rates of animals returned to their owners not because owners don’t care, but because many of our shelters are stuck in the dark ages, with a “death grip” on obsolete practices and attitudes.   Much better rates are possible through greater understanding, education and new service approaches.   

Having identification on your animal sure helps, but it is far from fail-proof.  According to a recent report, many microchips go undetected by incompatible scanners and many more are unregistered or have outdated contact information.  Collars fall off.  Tags break. 

Plus, MHS is claiming there is NO stray hold law that applies to shelters,  regardless of identification.  So even if your pet has ID, you may not have time to get him or her back.   

This is about our rights as pet owners and it is about the critical bond humans and animals share.  When a loving family already exists, the best place for a lost pet is back home -- for everyone's sake. 

According to public records, from 2011-2013 the Michigan Humane Society alone euthanized over 35,000 dogs and cats.  This brazen neglect of a basic and vital law, without any consequences from the regulatory body, degrades our rights as pet owners and eliminates a critical protection against needless killing. 

Michigan Humane Society claims their intentions are good and that they are only applying this new legal theory to "adoptable" cats.  Even if we could all agree that cats and cat owners deserve second class status to dogs and dog owners (which we don't), does that give them the right to circumvent the law?  What about when the intentions are not good?  Many shelters and animal control facilities are looking for ways to cut more corners and will surely follow suit and apply as they see fit.

Michiganders love their pets.  Please make all licensed animal shelters abide by this most basic legal protection.