For a printable version of the activity log,
click here
Alabama Pet Registry recommends that all search activity involving a found or lost pet be documented. When private citizens take responsibility for the temporary care of unidentified stray pets, they assume the additional burden of trying to find the pet's owner. If they are not successful and statistically 90 percent of the time they won't be, legal entanglements might result if they keep the pet and cannot show they made a good faith effort to return the pet to its rightful owner.
Conversely, an owner who has lost a pet has to try to find it, too, and he must act quickly and be thorough in his search. Because most animal control ordinances limit impoundment to an average of five days, unclaimed, unidentified pets can be destroyed or adopted out without recourse by the owner. If a pet is lucky enough to have a civilian rescuer, it is the owner's burden to make his pet's loss known throughout the search area and in a timely manner. A good record of a search using the following tool can help resolve custody disputes and claims of ownership, particularly if little or no proof of ownership evidence can be produced by the owner.
