Animal Control Report: Stray Dog Prompts Manhunt

Animal Control officers in Alexandria deal with a variety of calls every week. Here's a glance at some recent incidents in the city courtesy of Patrick Cole of the Animal Welfare League of Alexandria.

Search Party — A stray dog sent one Animal Control officer on a manhunt.

On Oct. 3, the Animal Control office received a call from two juveniles who found a stray dog during emergency hours in the 5300 block of Taney Avenue.

The officer on duty was not comfortable leaving an unknown animal with two minors, so he picked up and impounded the pooch.

The dog was wearing multiple ID tags and the officer called several numbers in an attempt to get in touch with the owners. The officer found a dog in the city’s database that matched the description of the impounded dog and visited the last-known address, but was unable to contact the owners.

Alexandria police dispatch later informed the officer that the dog’s owners called looking for their pet and provided a new phone number.

The officer called the owners, obtained the new address and reunited the dog the night it was discovered.

The officer issued a citation to the owners for failing to license the dog. The owners were given 10 days to comply.

Alexandria Shelter Walk — AWLA will host its second annual Alexandria Shelter Walk for Homeless Animals on Oct. 20 at Market Square in Old Town. Dogs are welcome, and walkers are encouraged to bring their canine friends.

The event is the only fundraising walk that benefits AWLA and the Vola Lawson Animal Shelter.

For more information and to register, please visit the event website.