Step 1 : Introduction to the question "5. Why is paperwork (such as numbering each animal) so important in an emergency animal shelter?"
...1. actually, it isn't important--only animal care is important 2. to keep track of each animal, give it the proper meds, and find it if it is claimed 3. volunteers receive "brownie points" for each animal they work with 4. states require such paperwork, even though it is not actually very important A few times, we mixed up animals because we forgot to check the numbers on their temporary collars when we moved them to other parts of the shelter. This may have caused grieving pet owners to be separated from their animals even longer than they already had been.
