The Utah Animal Adoption Center is encouraging pet owners to give their cats and dogs proper identification tags with events today at the center at 1955 N. Redwood Road.

Saturday is national "Tag Day," and the center is giving away free instant ID tags to visitors. The center reports that one in three pets will get lost at some point during its lifetime and animals without tags are far less likely to be returned home. In Utah, fewer than half of stray dogs and only 4 percent of cats are returned to their owners.

Animals with proper tags are returned more easily, making room in shelters for homeless pets and reducing the number that have to be euthanized. The Animal Adoption Center does not euthanize adoptable pets but can only take in a limited number of animals from local shelters.

Also today, recent adopters are invited to a reunion with center staff at 1 p.m. featuring donated cookies from Cookietree Bakeries. A drawing will be held for 20 tickets to the opening night of "Little Orphan Annie" Tuesday at Kingsbury Hall. The canine star who plays Sandy in the musical is a rescued shelter dog. Show producers will donate $5 to the center from each ticket purchased at full price with the code UAAC.

Recent staff changes at the center include the addition of Temma Martin, former media specialist for the Salt Lake County Animal Services, as the center's new director of humane education and volunteers. Longtime executive director Cheryl Smith is taking on a new roll as director of development and legislative affairs. Board member Patrick Hoagland is serving as interim executive director until a new CEO is appointed.

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E-mail: akirk@desnews.com