Steps To Take When
Your Pet Is Lost
As soon as you realize your dog, cat or other
pet is lost, take action. The sooner you get
started, the greater your chances of recovering
your lost pet quickly. The following suggestions
highlight many important steps to take -- even
pet owners who've waited several days before
taking these critical steps have had happy
results!
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Search for unusual "hiding" places
around your home, including storm drains,
ditches, and other dark places. And don’t
forget to bring along a flashlight! If your
lost pet has been injured, it may have
crawled into a small space close to home for
safety.
-
Inform
neighbors that your dog is lost.
-
Organize a
search party. Travel on bikes, by foot, and
by car and search the area.
Search your neighborhood, and make
plenty of noise--call your pet by name, make
some other familiar sound, or bring along a
favorite squeaky toy to use...but be sure to
stop and listen periodically, in case your
lost pet makes noises in response (such as
whining, barking, meowing).
-
Talk to your
mail carrier, newspaper delivery person and
anyone who is
-
File a lost
dog report at all agencies and shelters in
the surrounding area. Go to local agencies
and shelters at least once daily to check
the new arrivals.
-
Create colorful Lost Pet flyers
that stand out. Lost pets are often found
within a mile or two of their home. Print
on colorful paper--make sure the black text
contrasts well with the paper color; you
want people to see the words at a distance.
-
Include a picture of your lost pet,
if you have one, as well as a general
description of your dog, cat, or other
pet and your telephone number displayed
in a conspicuous place.
-
If you can, offer a reward (but
don’t say how much).
-
DO NOT include your address or your
full name, in order to avoid becoming an
unwitting victim of fraudulent activity.
-
It’s also important to WITHHOLD some
of your lost pet’s specific identifying
characteristics. This will help you
determine if a caller actually has YOUR
pet.
-
Post the Lost Pet Flyers in your
neighborhood -- on telephone poles and other
street structures, at stores (grocery
stores, drug stores, video stores, gas
stations and the like), veterinary clinics,
groomers, local parks, etc.
-
When posting Lost Pet Flyers at
Veterinary clinics and Groomers’
establishments, take a moment to tell the
Vet or Groomer about your lost pet. If your
pet is brought to them in need of medical
care or grooming, they will have your
information available and can contact you.
-
Take someone with you and go
door-to-door to talk to all the residents in
the area where your dog, cat, or other pet
was lost. Leave a Lost Pet Flyer with each
person you speak to. If no one’s home,
attach a Lost Pet Flyer to the door. You’ll
be surprised how many neighbors will keep a
watchful eye out once they know your beloved
companion is missing!
-
Place a "lost pet" classified ad in your
local newspaper(s). Such ads are
inexpensive, and sometimes even free.
-
If you have more than one telephone
number, be sure to change your outgoing
answering service message for your listed
number to inform callers where else you can
be reached if they should be calling about
your lost pet.
-
If a caller claims to have found your
pet, be cautious ...
-
Try to meet them and the pet in a
public place, such as a store parking
lot, during daylight hours.
-
Try to avoid giving callers your
home address.
-
Always take someone with you to
investigate a caller’s claims.
-
If you believe your pet was stolen,
contact the police or sheriff to file a
police report.
-
Contact your local Animal Control
office, perhaps even leaving a few Lost Pet
Flyers with them.
-
Continue to visit your local animal
shelter(s) at least every two days. Don’t
depend upon employees there to contact you,
or to even know if your lost pet has been
brought in. Verbal descriptions can be
subjective, and therefore not always useful:
what is "small" to one person can be
"medium" to another. You need to see for
yourself.
From:
LostPetSOS.org |
