How to Find a Lost Pet

Losing a pet can be a frightening, saddening and downright terrible experience for pet owners. A pet dog, cat, rabbit, bird or other pet can escape from the house, yard or car in the blink of an eye, leaving the animal's human family members to worry about whether they'll ever find their beloved pet.
These strategies are proven to help reunite lost pets with their owners.

Difficulty: Moderately Challenging

Instructions

Things You'll Need:

• Missing Pet Posters
• Plastic page sleeves
• Duct Tape
• Heavy Duty Stapler/Staple Gun
• Internet Access
• A phone book
• Your pet's favorite toy or a familiar noise maker (i.e. the cannister used to store your dog's treats)

1. Begin by thoroughly searching inside your home. It's not uncommon to find a "lost" pet inside the home, asleep in some out-of-the-way spot. So start by systematically searching each room and be sure to get down on your hands and knees to view the room from your pet's perspective for potential hiding places. Remember, an ill, injured or scared pet may be more apt to hide. And most cats will not come when called, so don't rely on your pet coming to you - you may need to go to your pet.

2. If the pet is not inside the home or yard, start by searching the area immediately around your home. Many pets, particularly cats who are not accustomed to the outdoors, will not venture very far. It's not uncommon to find a pet hiding under the neighbor's porch or beneath your parked car, even hours after they've disappeared. Be sure to get down on your hands and knees at various locations and look around for hiding places that would be visible from your pet's perspective. And don't discount a potential hiding place because it looks too small or difficult to access. Cats in particular have a tendency to get into some very tight quarters without much difficulty.

3. Call your pet's name or nickname in a friendly, upbeat voice. Your dog isn't going to come running if you sound angry or fearful, so encourage him to approach you by using a kind tone. Stop and listen carefully for a response.

4. If the lost pet does not appear to be inside the home or in the immediate vicinity of the house, start expanding your search. Travel in concentric "rings" around your home, slowly working your way outward. Stop and speak with neighbors and anyone else you encounter to see if they've encountered your missing pet.
   Bringing along another household pet, like a dog, can often help in the search for your missing pet. If your dog is exhibiting a strong desire to travel in a particular direction, follow - if a pet smells or hears your missing pet, it's likely they'll try to seek them out.
   While searching the neighborhood, continuously call out for your pet. Also bring along any favorite toys or others familiar items that can be used as noise-makers. The sound of a favorite squeaky toy or the familiar shake of a cannister of treats can help attract a pet.

5. If your initial walk through the neighborhood does not lead you to your pet, it's time to begin contacting local authorities to report your pet as missing. Call the city or town's Animal Control officer to provide information on your missing pet, including description and your contact information. Also report the missing pet to the police department and request that the incident be logged in the event that someone contacts the authorities with information on the pet.

6. Contact your pet's microchip registry to report your pet as missing. Microchip companies, like HomeAgain, keep your information on file, linked to your pet's microchip number. Microchips are implanted under the skin between the shoulder blades by injection and they're scanned when an animal is brought to a veterinarian, animal control, animal shelter or rescue organization. The finder then contacts the microchip registry with your contact information and arrangements are made to get the pet returned home.

7. Create "Missing Cat" or "Lost Dog" posters. For efficient coverage of your neighborhood, and local businesses, you will need between 500 and 1,000 posters. A poster should include a photograph of the pet, and a written description of the pet. Be sure to include your name, address and telephone number. And note when the pet disappeared and the location of where the pet was last seen.
   A reward can serve as an incentive for citizens to contact you with information concerning your pet. Even an offer of just $50 can encourage people to contact you with information that could lead to your pet's recovery.

8. Distribute your "Missing Pet" posters. Leave them on car windshields. Place them on porches and doorsteps. Post them at businesses like supermarkets, banks, the post office and other high-traffic areas. Display your posters at local parks, on community bulletin boards at libraries, the town/city hall and the town's public safety building. Bring your posters to businesses and bulletin boards in adjacent communities as well. Place them on every third phone pole using a heavy-duty staple gun. When placing posters on phone poles and other locations that are exposed to the elements, place the poster inside a plastic page protector, available in packages of 100 or more from office supply stores like Staples. Be sure that the open side that you used to insert the poster inside the plastic protector is facing down. Then, place a staple on all four corners of the poster. If the open side of the page protector is facing up, water will seep inside, ruining the poster.

9. Search for your pet late at night. The night brings silence and a huge reduction in the volume of street traffic. This silence, darkness and lack of activity can be comforting to a scared pet, who may venture out of a hiding place to explore under the cover of darkness. Cats are also more active at night, so they're more apt to be wandering or hunting at night. The reduced noise and activity will also enable owners to listen for their pet more effectively. And the same applies to the pet - a lost cat or dog will be more likely to hear your calls at night, when there's less noise and fewer distractions.

10. Your "Missing Pet" posters should also be delivered to all area veterinary clinics, pet stores, dog grooming businesses, doggy daycare facilities, dog parks and anywhere else that pet owners are likely to frequent. A lost pet can easily be injured by a wild animal or car, and if he's brought to a local veterinary clinic, there's a good chance the staff will recognize the animal as yours. As for pet stores, groomers and other pet-related businesses, these are locations that animal lovers frequent and a pet owner is more likely to notice a roaming animal, so these are the people who you should be sure will have access to your posters.

11. Contact all animal shelters and humane organizations within a 50 mile radius of the location where the pet was last seen. Most shelters have a three-day hold policy that provides owners of missing pets a three day window to find their missing pet before he's deemed adoptable. All incoming animals are checked for microchips which often lead to a reunion, but if a pet does not have a microchip, the pet may be placed up for adoption or in a few cases, euthanized after that three-day window passes. So it's vital that pet owners take a proactive stance and contact all area animal shelters and rescue organizations. Some organizations will keep your information and poster on file for a period of time, while others require that you call back every few days to check in concerning any new strays who have undergone the intake process.

12. Use the internet to your advantage. Post a missing pet notice on Craigslist and online missing pet websites. You can also search online pet adoption services like PetFinder.com, in the event that an organization that you did not contact has located your pet and has placed him up for adoption.

13. Contact your local newspaper and/or cable access television station. Many newspapers and cable access stations will post "missing pet" advertisements for little or no charge. "Missing pet" announcements targeted to members of your community will increase your chances of locating your lost pet.

Tips & Warnings

• Don't give up on your search. It's not uncommon for a pet to turn up, days, weeks or even months after they have disappeared.
• Keep dog tags current. If your dog's tag has your old phone number, it's not useful to anyone who locates your missing pet.
• If you go on vacation and bring your pet along, be sure to create a new dog tag with the location where you're staying and your cell phone number. If your vacation includes stays at several different locations, create a new tag for each location. It's confusing if someone in Ohio finds a dog who's tag says he lives in Hawaii.
• Consider making up "Missing Pet" posters in advance. This will enable owners to immediately begin distributing the lost pet posters, whereas an owner who does not have the posters on-hand will be without the posters during their initial search. It's vital to start looking for your pet as soon as you realize he's missing, as this is the time when you're most likely to locate him. So it's vital that pet owners spend time searching for their lost dog or cat, rather than creating posters during those vital first few hours.
• If you locate your pet, remove your posters from area telephone poles, community bulletin boards and businesses. Otherwise, the posters may end up as litter, or you could receive calls long after you've located your pet.
• Get your pet microchipped by your veterinarian. A microchip costs less than $50 in most cases and it's a valuable tool to return a pet home. A pet without a microchip who is brought to an animal shelter or rescue organization could be adopted out or euthanized, whereas a pet with a registered microchip will be reunited with his family.

Resources

• List Missing and Found Pets Online
• List Your Missing Pet Online
• A Lost Pet Website With Great Resources
• A Proactive Service for Lost Pets
• Petfinder.com
• More Tips to Find a Lost Cat or Dog

[wytetyger059]

on 9/1/2008 Great tips! Only one thing -- the telephone and electric company people get very upset with staples in their poles. If they have to climb, the heavy duty staples in particular tend to catch in pants or skin. The holes also let insects or fungus in to deteriorate the poles. I would suggest duct tape to hold the poster at top and bottom. You could put a poster on each side of the pole this way. I found this out when I was stapling up some lost posters.

[GreenMomma]

on 8/6/2008 thanks for the tips! i've lost my tiny pooch before and thankfully the neighbors all know who she belongs to so it ended quickly! 5*

[luv2blog]

on 8/5/2008 Great tips!!5 stars!

[amylaine]

on 8/4/2008 Great article.

[vallain]

on 8/4/2008 Terrific detail in this article. Very helpful info.