It’s a pet owner’s worst nightmare: a lost cat or dog, and it can happen in the blink of an eye. Pets can disappear from home, the car or during a walk or outing and the dog or cat owner is left to wonder if he’ll ever find the lost pet.
In addition to reporting the pet as missing to animal control, there are a few proactive strategies that are proven to increase the chances of reuniting a lost dog, cat or other pet with its owners.
Microchip Your Pet Before He Gets Lost
Microchips are about the size of a grain of rice and they are injected beneath the skin, between the shoulder blades. The price of microchipping is typically under $50 and many humane organizations and animal shelters offer this service to all cats, dogs, rabbits and ferrets that are adopted out.
The microchips are scanned by a veterinarian, animal shelter staff, or animal control officer and the microchip’s identification number appears on the hand-held scanner. The identification number is linked to the pet owner’s information in a microchip registry, thereby facilitating a reunion between the lost pet and his family.
Look for Your Pet ASAP
When a cat, dog, rabbit or other pet is lost from the home, the owner is most likely to find the pet during the first few hours following the disappearance. Owners should set out to search for their pet immediately, beginning with a thorough search in and around the home. Indoor pets in particular are apt to be frightened, so it’s not uncommon to find the missing dog or cat very close to the home.
Search Systematically
If the pet is not found in the home or yard, conduct a systematic search by traveling in concentric rings around the location where the pet was last seen. Bring along another household pet, and a noisemaker that’s familiar to the lost pet. A lost dog or cat may very well come running at the sound of their favorite squeaky toy or the shake of a treat canister.
Pet owners should also search for their pet late at night. The quiet of the late night and early morning hours makes it easier for owners to hear their pet, and likewise, the pet is more likely to hear the owner’s calls. A frightened pet may also be more apt to come out of a hiding place under the cover of darkness, and don’t forget that cats are nocturnal animals, meaning they’re more active at night.
Display "Lost Dog" or "Missing Cat" Posters
If a pet is not discovered during the initial search, pet owners should make up between 500 and 1,000 “Missing Cat” or “Lost Dog” posters, which should include a photograph of the animal, a written description of the pet, information on the pet’s call name, the place that the pet was last seen, date of disappearance, and your contact information and address. A reward can also serve as an additional incentive for citizens to contact you with information on a missing pet.
Ideally, several hundred posters should be kept on-hand at all times. This will provide pet owners with an opportunity to distribute the posters on their initial search. Creating posters in advance it will save valuable time that can then be spent searching for the pet, rather than designing and printing posters.
Posters should be placed on phone poles at intersections and on every third phone pole. In addition, the posters can be left at supermarkets, banks, the post office and other high-traffic locations. Pet-related businesses should also be provided with the missing pet posters, including veterinary offices, dog parks, groomeries, pet stores, and doggy daycare facilities. The posters should also be given to all animal shelters within a 50 mile radius to ensure that if the pet will be returned home in the event that he’s brought in as a stray. Placing posters in plastic page protectors (with the open edge facing down) will help protect the posters from the elements and rainwater.
Post Your Dog’s Information Online
Post information on your missing pet on missing pet websites and on community-based websites like Craigslist. There are also an array of websites dedicated to displaying missing pet listings, including www.MissingPet.net and www.FindToto.com
Lost pet advertisements can also be placed with local newspapers and cable access television stations at little or no cost.
In conclusion, pet owners should never give up hope, even if a lost pet doesn’t turn up right away. It’s not unheard of for a missing cat or dog to turn up days, weeks and even months after they first disappear. So don’t lose hope and continue to check with area animal shelters and found pet listings online and in the newspaper to see if your pet has been turned in as a stray. The key is to maintain a proactive stance, as time and time again, it’s found to be the most reliable approach to returning lost pets to their families.
