How to Find a Lost Pet
Leave a picture at shelters If you don't find your pet at a particular shelter, leave a description and current photo of your pet with the staff. Most shelters have a lost pets log and a bulletin board for pictures of lost pets. Shelter workers and the public can help watch for your pet.
Act fast Do not wait to see if your pet comes home on its own. A pet can wander quite some distance in a short time. Begin searching immediately. Ask others to help look Ask friends or neighbors to help you walk or drive the immediate area. Have each one head in a different direction and move outward. Notify people who are familiar with your pet that it is lost (for example, newspaper and mail carriers and neighborhood children). Put out clothing with your scent
Check shelters daily Check each shelter daily until your pet is found. Don't assume that a shelter will house your animal any longer than a few days, or that a shelter worker will identify your pet. Shelters are extremely busy places, and your pet may not be recognized among the hundreds of animals that may pass through a shelter each week. Use the newspaper Read the "found" ads and take out a "lost" ad in city and community newspapers. Many people will care for a stray animal rather than take it to a shelter, and they will place and read ads to try to find the owner. Don't Give Up!
Hang a tee shirt or some other item of clothing on a fence post. Animals' keen sense of smell can pick up a scent from a great distance. If your pet is lost, this "scent marker" will help it find its way home. Post flyers Post flyers in the area where you live. Put up a simple flyer right away. Replace it with a flyer containing a picture if the pet is not found the first day. Contact veterinary clinics Contact veterinary practices in your area. People often notify the closest veterinary clinic about a stray animal. Clinics usually have bulletin boards in their offices and will post a notice for you. Visit every shelter Visit every animal shelter in your area to look for your pet. It is important that you personally look for your pet in the shelter because the description you give of your pet over the phone may not be the description another person would provide for that animal. For instance, what one person considers a black dog with white markings may appear to another person as a white dog with black markings.
Some pets are found after months and months of searching! Don't give up! Other people will follow your lead and will continue to help you! PREVENTION Spay or Neuter Your Pet! One of the most common reasons a pet will stray from home is because it isn't spayed or neutered and is looking for another dog or cat with which to mate. Spaying or neutering your pet will eliminate your pet's reproductive instincts and, therefore, decrease the chances of it straying from home to search for a mate. Be Sure Your Pet has Identification. Your dog or cat should always wear a current rabies tag and an I.D. tag with your present address and phone number. Be sure your pet's collar fits snugly so it won't come off. The collar should fit around your pet's neck so that you can fit two of your fingers underneath the collar. In addition to wearing current tags, consider getting your dog or cat a microchip identification implant. If your pet ever loses its collar and I.D. tags, its microchip I.D. will be its ticket home. Take a Picture. Providing a good picture is the best way to enable other people to help you look for your pet. Be sure that you always have a picture that looks like your pet looks now.