Have you or a friend ever lost your pet?
If your pet does become lost, ACT FAST! Take the following steps to help bring your fur baby back home to safety.
- Do not delay! Don’t waste hours hoping your pet will come home. The sooner you begin searching, the better the odds of finding them.
- Actively search your neighborhood and the area where your pet was last seen. Talk to your neighbors and folks on the street to let people know she’s missing.
- Call your pet’s name and search in places where they could've become trapped, such as in basements, garages and underneath vehicles. Lost pets often hide during the day, so be sure to go out at night with a flashlight to call for them, as well.
- Check with your local shelters every single day! Call them, as well as visit the shelters to search for your pet yourself. Some animals are difficult to describe over the phone, and only you really know what your pet looks like.
- Food can lure a hungry and scared pet to you.
- Call all animal control agencies in your town and surrounding areas. Animal control officers work through the police department and pick up stray animals. Call them or check their shelters at least every two days.
- Use your pet’s photo to make “lost pet” signs. Put them up in your neighborhood and in post offices, libraries, pet supply stores, veterinary offices, and grocery stores. Inform your veterinarian and groomer that your pet is lost in case they receive a call.
- Visit the websites of national locator services and register your pet as lost so they can send out alerts to their large networks: https://www.petfinder.com/ and https://www.pawboost.com and https://
www.petamberalert.com/.
- Post about it on social media! Include a photo, be descriptive, and be sure to leave your contact information.
- Place ads in local newspapers and offer a reward in case someone found your untagged pet and was thinking of keeping them.
- Watch the found ads. Respond to any that might be close to your pet’s description. A week of wandering the streets can make white pets look drab gray, and the ad’s description might not exactly fit.
- Call local radio stations. Some radio stations will broadcast lost pet information for free. Give them very detailed information on where your pet was lost, his description, and how to contact you.
- Put up signs on street lights in your neighborhood and asking neighbors to check their sheds, cars, etc.
- Remember that pets wearing ID tags increase their chances of finding their way back home.
- If you're not already a member of the NextDoor app, then download it and find your neighborhood - leave a post for neighbors to see and help out!
- If you lost a feline, then try leaving their litter box and a few toys outside in your front and backyard to increase the chances maybe they smell their own scent
Always keep your pets SAFE and LOVED. Good luck!
-Meows, woofs & purrs
