Lost Pet Recovery
Have you lost your pet? If so, SearchLAMP may be able to help. More and more, Missing Animal Response Technician and search dog teams are being used to locate missing cats, dogs, and other pets.
For information and assistance, contact Matt, who is a certified MAR Tech. If you are outside the Southwest Michigan area, visit Missing Pet Partnership's website for more information and to locate a MAR Tech and service dog team in your area.
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Time is critical to a successful lost pet recovery. If you have lost a cat or dog, here are some basic tips to help you recover your pet.
• Identification. A collar with an identification tag, and a microchip (available through your veterinarian’s office), can help you recover your missing cat or dog quickly. Even indoor-only cats should wear a breakaway collar with tags.
• Target search area. Search your property and the immediate surrounding area of the pet’s home (or the location where the pet went missing). Get permission from your neighbors to search their yards and look for every possible area where your pet may be hidden or injured. Cats tend to stay within a five-house radius of their home territory, while dogs may wander farther. Be aware that a displaced or injured cat will hide quietly and is unlikely to move about or make noise.
• Humane trap. For lost cats, use a humane trap baited with food, and be prepared to wait for several days (check the trap daily).
• Posters. Put up posters within a three-quarter mile radius of your home. To be effective, make your posters out of the largest sheet of fluorescent poster board you can find. Use a black Magic Marker and write “REWARD” at the top and “LOST DOG” or “LOST CAT” at the bottom. In the center of the poster, glue a sheet of paper with a brief description of your dog and your phone numbers. Use a cell phone to follow up on leads and ask callers to stay on the line to direct you to any sightings.
• Shelters and rescue groups. Contact your local animal control agencies, shelters, humane societies, breed rescue groups (if applicable), and veterinarian offices to report that you have lost a pet. Provide as complete a description of your pet as possible, including where and when the pet was lost, and a contact number where you can be reached. Visit the facilities in person to search for your pet as they may not have the resources to walk through the kennel areas and look for a missing pet.
• Newspaper ads. Place an ad in local and out-of-area newspapers (lost pets, especially dogs, may wander or be transported out of your area). Check the “found pet” ads in the newspapers.
• Internet resources. Take advantage of local lost pet websites and national websites such as www.lostapet.org, www.petfinders.com and www.pets911.com.
• Safety. Never pay out a reward until you have your pet in hand. If someone refuses to hand over your pet until you pay the reward, call the police. Bring another adult with you when you pick up your pet, take along a cell phone, and let other people know exactly where you are going.
• Persistence. Lost and missing pets may be recovered weeks or even months after their disappearance. Keep up your search efforts!
A trained Missing Animal Response Technician and search dog can be helpful in locating a missing cat or dog. To learn more, contact Matt or visit Missing Pet Partnership’s website.
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| SearchLAMP Lost and Missing Pets |
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| Matt and Mandy |
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About SearchLAMP
You've heard of search and rescue dogs being used to find lost and missing people. What you may not know is that trained Missing Animal Response Technician and search dog teams are being used to find missing cats, dogs, and other pets. Seeing this need, I decided to help. I'm Matt Elvin - and yes, I'm a pet detective.
How did that happen?
I've always owned dogs and frequently assist my wife Kelly with her dog training classes. After 14 years of practicing law I decided that I needed and wanted to do something more rewarding. At about the same time I learned about the original pet detective, Kat Albrecht. Kat, a former police officer, runs a non-profit called Missing Pet Partnership and teaches people to become Missing Animal Response (MAR) Technicians. I know from personal experience that pet owners have few places to turn when their animals go missing, so my only question on learning about Kat and her work was why no one had thought of or implemented this idea before.
Today I serve on the board of directors for Missing Pet Partnership, have become a certified MAR Technician, and have trained my black Labrador retriever Mandy to find missing cats. While I am still training Mandy in trailing dog work and she is not yet certified by MPP, we are available for hire to find missing cats and on a volunteer/donation basis to help search for missing dogs. In addition, I have the most up-to-date knowledge regarding lost pet behavior and, even without Mandy’s help, can assist you in recovering your missing cat, dog, ferret, snake, turtle, or bird.
For assistance with finding your missing pet or for more information, contact me. If you are outside the southwest Michigan area, visit Missing Pet Partnership's website for tips on finding your pet and to locate a MAR Tech and search dog team in your area.
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| Mandy finds a cat |
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Found a pet?
First and foremost, think LOST not stray! Assume that the pet’s owner is out there looking for the pet, and don’t assume the pet has been abused or neglected. Even the most beloved cat or dog can escape from a home, yard or car, and a lost pet that is displaced from its home territory is likely to appear shy, fearful, or mistrustful.
Here are some simple steps you can take to help a lost pet find its way home again.
• Contact your local animal control agencies, shelters, humane societies, breed rescue groups (if applicable), and veterinarian offices to report that you have found a pet. Provide a description of the pet, where and when the pet was found, and a contact number where you can be reached.
• Put a “found pet” ad in your local newspaper(s).
• Ask your veterinarian to scan the pet for a microchip.
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