Finding a Missing Pet
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!
