You have no idea what happened. You come home from work and your dog is not in the yard. Your pet-sitter calls when you’re on a trip to tell you your pet ran away. You’re in a car crash, your pet is thrown free, your pet disappears. These nightmares and many others can happen so easily.
How can you find your pet when you don’t know where he’s gone?
From the moment you realize that your pet is lost, the faster you act, the better. Refer immediately to your emergency list (Before Your Pet Is Lost) and start calling: (1) family, friends, and neighbors—use that “phone tree” to get the word out; (2) animal control and all shelters in the vicinity to report all you know about the pet and where/when the pet was last seen; (3) local police if you were traveling with the pet; (4) Highway Patrol or whatever authority was at the scene if you’ve had an auto accident.
If your pet disappears from your yard, you have no way to know if the pet got out on his own or, worse yet, if the pet has been stolen. Make a quick check of the premises to determine if perhaps your pet dug a hole under or managed to climb over a fence. Should you find signs of an escape, a least you can be fairly sure your pet has not been stolen, which is good to rule out. If you think the pet has gone walkabout on its own, immediately contact your neighbors to find out if anyone saw the pet out loose to determine which direction the pet might have gone, and to enlist their help.
Print flyers, adding to the information you’ve already saved (Before Your Pet Is Lost) as much as you know about when the pet escaped, what he was wearing when it happened (describe collar and ID tags, for example), and what direction he might be heading, if you have any idea. Hand out those flyers in person to all of your neighbors, talking to those who are home. Ask your neighbors to post copies of your flyer on their car windows if they have vehicles parked outside. Post flyers anywhere you’re allowed to, including on bulletin boards or in the windows of local businesses.
Park your own vehicle/s on the street in front of your house and put your flyers in the windows. Make sure your neighbors—especially the neighborhood children—know it’s okay to call you or contact you at any time with any information they may have, even if it’s only, “We heard barking around the corner.” Keep notes on the information you get. You may start to see a pattern that indicates where your pet is headed or where your pet seems to be hanging out. Go to that area, talk to the residents, post more flyers wherever it’s allowed. Involve anyone who wants to help; give everyone a job to do.
Post on social media as soon as possible—local sites for lost pets, neighborhood groups, pages for local pet supply stores, veterinary clinics, shelters—and on your own Facebook page, of course. I have most often seen pets returned to their owners locally as a result of ads on Craigslist, so don’t forget that. Be prepared for the usual scammers and social misfits to bug you—maybe even to berate you for losing your pet. Triage the messages so real information, not online harassment, is what you deal with first.
Don’t forget, wherever you post, make your headline clear. Indicate where the loss occurred (LOST DOG—OURTOWN, STATE, near BIGCITY, STATE) so your information can be shared appropriately by folks in that particular area only. Make it easy for people to contact you!
Remember that you owe everyone who posted a flyer or shared your information a big favor. Once your pet has been found, notify everyone who’s helped you. (It’s discouraging to think you might have spotted a lost pet, only to find out the animal you’re trying to help was found a week ago.) Keep a list of who you’ve contacted; use that list to phone, e-mail, or post online when your pet is found. Take down your flyers! Thank everyone who helped, if you possibly can. By doing that, you’re encouraging them to keep an eye out the next time they see a lost pet flyer. And that, my friends, is a very good thing!
Next week, I’ll share some suggestions for “capturing” a pet who’s lost in an unfamiliar place, a pet who’s been gone longer than a few hours, and a pet who is shy or fearful of approach.
