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It is unfortunate that you have lost your pet. A year ago I found myself with the same
problem, but with a little help and some good advice I was lucky enough to recover my cat.
Shortly afterwards I spent a lot of time talking with other pet owners, veterinarians and
pet finders to identify the most effective steps a pet owner can take to recover their
animal.
Take a moment to read the tips in each of the sections to determine the best approach you should take to recover your pet. As you start your search remember do not be shy, your pet is important. Act immediately and boldly and increase your chances of recovering your pet.
The first thing you should do when you discover that your pet is absent is secure your house and yard. This may seem a little like locking the barn after the horse is gone, but I assure you that this is not the case. Oftentimes, your pet may be simply be hiding under a sofa or behind a flower bed. I had a neighbor who thought they had lost their small dog. She got so excited that she ran out of the house and left the rear door open. While she was conducting a search two blocks down the street, her dog, who had been asleep in the closet, walked out the open door and began heading off in the opposite direction.
Most pets are recovered within 2 miles of their home so the first place to begin looking is within your own neighborhood. When your pet got out of the house it did not have a destination in mind. So like most people with nowhere particular to go, it will probably wander around for a while exploring the area near its home. Your priority will be to search your neighborhood as quickly and thoroughly as possible.
You can only cover so much of this ground yourself so your first action should be to look for some help from your neighbors. Most people have a warm spot in their hearts for pets and will be eager to help you in any way they can.
Begin canvassing the neighborhood where you lost your pet by approaching adults and describing your pet. A picture helps, so if you have a recent photograph of your pet you should bring it along. If you do not have a picture and your pet is a pure bred, get a picture of the breed from a book or magazine and show that one. A picture is truly worth a thousand words and a color picture is worth more.
If you live in a neighborhood with children you should try to get them involved in the search. Always get permission from their parents first. You may also want to offer a small reward for the child that finds your pet.
Take some open canned food with you or an especially smelly treat such as tuna fish. When a pet gets lost, it is usually frightened. A cat up a tree or under a car may not come when its name is called, but will respond to food. Use the word you usually employ to let your pet know it's dinner time. Mine is "num nums" and it works every time.
One of the first people you should call is your local police department. Most cities will have an Animal Rescue department within the police or fire department. If someone sees a stray pet in their yard they will often call the police first and ask for assistance in removing the pet.
Assuming that you have not been successful with your immediate search your next step is to start posting signs. Lets review a couple of rules that you should follow. First you should post the sign in manner that will provide it the most exposure. Look for street corners that get a lot of foot and auto traffic. You should try to post the sign near the road so that both pedestrian and motor traffic can view it.
If you regularly walk your dog, post signs along the route you usually travel. Your pet is familiar with this trail and may cross it several times in its journey.
Utility Poles Generally speaking, utility companies do not allow private messages to be posted on their poles. I have found that these utility companies are more tolerant when you post a LOST CAT or LOST DOG sign. It's worth a try.
Check the utility pole regularly as they have people who regularly clear the poles of signs. I just reposted my signs where they stayed for about a month before being removed again. (My turtle was lost for 6 weeks before being recovered. All of that time, he was in the adjacent neighbors' yard and was recovered by another neighbor who spotted him when mailing a letter).Trees Before you post your Lost Dog or Lost Cat sign on a tree, ask the owner for permission and assure him that you will not nail the sign to the tree. I punched holes in the corners of your signs and included string in the Retrieval Kit to assist you in this circumstance.
Veterinarian Veterinarians almost always have bulletin boards where they allow people to post notices for lost or found animals or animals for sale. You should visit any veterinarians or animal hospitals in your immediate area and let the personnel know of your loss. Oftentimes, people will bring in an injured animal to a veterinarian posing as the owner. These folks don't return to claim the pet figuring it is in good hands. The veterinarian will be more than happy to locate the owner to recover his expenses.
Grocery Store Bulletin Boards Most grocery stores also have bulletin boards available to their customers and it has been proven that most people use the grocery store closest to their home. Just be sure to follow the rules and check with the manager first. Large grocery stores may limit the size of your notice to a 3 x 5 card. If this is the case, cut one of the enclosed signs into a 3 x 5 size leaving a red border at the top. Mark LOST DOG or LOST CAT in bold letters at the top and complete the description in smaller print.
Pet Shops People who notice that a pet may be lost usually have pets of their own and may therefore, frequent a pet store. Use the pet shop bulletin board, if they have one or ask the owner to place your sign in their window.
It pays to advertise. In fact, the first thing many people do when they find a lost animal that is unidentified is check the Lost & Found column in their local paper. Pets can wander great distances in their confusion and the finder may not have seen any of your signs.
Newspapers If you live in a large city, you may want to advertise in the city newspaper. As stated earlier, your pet may have wandered quite a distance. Local newspapers are not received by everyone, but they are cheaper and most likely cover the area where your pet was lost. Be sure to look in the Found column of the local newspapers yourself. Many newspapers offer free ads in their found columns. If someone has found your pet, they may choose to advertise to locate the owner.
School Papers Some school newspapers accept advertising. If this is the case in the area where you lost your pet, do consider advertising in the school newspaper. Not only will you be giving money to a good cause but children are very observant and are a good source for recovering your pet.
Check all the animal shelters in your area and beyond. Not only is there a chance of your animal wandering a great distance, but if someone finds your pet they may turn him or her in to a shelter near their home and not where they found your pet. Check the shelter every second or third day as pets are brought in regularly and personnel changes. Take a pro-active approach and do not depend on the people there to watch out for you. Don't worry about being a pest. After all, a member of your family is missing!
If you have placed an ad in the newspapers, you might be contacted by professional pet finder services. If you are, make sure to check credentials. Most of these people are legitimate but many are not. Find out exactly what they plan to do for you. What can they do that you have not already done by yourself following these directions?
Now that you have recovered you pet and hopefully recovered yourself go back and remove all the signs that you have posted. Kindly thank all the businesses and neighbors that allowed you to put signs in their windows and on their trees. A note or small token is not out of line. If you have placed ads to run for any length of time, cancel those and ask for a rebate if possible.
All pets should wear a name tag with the your phone number or the phone number of a recovery service - even for house pets. That's precisely how I recovered my cat. My abyssinian cat was not allowed outdoors but sneaked out anyway. Because he was wearing a tag with my phone number, I received a call and that's how I got him back. Prevention is the most effective cure.
How did the pet escape in the first place? Repair fences and mend any escape routes. You don't want to go through this again if you can help it.