(1) Do Not Delay! It is essential to begin looking for your lost pet immediately (not three days later, not two weeks later, but NOW). D not wait and just hope your furry family member will find it's way home, because every hour they are out there is a chance they will be injured or wander further from home.
(2) Contact Animal Control right away. This would be the facility which handles lost and found pets/stray animals in your county or city. Visit their website to file a missing pet report, email them a flyer and follow up via phone call and visit. In addition, also contact all other shelters, humane society organizations, SPCA, etc., in your local area and check them daily in person. NOTE: the local SPCA in your area may not be the one which handles animal control/strays, thus the importance of contacting the correct agency).
(3) Make Posters, Flyers and Signage. Create a missing pet flyer which includes a photo and essential details such as city, state, a cross street or nearby landmark for reference, animal description, and your contact info/phone number, then distribute these everywhere you can within a two mile radius. Find templates and free links for posters here - Making Signs And Flyers For Your Missing Pet Search.
(4) Use Scent Items. Articles such as your clothes and the pet's bedding will offer familiar smells to help them navigate home. Place socks, a t-shirt you have worn, or bedsheets cut into strips, around the house and yard where the animal was last seen.
(5) Understand Lost Animal Behavior. It is essential to realize that a fearful or skittish pet in "survival mode" will often run from people, even their own family members! Never chase a scared animal as it may panic and run from you, which can drive them into dangerous areas of traffic. For more information, read "Why Not to Chase a Lost Dog".
(6) Tag Your Vehicle. Use glass markers to create a mobile billboard on your vehicle windows; tape flyers to the side and read windows (not obstructing your view of course), and use glass markers to write LOST DOG in big letters with your phone number. This makes your information very visible to the neighbors and local residents as you are driving around. See more at "Tagging Your Car".
(7) Get the Word Out! Make sure your Facebook posts are set to “public” so others can see and help share. Change your profile and cover photo to the missing pet flyer and ask your friends to do the same. Tag everyone you know in the nearby area, and launch a Facebook page to raise awareness about your search effort.
(8) Ask for Volunteers. Recruit friends who can help walk the neighborhood, hand out and distribute flyers, visit area businesses, talk to neighbors, etc. This step of delegating tasks to your helpers will really pay off, as a full-scale recovery and search effort is a lot of work.
(9) Order a Lost Pet Alert. There are several services (depending upon your area), such as FindToto and Home Again Pet Rescue which will contact nearby homes. Visit their websites to add your lost pet listing and location which will then target specific neighborhoods and nearby streets.
(10) Walk And Talk! "Feet on the street" is the best way to get sightings while speaking with neighbors and residents. Organize your volunteers to go door to door speaking with residents as quite often folks will remember a sighting of your lost pet when engaged in person. Hand out flyers to everyone you see and encourage them to call immediately.
(11) Make Signs. Creating brightly colored posters and yard signs to place at nearby intersections is another tool to gather sightings and information. Be sure and post one in your front yard in case anyone spots a running dog and can easily locate you to share updates. Read this important note about signage and "Intersection Alerts".
(12) Diversify Your Efforts. Your goal is to reach as many people as possible (within the first 24 - 48 hours, as quickly as possible. Distribute flyers in person to nearby vet offices, groomers, feed stores, local delivery people such as UPS, Fedex, etc. Contact community organizations, local police and fire departments, your homeowners association, etc., saturating the area within a two mile radius.
(13) Stay in Touch! Monitor online postings you have put on social media for updates or comments asking for additional information. Follow up with shares on your posts, as people may leave comments with sightings on other pages, and keep updating details of your efforts on your own Facebook profile. Once your pet is found, remember to go back to all these sites to update and cancel the listings.
Sincerely,
Lost Pet PR - Delmarva's Original Lost & Found Pet Network
Lost Pet PR - Delmarva's Original Lost & Found Pet Network
"Reuniting Families Since 2011
Lost Pet PR was established in 2011 to assist pet parents on the Delmarva Peninsula; Sussex County (DE), the lower eastern shore of Maryland, and Accomack & Northampton Counties in Virginia. Connect with us on social media!
