The Pet Sit Blog

Tips for Finding a Lost Pet

October 1, 2009

Posted in: Uncategorized

Did you know that The Humane Society of the United States (HSUS) estimates 6-8 million animals enter shelters each year?  And of those, only about 30 percent of dogs and less than five percent of cars are reunited with their owners?

The HSUS recommends following these steps to help increase the chance that you and your pet will be reunited if the unthinkable ever happens and your pet becomes lost:

• Contact local animal shelters and animal control agencies.  File a lost pet report with every shelter within a 60-mile radius of your home and visit the nearest shelters daily.  Provide these agencies with an accurate description and a recent photograph of your pet.
• Search the neighborhood.  Walk or drive through your neighborhood several times each day.  Ask neighbors, letter carriers and delivery people if they have seen your pet.  Hand out a recent photograph of your pet and information on how you can be reached if your pet is found.
• Advertise. Post notices at grocery stores, community centers, veterinary offices, traffic intersections, pet supply stores and other locations.  Also, place advertisements in newspapers and with radio stations.  Include your pet’s sex, age, weight, breed, color and any special markings. When describing your pet, leave out one identifying characteristic and ask the person who finds your pet to describe it.
• Be wary of pet-recovery scams. When talking to a stranger who claims to have found your pet, ask him to describe the pet thoroughly before you offer any information.  If he does not include the identifying characteristic you left out of the advertisement, he may not really have your pet. Be particularly wary of people who insist that you give or wire them money for the return of your pet.
• Don’t give yo your search. Animals who have been lost for months have been reunited with their owners.

A pet, even an indoor pet, has a better chance of being returned if he/she wears a collar and an ID tag with your name, address and telephone number. Ask your local animal shelter or veterinarian if permanent methods of identifications (such as microchips) are available in your area.

Reprinted by permission of The Human Society of the United States.