How To Find A Lost Cat Or Dog

Article written and edited by Barbara Turner, MABCR Volunteer

Things You Can Do

Walk the neighborhood, talk to everybody, and leave your phone number. Go to each house in the area where your pet was lost and talk to the residents. Write down a description of your lost pet and a picture, include your phone number and leave it with them. Leave it attached to their door if they are not home.
Talk to everybody you run across, includes the postman, paperboy, delivery people, children, parents waiting at the school bus stop, school crossing guards, neighborhood crime watch groups, garbage pick-up crews, etc. Give them a written description of your pet and a picture and your phone number as well. Try to get all the neighborhood children involved.
Call local veterinarian offices during the day. After 5 PM, call veterinarian emergency clinics. Find out if your pet was injured and taken to any of these offices or clinics for treatment. If an office has taken in or treated any animal that even remotely resembles your pet, visit the offices in person. Your description of your pet and their description of the same pet rarely match.
Visit your local Animal Control, humane societies, and animal shelters, including the ones in surrounding areas. You must actually visit the animal control and humane shelters every day or two. Again, your description of your pet and their description rarely match. Leave a picture of your pet and your phone number at each shelter. Befriend them. Find out the holding period of each animal control and humane shelter. Be aware of how much time you have to claim your pet before it is euthanized! Government Animal Control agencies usually keep an animal for only 3 days and then they either adopt it out or kill it. You only get one chance at this. Be there!
Also ask them for the phone numbers of local rescue organizations. They generally keep a list. Call each of the rescue organizations and ask for their help and find out if they have your pet. These groups generally network with each other and will pass the word about your case. Usually there are smaller pet rescue groups that work with the local humane shelter. They often take pets from the shelter to save them from euthanasia and adopt them out to new homes. Call the rescue groups regularly to see if they have your pet.
Call your local Kennel Clubs and Breed Clubs to pass the word about your lost pet to their members, friends and families. Get the information out to as many people as possible.
Find out if your pet has been killed on the road. This is a very sad but necessary task. Otherwise, you may never know what happened to your pet and it could haunt you for years. The road crews for your local and state department of transportation (DOT) usually pick up dead animals from the roadside and city streets. In some cases Animal Control does this as well. You have to call around and find out which agencies do this service in your area. Be sure to find them all! Dogs are usually picked up within 24 hours, but cats often are not. Call the city, county, and state road crews, Department of Transportation and Animal Control EVERY DAY to see if they have found your pet's body. Make arrangements to visit their offices so you can speak with them face to face. Befriend them and leave a photo of your pet so the road crews can be on the lookout for it. If any of them do not cooperate with your efforts, contact City Hall as a last resort and complain. This usually gets a response. But remember, you will get better results with courteous personal visits. If your pet is wearing an ID tag, the DOT and/or Animal Control agencies should contact you if they find your pet dead along the road. But don't count on it. You must put forth the effort to find out for yourself! Sadly, this section has a higher “find” rate than anything else except posted flyers.
It is extremely important to post MANY flyers about your lost pet within a 1-mile radius of where it was lost. Overall, flyers or posters produce more "finds" than anything else. But don't neglect the rest of the tips! Post the flyers at waist level on telephone poles and at eye level in such places as veterinary offices, pet shops, barber & beauty shops, grocery stores, community bulletin boards, churches, pizza parlors, Laundromats, convenience stores, near schools, and on school bulletin boards.
Place an Ad in your local newspaper. Some will do this for free. Be sure to advertise in the Sunday edition as well as during the week. Also place an ad in any “Penny Saver” type of publications you might have in your area. Check the newspaper “found” ads every day. Most newspapers provide free ads to people who have found lost pets. Also check regularly in any other local publications.
Call in to any radio station local “community bulletin board” or talk type shows.

Important Tips

DO NOT PUT YOUR NAME OR ADDRESS ON YOUR FLYER! If possible, it is best to place a color photo of your pet on each flyer. Use 8-1/2" X 11" fluorescent paper for high visibility. List the date and place your pet was lost, breed of dog or cat, sex, age, weight, color, markings, and your telephone number. Make sure your telephone number & pet photo are large enough that someone driving by would be able to identify your pet and read the numbers and call.
Offer a reward, but don't state the amount.
Make some noise while you walk around the neighborhood! Animals can hear you from great distances.
Have everyone call the pet's name.
If your pet has a favorite "squeaky toy" bring it along and use it to help you make familiar noises.
Use an "Acme Dog Whistle" to get your pet's attention. The high-pitched sound from these whistles can carry up to a mile or more. Cats are attracted to this sound as well as dogs. (Note: this whistle is the "silent" ultrasonic type, but has a simple adjustment that lowers the tone into the human audible range. Use this audible tone when searching for your pet because the sound will carry farther)
Carry a box of your pet's favorite biscuits, chews, or other treats and rattle it loudly while calling your pet's name.
Make any other noise that your pet is familiar with. It's also important to stop regularly, be quiet, and listen for your pet to make a noise in reply.
It is very important to always withhold several identifying marks and characteristics of your lost pet. You may need to use these later to verify that a person has actually found your pet and is not trying to scam you.
Examine your posted flyers frequently and replace the ones that are missing or damaged.
Bring a powerful flashlight (even during daylight hours) for checking in dark spaces. A frightened or injured cat or dog will hide in dark spaces and will not come to you. Use your flashlight for checking under houses and other dark spots. Also check storage sheds, garages, dumpsters, trash cans, and under cars.
Place strong-scented articles outside your home to attract your pet. Animals find their way by scent as well as sound. Sweaty gym socks and jogging suits are great for this!
Place a dog's bedding and favorite toys outside.
Put out some smelly food such as tuna, sardines, or warm, freshly cooked chicken, liver, or other savory meat. Be sure to protect the food if you can, so that other animals don't eat it!

Words of Caution

There are dangerous people in our society who prey upon victims by using "found" pets as a ploy. NEVER respond to a "found" pet contact alone. Take a friend or two along with you. Arrange to meet in a public place. NEVER invite the person to your home unless you happen to know them well.
Beware of money scams. A common one is a person calls you claiming to be a long-haul trucker. He says he picked up your pet and is out of state now. He heard about your ad, flyer, etc. and says he will return your pet if you will pay to ship it home. This person does not have your pet, he is only trying to take your money.
Don't wander around looking for your pet alone, either during the day or at night. Always bring a friend or relative. This is especially important in unfamiliar neighborhoods.
Use the identifying information you have withheld about your pet. Please remember that you should never give out all of the identifying features of your lost pet. If the person who claims to have found your pet cannot describe these features to you, they do not have your pet.

When You Find Your Pet

Go around and collect up all of your old flyers.
Thank everybody who has helped you.

How To Protect Your Pet Now

Safeguard your pets before they are lost by following the common-sense tips below.

Pet-proof your yard fence so your cat or dog will be safely confined. Be sure to check your fence regularly for new escape routes. Keep fence gates securely locked. This is for the safety of both your pet and any visitors (wanted or unwanted).
Never allow your pets to roam free in the neighborhood. Leash them at all times. The same goes for dogs. Always leash them when taking them anywhere. If a dog gets loose in an unfamiliar area its chances of ever finding its way home are practically nil.
Get some good photos of your pet now. Take close-up shots so that details show up well. Keep taking shots until you get a few good ones that really look like your pet. Most snapshots of pets look like any other cat or dog. You want your photos to be unique and your pet to be unmistakable. These photos will be invaluable to you later if your pet is ever lost.
Train your pet (cat or dog) to associate an "Acme Dog Whistle" with pleasant things. Blow the whistle each time just before you feed them. They will then be more likely to come running to you when you use the whistle to find them when they are lost.
Ensure that you can be located if your pet is found. Always keep a collar on your pet with a tag that has your current phone number on it. Always have a current rabies tag and pet license tag attached to your pet's collar. You can be found by the number on the tags. A collar and phone tag are the most important form of ID you can have for your pet.
Talk to your vet about a microchip implant. A chip provides positive and reliable identification for your pet and all modern shelters scan animals for this ID device. Find out which brand of chip is prevalent in your area and go with that one.
Also ask your vet about pet tattoos. They provide positive identification if done correctly. A tattoo is often very difficult to read because hair has grown over it and/or the lost animal is frightened and will not allow inspection. If you do use a tattoo, the best place to apply it is on the inner thigh. Pet thieves have been known to cut off a tattooed ear!
And finally, spay or neuter your pets! Both males and females will be much less likely to wander if they are "fixed." An added benefit is that they will live a longer, happier, healthier life if they are spayed or neutered.

Lost Pet Resources

Lost and Found Hotline

Sponsored by the American Humane Association & U.S. Sprint
(900)535-1515: If you've lost a pet. [Cost: $1.95 per minute]
(800)755-8111: To report finding a pet. [No charge]
[Both lines require a touch-tone phone.]

Pet Line

(800) 564-5704

Report Stolen Pets

(800)STOLEN-PET
(415)453-9984

Pet Detective:

Laura Totis, (410) 236-2788 or (410) 239-4746
Laura is an experienced search-and-rescue dog handler/trainer who has trained her
search dog to trail missing dogs, cats, and other animals. Laura lives and responds to
searches in the Maryland / Washington D.C. areas. She can be reached by phone or by
e-mail: vtotis@carr.org

Original article posted by members of the Seattle Purebred Dog Rescue Group, edited by MABCR with the permission of Janet Legg.

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