What do if your Pet is Lost?

Search the area, talk to the neighbors and passersby. Walk or drive through the area several times daily. Early morning and evening are the best times to look for a lost pet. Hand out a recent photograph of your pet and information on how you can be reached. Call the pet from YOUR yard only. Walking through neighborhoods calling can confuse the animal and actually make them go further from home as they do not understand that you are not at home.

Post signs in the neighborhood with your pet’s description, a photo, your phone number and information about ID tags. Alert your neighbors that your pet is missing and get them to check in (and under) their sheds, summerhouses, shrubs and bushes. If you know a neighbor is on holiday, try and find out if they have left a key with someone so that their garden can be checked.

Also, if you have recently moved and your cat has gone missing, do go back to your old address. Cats have been known to wander miles in order to get back to their own home.

If you live in a rural area, contact local farms and stables. Some may have small colonies of dogs and/or cats living together – see if they have noticed a newcomer.

IMPORTANT:When checking gardens and sheds etc, remember that animals love to hide in bushes and dark places, so don't just call your pet's name, look thoroughly!

Print off or get the best color photocopy possible.For posters that will be outside, try mounting them on hardboard and covering them with a plastic to protect them against the elements.

Enlist friends to help you post them through the area, put in shop windows, vets, and post on telephone post, bus stops, park benches ...anywhere where groups of people frequent. Remember it is illegal to place any flyer in a U.S. Mailbox so attach to post or stick in doors.

Put posters in business windows in your town as well as any nearby towns - it is likely your pet will travel to the next town.

Give flyers to postal workers in the area or at your local Post Office if they will take them. Remember, every town will have several postmen or women. Try to reach all of them as they are working to give them the flyers and ask them to help. They will have a good chance of spotting lost pets since they are always out driving the areas.

Think about where you would go if you were your pet and you were lost and put up posters in the area - for instance cats love building sites - is there a new development being built near you? Rabbits and rodents will head for somewhere quiet, warm and sheltered - is there a park nearby?

IMPORTANT: Do not actively ask local children to help you look for your pet - you will waste valuable time going to a spot where your black and white missing cat has been sighted, only to find a tabby! Also, children can get excitable and groups of them looking for a pet can frighten it. If it still is in the neighborhood, it may be too scared to come out from where it is hiding. Also, this is often used as a ploy to entice children away from safe areas and might be misconstrued by a concerned parent.

Put the signs in grocery stores, local Petsmart or other neighborhood pet stores, community centers, veterinary offices and other high traffic locations.

Place advertisements in newspapers and with radio stations. Include your pet’s sex, age, weight, breed, color and special markings - but leave out one identifying characteristic so you can ask callers to describe it. If your pet is insured, depending on the type of policy you have, your insurers may be able to assist you financially with advertising costs.

Widen your search: If you do not know how long your pet has been gone, he may have had time to stray a long way from home. Animals can cover a lot of ground when they are chasing something or being chased. File a lost-pet report with every shelter within a 60-mile radius of your home and visit the nearest shelters daily, if possible. Even if they say your pet is not there, go and see for yourself. Check repeatedly. New animals come in every day. If there is no shelter in your community, give the local police an accurate description and recent photograph of your pet.

SOME SUGGESTIONS WHEN CONTACTING ORGANIZATIONS

When telephoning, emailing or faxing the organizations, it is imperative you give as much information as possible:Give the species, breed, size, sex, color, name and where it was lost and last seen. If they have any distinctive markings – such as a black spot on their face – make sure you highlight this
State whether your pet was wearing a collar.
Give your name and telephone number (home, mobile, work) in case they find your pet
If applicable, give details of any medication required
Also let them know if your pet has any traits: e.i., are they very nervous?
Wherever possible, get a photograph to them

Important: Losing a pet is a distressing experience - when contacting these organizations, make a note against each one as to who you spoke to/emailed etc so as not to duplicate the effort. When you call them back for an update, it also gives you more credibility.

Contact the police immediately if you believe your pet was stolen.

The Internet can be of some use in helping track down a lost pet, although its search is wide and random. The Humane Society recommends trying a United States Department of Agriculture Web site (www.missingpet.net) called USDA Missing Pet Network that connects you to a notice board for missing and found pets in your state.

Don’t give up your search. Animals who have been lost for months have been reunited with their owners.

Walk and drive the local and surrounding areas where you think your pet may be and ask friends and relatives to help. Bring a toy to squeak (if it is a dog) or a tempting treat for a cat or rabbit. Carry a flashlight and, depending on what pet you have, a carry case or collar and lead.

Take another photo of them with you too, (not the one on the poster), to show people - like humans, pets can look completely unlike their photo, so being able to show two pictures (the poster and another one) is better than one!

Respond immediately to any 'phone calls regarding sightings. Some people may call and say they saw your pet "a few hours ago" and though he or she may have moved on, you should still check that area anyway. It's a clue to where he/she might be.

Pets can get very disorientated and can travel for miles trying to get home, so, if after a weeks you have heard nothing, extend the area where you are searching.

IMPORTANT: Keep a note of all sightings of your pet, including dates and times and details of who contacted you, written down. It could prove useful in preempting where your pet is likely to go to next.

Most people are especially sensitive to those who have lost pets. Unfortunately, some are not’t, and a variety of scams have sprung up to exploit unsuspecting pet owners. Here are a few guidelines:

Be careful when placing lost-and-found notices: Give enough of a description so your pet can be recognized, but, again, hold back information about an identifying characteristic that will allow you to verify whether or not a person actually has your animal. Once a person has a description of your pet, they may use that information for their own gains.

When someone calls saying they’have found your pet, take some precautions. Ask the person for a description of the animal that they have found without providing them any information. Do not answer their questions about your pet’s description. Ask them to describe your pet in every detail. If a person has your pet and is sincere, they will be eager to describe him and give him back to you without asking for anything in return.

If your pet was wearing a collar and I.D. tag, ask about it without disclosing any details. If the caller asks for information, wants to meet you at an obscure location or immediately asks for money for the animal’s return, be cautious. It may be time for you to call the police.

One ploy that is fairly common is called the “trucker scam.” Someone will call and say they have found your pet. “He must have hopped in my truck at the rest stop. I didn't’t even realize he had fallen asleep in the back. I am 200 miles from you now. Please send me some money so that I can drive him back to you,” the caller usually will say.

You send them a check and never hear from them again. What happened? The scammer picked up your lost-and-found ad and has called your number and described your pet from your write-up.

Remember: People who have actually found lost pets usually do not want anything but to help you get him back. If the finder is not willing to return your pet without a reward, be suspicious. Ask the finder to deliver your animal to you for the reward. If they refuse, they probably do not have your pet. If the person talks ransom, ask for their phone number so you can get back to them. Then call the police, who will tell you how to proceed. If the caller won’t give you their phone number, they probably do not have your pet.

THE BEST PLAN OF COURSE IS TO KEEP YOUR PET SAFE

For micro chipped pets, double-check they have your correct contact details.

Fence your yard making sure the gate is closed after people come and go.

Don’t leave your animal outside when you’re gone for long periods of time.

If you are gone for long time, leave your pet with a responsible person.

Walk your dog on a leash so he doesn’t wander off.

Make a copy of your pet’s rabies tag so you always have the numbers close at hand. Write your phone number on his tag, and take a good photo of your pet. Make sure you take them often as animals, like humans tend to change in appearance. A different haircut makes for a different animal.

LAST BUT NOT LEAST

Contact an Animal Communicator that is well known for their skills. The sooner you make this contact, the easier it is to locate said animal.

Picture in your mind a big beacon (similar to a lighthouse), or a beam of light shooting straight up (similar to the powerful lights used at night to announce a grand opening or event). Picture this light coming from your house and it is showing your animal the way back home. Visualize the beacon circling 360 degrees, searching for and reaching out to your animal. Imagine that your animal friend can "see" this light in his or her mind too. Intent is the most important part of this technique, so don't worry if you can't "see" such a light in your mind's eye. Just pretend that you can. Periodically reaffirm this intention by picturing the beacon or beam of light.

Talk out loud to a photograph of your animal friend. Tell them that you love them, you miss them, and anything else you want them to know. Ask that they return to you as soon as possible. Ask them to watch for the light and to follow it back home. Ask them to be safe and careful in returning, especially around roads and traffic. Respect their right to make decisions; ask, don't command.

Imagine a love cord connecting your heart to your animal's heart. See this cord in your mind's eye. Have the intention that this cord keeps you connected to each other, and will help draw the animal back to you.

Let go and let God or trust. You have put the energy into motion, now trust that it is working. Trust that the highest and best good will occur for all concerned. Accept that the "highest and best good for all concerned" does not always match our desires. If you believe in a higher power, call on a it, and on St. Francis of Assisi, the Patron Saint of Animals, for assistance with the situation. Remember that animals also have higher callings and sometimes it is their destiny to move on to help another. If this is the case, please try to love them, bless them and let them go.