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Lost & Found Pets
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Categories:
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Now What?
Below are a few suggestion on things you can do to help
bring your beloved pet home:
Knock
on doors and talk to
people in the neighborhood. Most people walk the streets around their
home and just call their pet. People who knock on their neighbor's
doors and ask if anyone has seen their pet instead of just calling are
more likely to find it. You might even print up your name and phone
number to leave as a type of calling card in case they happen to see
your pet later.
Hand out fliers
with your
pet's picture and your phone number. Fliers need to have a clear photo
of the animal and a telephone number that someone will answer or that
is hooked to an answering machine.
Visit all the local shelters and the government agencies
charged with picking up stray and lost animals and look for yourself, at
least every other day.
Calling the animal control department or
shelter on the phone is
not usually effective. Your pet may not yet be listed in the records at
the front desk, and the way you describe your pet may not be the way a
shelter describes your dog. Any animal may become dirty, matted and
neglected looking very quickly. You should visit the shelter
personally, even if your pet was wearing tags when it was lost.
Visit the
shelters at least every other day. Few shelters can keep
animals for more than 72 hours. Sometimes it takes more than a few days
for a pet to be picked up and brought to a shelter.
It's
important to visit all the shelters within 20 miles of where
your pet was lost. In many areas stray animals are picked up by a
government agency which holds them for a period and then turns them
over to a shelter. If someone took your pet in for a few days hoping
you would knock on their door and ask about it, they might later drop
your pet off at the shelter that's most convenient for them, rather the
one that's closest to you.
What
to do next...
Unfortunately, the next most successful way of
finding a lost animal
is through checking the with the highway departments and the shelters'
dead lists. Even if your pet is wearing tags and the highway
maintenance department is supposed to send a list to animal control,
you should check with them directly.
There are usually several
departments that cover roads in your area.
You'll need to check city or town, county and state roads departments,
as well as the animal control agencies. Pictures or a copy of your
flier should be left with each department. Again, calling is seldom
successful, and actually visiting the department is best. You should
check back weekly.
Put an ad in the local paper,
and in the papers in surrounding areas. Some people only look in the
newspaper to locate an animal's owner. Advertising in the paper can
also be important to establish you were actively looking for your pet
in case someone were to claim it you meant to give it up or didn't want
it.
Ask businesses for
permission to post your flyer. Good types of
businesses are gas stations, fast food restaurants, laundry mats,
convenience and grocery stores. Ask if you can put a copy of your flier
up in the pet food aisle. If someone picks up your animal and holds it
for a few days hoping you will find them, they will need food.
Contact local rescue organizations
and
give
them copies of your flier. People who are afraid animals will be
euthanized if they turn them over to the shelter might contact a
rescue, and rescue people often go through local shelters looking for
animals they can help place in new homes. Ask the shelters if they know
of anyone doing rescue in the area, even if they don't work with them.
Give copies of your flier to veterinarians,
groomers, trainers and pet stores and ask them to put them up.
Give copies of your flier to people that walk their dogs in the
area. They're more likely to spot animals than most people. If you go
to the parks early, you may find people who regularly walk their dogs
together as an informal group.
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