What To Do If Your Pet Is Missing

Good pet care includes being informed about what you should do if your pet turns up missing. Our thanks to Charelene Janzen of Independence, Kansas for researching this topic and putting together this nine-point process to follow when you are missing your pet.

Discovering your pet is missing is a terrible feeling, but don't panic. There are steps you can take to help get him/her back, but most important is to TAKE ACTION IMMEDIATELY. The sooner you can spread the word to other people in your area, with your pet's description and the time and location where he was lost, the better chance you have of getting faster results. The worst thing you can do is nothing. Waiting for your pet to come back on its own works occasionally, but not often enough. The odds are much better if you try to find your pet, rather than leaving it all on the dog or cat to find his way home.

1. Call the local police dispatch (non emergency number)

If your pet is a dog and has been missing for a few hours or less, call the local police dispatch number, report him/her missing, and give the dispatcher the description and your phone number. Sometimes people who find a dog call that number first to see if anyone has reported a similar animal missing. The Animal Control Officer will also be notified when he is on duty and he can help identify your pet if one is reported found or running loose that matches your description.

2. Check your neighborhood.

Drive or walk your immediate neighborhood, ask your neighbors and anybody you see if they have seen your pet. Take a picture with you if you have one, and a pen and paper, so you can write down your phone number for the people you talk to in case they do see the pet later. Especially if your pet is a cat, ask your neighbors if they would check any enclosed areas or buildings on their property where an animal could have been accidentally trapped. Post lost notices in the area and wherever you are allowed to post in public places. Again, include a picture of your pet if you have one. If you have recently moved, the pet might be trying to find his/her way back to your former residence, so you might spread the word in that location as well.

3. Check CRITTER CORNER online.

If you live in Southeast Kansas, go to Critter Corner at http://www.sekmarketplace.com/ and check the Found Animals posts. If it has been more than three days since you lost the pet, also check the Animals Needing Homes page because your pet may have been found and put up for adoption by a local shelter. Submit your pet's description to the Lost Animals section (it's free), following the guidelines on the Critter Corner Submit page.

If you have a picture of your pet, you can add it to your post. A picture is an enormous help in matching a lost animal to one that has been found. However, don't wait to post in the Lost Animals section if you don't have a picture immediately available. The Critter Corner administrators can add it to your post later if you email it to them. Critter Corner also has a number of volunteers from each town, called the Lost Animal Posse, who can automatically receive emails of the lost and found posts when they are put on the website. One of them will notify you if they see or find a pet matching your description and location. (If you're not a member of the Lost Animal Posse, please go to http://www.sekmarketplace.com/Lost-Animal-Posse-40098.asp and click the link to sign up. You'll receive a weekly email summarizing all lost and found animals in the area that have been posted to the web site in the last 7 days.)

4. Put a classified ad in your local newspaper.

Call your local newspaper and put a Lost ad in the Classifieds for your pet. Running an ad for a few days isn't very expensive, and will give you a better chance of having someone return your pet. People who find pets often check the newspaper Lost Ads for several days after they find an animal. At a minimum include in your ad where and when your pet was lost, the breed (or mix if you know it), sex, collar and tag info, and your phone number. If your pet is a cat, or is a mixed breed dog, list the size and color too.

Check the Found ads in the newspaper classifieds every day as well, but most people who find a dog or cat don't pay to advertise that they have found one; they just rely on the owner to advertise for the pet. If you are lucky enough to find a description that resembles your pet, call immediately and describe your pet. If you find your pet through a Found ad, please offer to reimburse the very kind person who paid to advertise your pet. If you have lost an expensive or desirable pet, be prepared to show vet records or a picture to prove it is your pet.

5. Call a local radio Open Line and advertise for your pet.

If the local radio station has a program for public call-in ads, call and broadcast the details of your lost pet. KGGF at 690AM is a regional station with an "Open Line” show daily. The show allows free call ins to talk about lost and found animals. People can also advertise animals needing homes as long as they are free. Its best to listen before you call. The number to call is 620-251-6909. If you listen, they will give out an 800 number you can use if you live outside the Coffeyville area. If you're new to the area, Open Line has a huge audience and the AM signal reaches a range, most days, of a 75 to 100 mile radius of Coffeyville. It you listen, they will also give instructions for sending in an Open Line classified. In the classifieds, you pay the station $5.00 to read a 30 word or less messages for two days during the Open Line show.

6. Notify and keep in touch with your local shelter(s)

Call your local shelter as soon as they are open and give them a full description of your pet, including where and when it was lost. Call any shelter within a twenty mile radius of where the animal was lost. People who find a dog in the country sometimes take the dog to a nearby shelter, and it might not be the one you would expect.

When they aren't open, some shelters have answering machines where you can leave the basic information on your pet (speak slowly and clearly, and don't forget to include where and when you lost him). Let them know if he has an ID chip.. If your phone number has changed since the ID chip was inserted, contact the ID Chip Registry and give them a current phone number. As soon as you can, follow up by writing your own post for their bulletin board, include a (small) picture of your pet if you have it, and take it to the shelter and post it. If your pet was wearing an out-of-date ID tag on his collar, you should also include that information in your post for the bulletin board.

Look at the animals they are holding, and check any Found ads on the board while you are there - if the description can even possibly describe your pet, call the number of the person who found the animal and ask. No one is likely to identify a St. Bernard as a Chihuahua, but in the case of cats and mixed breed dogs especially, found and lost descriptions for the same animal may vary drastically. Five people will describe the same animal five different ways, and people make best guesses as to breed, age, and even sex.

Sometimes a person who finds a dog will not turn it into the shelter for several days or even weeks, either because the animal is too shy to let them approach, or because they are reluctant to turn it over to the shelter because they aren't sure what the animal's fate will be. Don't check once and assume that's enough.

Don't rely solely on the shelter to make the connection between your description and your pet, should it be brought into the shelter, especially if you didn't have a picture to go with your Lost post on the bulletin board. YOU are the only person who can positively identify if a found animal is your pet. Shelters try to do a match up, but you need to check the shelter yourself every three days at a maximum – Kansas Law requires a shelter to keep the animal for three full business days, not including the day it was found, to give an owner time to reclaim a pet. After those three days, the animal can legally be euthanized or put up for adoption. People at the shelters feel very bad when someone calls or comes in looking for an animal several days after someone else has adopted an animal from them matching the description of the lost pet. But what is really terrible is to realize the lost pet was probably an animal which was euthanized a few days before because no one had claimed or adopted it and they could no longer keep it at the shelter. If they call you with a possible match, go and check immediately. They are limited by space and can't hold animals indefinitely waiting for you to come by and take an animal home. Remaining in a shelter is also very stressful for your pet.

7. Notify your veterinarian

Call your veterinarian, tell them you have lost your pet, and verify your current phone number with them. If your pet has a rabies tag, the person who found it will probably call them. Ask all the vets in your area if they have a bulletin board where you may post information about your lost pet and a picture. People sometimes turn lost pets into veterinarian practices or even a local pet shop if they can't keep the pet, especially if there is no local shelter. Most vet offices will write up a brief post from the information you give them and post it on their board for you, especially if you can't get into the office immediately to post it yourself.

8. Notify your groomer.

If you take your dog regularly to a groomer, call him/her and report the pet is lost. Sometimes a person who finds a recently-groomed pet will check with local groomers to try to find the owner.

9. Be persistent and don't give up too soon.

Last, but not least - don't give up too soon. The sooner you take steps to help find your pet yourself, the better chance you have of getting him/her back sooner rather than later. It isn't uncommon for people to be reunited with their pets after one or two weeks, and sometimes pets are lost for several weeks before being turned over to a shelter or being returned to their owners. Keep checking the shelter, the newspaper ads, and Critter Corner for recent Found or Animals Needing Homes posts that match your pet's description. The Critter Corner administrators know of several cases where lost pets appeared weeks or even a few months after being lost. It's difficult to know how long to keep up the search, but err on the side of allowing plenty of time.

When you do find your pet, try to notify all the places you have contacted, or where you have posted ads, so they can eliminate them. This will help clear their posting area and stop any further calls to you by someone who thinks they may have found your pet. Be sure to thank everyone for their effort on your behalf, whether or not their actions contributed directly to you finding your pet. Most people love happy endings and will be very happy to learn you have found your pet. If the lost and found story had an interesting twist, or Critter Corner had a substantial role in your success, consider writing up a Letter to Critter Corner and share your experience with others.