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How to Find a Lost Pet

How to Find a Lost Pet

Losing your pet dog or cat can be one of the most heart-wrenching events you could go through as a pet parent. While being prepared can help prevent your pet from being lost for too long, knowing where to start your search will help you be reunited more quickly.

Where to start if your pet is missing

If your pet ever becomes lost, a quick and active search is your best bet for a happy reunion. Be persistent, be optimistic and be proactive. There are many instances of pet parents who, after months of dedicated searching, are finally reunited with their lost pets. Ideas on where to begin your search:

  • Share photos: Always have a recent photo of your pet to show your neighbors, mail carriers, meter readers and gardeners. You can also use this photo to create signs to hang in your neighborhood as well as post on social media or neighborhood apps to notify your local area of your pet that is missing.
  • Create signs: Use big dark letters on a light background. Keep the information short and easy to read while driving, including a photo if possible. Something along the lines of "Lost Pet: Big Brown Dog 555-1212." Post them on your street, major cross-streets, schools, veterinary clinics, Petco stores, boarding, grooming and training kennels and talk to the staff so they'll remember you.
  • Begin a foot-search: A two-mile radius of your home is a good area, paying particular attention to sheds, abandoned buildings and any hiding spaces your frightened pet may have stowed away in. Recruiting your family and any neighbors will help you cover a larger area more quickly. Bring your pet’s favorite treats so you can help lure them out of anywhere they may be hiding.
  • Post on social media: Using your social network profiles to share information about lost pets can also be helpful in spreading the word virtually while you’re out physically searching.
  • Ads and rewards: Think about placing ads in your local newspapers or on radio or TV stations. Many of these sources often have a free "lost and found" section. You can also offer an incentive for the pet's safe return.
  • Check in with local organizations: Check local animal shelters, veterinarians, emergency clinics, local rescue groups and the laboratory animal department of local universities and hospitals. File a report with each location and continue checking each. Going to these locations in person is the best way to positively identify your pet and visiting them every other day is best way to do so quickly.
  • Use Petco Love Lost: Petco Love Lost is a searchable national database that uses patented facial recognition technology to find lost pets more quickly and easily. If you have lost a pet, immediately upload an image of your pet to the Petco Love Lost database and it will scan the system for your pet.
  • Log onto petfinder.com: Place a free Lost Pet classified ad on the site and frequently check ads placed by people who have found pets. While you can use this site to search local shelters, it may take several days for a shelter to post a newly found pet.
  • File a notice with your microchip company: If your pet has been microchipped, login to your account and post an update in case a vet or shelter finds your pet.

If you have any reason to think your pet may have been stolen, contact the police immediately and file a report.

Protecting your pet from getting lost

While swift action after your pet is lost can help get them found faster, taking steps to reduce the risk of them becoming lost in the first place is ideal. To keep your pet from wandering away, follow these simple recommendations:

  • When outside always keep your pet on a leash or in a confined area like a fenced yard so your pet doesn’t become distracted or confused and run off
  • Train your pet to not go through open doors and gates until you have given them verbal permission to, so they do not leave on their own accord
  • Practice recall cues like “come” so that if your pet does break free from their leash or a fenced area, you feel confident they will return to you instead of running off
  • Never leave your pet outside at night or tied up unattended where they may slip away or potentially be stolen

Since accidents still may happen and your pet may slip out of your site, your best bet to getting your pet home soon is making sure your they have current identification at all times.

The importance of pet identification

Taking the time to update ID tags or getting your pet microchipped (and keeping the microchip information up to date) is a relatively easy step that can make a big difference if your pet ever becomes lost.

Pet name tags

This old standby is one of the most popular and economical ways of identifying your pet. An ID tag with their name and your contact information should always be securely attached to a collar and worn around your pet’s neck. This lessens the possibility that your pet will be taken to the local pound or shelter when found.

Although this ID option is the cheapest and most popular, it’s not uncommon for collars to slip off of your pet or become stuck on a fence or branch, so always make sure your pet’s collar and ID tags are secured properly. Pet parents should periodically check the information to make sure it’s still legible as a heavily scratched ID tag is as good as no tag at all.

Microchipping your pet

About the size of a grain of rice, microchips are inserted beneath your pet’s skin by a veterinarian. These microchips contain contact information, so you can be reunited with your pet.

To ensure a speedy reunion, it’s important for pet parents to periodically verify the information kept on the chip is up to date. You can visit a Petco for a free microchip check or login to your pet’s microchip account to check on the accuracy of the information. While microchips are not a replacement for your pet also having an ID tag, they can be beneficial if your pet slips out of their collar.

Pet tattoos

While ID tattoos are a bit unconventional, and it isn’t recommended to have your pet get one if they don’t have one already, some pets have one when they first come home with their pet parent. Keeping this information available can help your pet readily be identified, but doesn’t help in contacting you if someone finds your pet. So, even if your adopted pup came with an identifiable tattoo having them microchipped and with an up-to-date ID tag can help ensure you’re contacted as soon as possible with the whereabouts of your pet.

What to do if you find a lost pet

Just like you know you’d want to be reunited with your pet quickly, if you find a lost pet, you’ll want to take immediate steps so they’re reunited with their family as soon as possible. However, there are a few things to consider if you find an animal out on their own:

  • Always be careful when approaching an unfamiliar pet. If they seem afraid or backs away as you approach, stop and let the pet come to you or call Animal Control for help.
  • Never go near a strange animal that is caring for their young. Animals instinctively protect their young from strangers, and even normally friendly pets can become aggressive.
  • If you spot baby animals, like kittens, never take them from where they are as their mother may be coming back for them. Call your local Humane society or Animal Control for tips on how to handle.
  • Keep unfamiliar pets separate from any of your own pets for the both their safety.
  • Upload the pet to the Petco Love Lost database, a searchable national database that uses patented facial recognition technology to help you get them home.
  • Call your local animal shelter and report that you have found a stray animal. They will either create a report while you care for the animal, or have you bring the pet in so the parents know where to find it.
  • Create a post on social media or a local neighborhood app so those in your area are notified of the type of pet you found (pictures are helpful!). Even if you only saw the pet running, it could give searchers a clue of where to look next.
  • Post flyers in your neighborhood and check with your neighbors to see if they may know the pet parent.

If you want to adopt the pet you’ve found, never simply keep it, and be sure to go about it in the correct way—someone may be looking for their beloved family pet. Most shelters will give you the first chance at adopting a pet you’ve found and turned in if the pet isn't claimed within a certain period of time, so let them know you would be interested.

 

Losing a pet can be a scary experience, but preparing ahead of time and taking certain precautions can help them return home quickly.

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