Lost Dog
It’s the ultimate nightmare. Your dog has run off and you have no idea where she is. The sheer panic of this situation is heart wrenching.
In the past few months I have seen two dogs find their way back to their homes after being lost. One of these dogs was gone for 17 days! In both cases, the owners did the following things in an effort to find their lost family members.
First, they made flyers with a current picture of their dog, a description and information as to where the dog was last seen. The flyers were emailed to everyone they knew with a request to pass the flyers on to everyone those people knew.
Posts were made to their local Craigslist and any other appropriate online resources available.
Next, they printed flyers and posted them on every pole and window in a ten mile radius from their home or the last place the dog was seen, or both.
They also distributed flyers to every vet clinic, shelter, dog daycare, pet store, coffee shop or other high-traffic business in the area. This is REALLY important! If a dog is found, many people don’t contact a shelter. Instead, they talk to their dog friends, neighbors, or vet about it. If the person has stolen the dog or has no intention of looking for the owner, they might take the dog for a vet visit or attempt to enroll the dog in daycare.
The family who owned the dog that went missing for 17 days actually canvassed the streets all day, every day until the dog was found. They walked around with flyers and handed them out to everyone they met. It was actually one of these people who had received a flyer who saw the dog walking down a nearby street. Because of the flyer, she knew the dogs name and was able to call her to her. She then returned the dog to the owners, whose address was on the flyer.
The secret here is to make the entire community aware of your missing dog. If everyone is looking for this dog and flyers are plastered all over the place, it is unlikely that anyone is going to feel comfortable keeping your dog. Additionally, people will be taking a second glance at any dog they see wandering around without an owner.
And please, if you haven’t already, have your dog mico-chipped and make sure she is wearing a tag with her name, address and telephone number on it.
I’d love to your stories of found dogs and useful tips for those who are lost.
