To start with, post lots of flyers with large letters that can be seen from a car (don’t put amount of reward so no one can try to scam or extort you). Include a clear photo of the missing pet, one that shows their face, not their back. It should be a fairly current photo, not when the pet was a puppy or kitten if he is adult now, obviously. Keep checking the flyers because weather can blow them off, and some people rip them or remove them, for some reason. Flyers really do work.
Setting a humane trap is a good way to get your pet back. Never leave a trap unattended. Put your pet’s favorite food in it, and wait patiently, even if you have to do every day for a week, or even longer, until your pet finds it and goes in. He/she will be hungry, and remember, dogs and cats have a powerful sense of smell, hundreds of times stronger than humans.
There are professional pet trackers who use sniffer dogs, dogs who can track your dog’s or cat’s scent. (There are probably trackers for horses and other animals as well.) You provide the tracker with an article or a two belonging to your pet, and the tracker’s dog(s) will track where the scent leads to. Sometimes, they will lead directly to your lost pet, or other times, they will lead to where your pet was last, and then you can set a humane trap. Traps can be bought or borrowed from humane society or rescuers if necessary.
If a pet is stolen, contact authorities and do all you can to find him/her, because there are people out there with very bad intentions, unfortunately. Check surveillance cameras if you believe your pet was taken and show to police. There are people who do what police can’t or won’t do, such as John Spat of Save-a-Dog Rescue in NY.
Look nearby within about four houses for an indoor cat as they don’t go very far - under porches, shrubs, in sheds, backyards. Ask neighbors if you can look for your pet on their property - don’t hesitate to knock on a stranger’s door - your pet’s life may depend on it. He/she may have gone into an open shed or garage during a storm and possibly got trapped inside. (Buy the book “ Finding your Lost Cat” by Dusty Rainbolt for lots more tips such as these.) A cat who has been allowed to go outside may go farther, or an unspayed/unneutered pet, so you need to check within a few blocks all around the neighborhood. Gently call your pet’s name; yelling may scare the cat. They become fearful when lost outside, and may not come readily. Tap on a can of food or shake a box of dry food when searching, whatever your pet is familiar with.
With skittish dogs, squat down low to his/her level and call the dog to you and have food available. Dogs have a natural fight or flight response, and much like any other species including the human, this is linked to survival. The fight-or-flight response is a physiological reaction that occurs in response to a perceived harmful event, attack, or threat to survival. So even if the dog knows you or no matter how gentle you are with dogs, they may run away when you approach. This is when a humane trap or professional pet tracker can help.
Post your lost pet on Pawboost, which has a high success rate, and other sites such as LostmyDoggie.com, FidoFinder, Home Again. PawBoost is like an AMBER Alert for lost pets. Over 5 million pet lovers signed up for local lost and found pet alerts. PawBoost Rescue Squad, a group of do-gooders, has helped reunite over 1 million lost pets with their families
- Users can report lost or found pets by creating an account and clicking the 'Report' button
- Lost or found pets will be posted to the PawBoost-powered Facebook page for the user's area
- Alerts will go out to local PawBoost email subscribers and app users
- Lost or found pets will be added to the largest lost and found pets database on the web with thousands of pets added every day
- Printable flyers will be created for lost or found pets to post around the neighborhood and hand out to neighbors and local businesses
- Users can supercharge their PawBoost Alert with a locally-targeted Facebook or Instagram ad campaign
For lost BIRDS, there is the 911ParrotAlert.com site where you can post your lost bird and search for found birds to see if any are yours. They have instructions on how to find birds on their site.
Check the animal control facility, or city shelter, because many lost pets are brought there by finders or the police. Do not delay as this is not a no-kill shelter, and they euthanize pets sometimes after 48 hours!
And most of all, pray. Pray that your pet is found - God knows where he/she is and cares for you and your pet.
