Finding a wandering pet can be a challenge, even though most lost dogs are found within a mile of home.
You will be upset if your dog disappears, but it is crucial that you remain calm and take immediate action to locate your missing pup. Speed and diligence is key to finding your dog and bringing him home safely.
Search strategies
First, search your entire property to be sure your dog isn’t hung up on something or stuck somewhere. Small dogs can get caught in odd places like drain pipes, crawl spaces, under cars or beneath decks.
Next, thoroughly check your neighborhood. As you search, call your pet’s name, whistle, bang on his feeding dish, shake a box of his favorite biscuits or make any other noise familiar to your dog. Bring a flashlight (even during daylight hours) so you can check dark spots, like under cars or in trash dumpsters.
It’s important to stop periodically and listen for your dog’s response. If he’s stuck somewhere or injured, you want to be able to hear his yelps.
Enlist the neighbors
Recruit friends and neighborhood kids to help you. Go door to door to find out if anyone has seen your dog. Ask the mail carrier, newspaper delivery person or anyone who makes frequent trips around your neighborhood if they’ve seen your pet. Leave your phone number behind so someone can contact you if they see him.
If your dog still is missing after a few hours of intensive searching, it’s time to create "Lost Dog" flyers or posters and distribute them within a 1-mile radius of where your dog went missing. This strategy is said to produce more pet "finds" than any other method.
Contact area shelters and vets
Once your flyers are distributed, the next step is to call the animal shelters and animal control officers in your town and in surrounding communities to file a lost pet report. Even though you have called, visit the shelters to look for your dog. Contact local vets and animal hospitals and inquire whether a dog without identification has been brought in since your dog disappeared. If you pet has been micro chipped, be sure to share that information with shelters and vets.
Use all available media
Some local newspapers, and television and radio stations, carry stories about lost pets. Contact a reporter to talk about your dog. Take out an advertisement in the newspaper with a photo and description of your missing dog. Post your lost dog information on Web sites for missing pets and ask friends and colleagues to e-mail it to their network of contacts who may live in the area where the dog was lost.
