|
Dealing Dogs
If you think your pet may be missing or
stolen, please try all the suggestions listed below.
Look everywhere, around the house, in closed cupboards, closets,
the garage and the yard.
Call your local animal shelter and pound immediately to see if
your animal was recently admitted.
Talk with neighbors. Go door to door in the area your pet
disappeared to see if anyone has information on your animal.
Walk, drive or bicycle around the area your pet disappeared,
calling your animal's name over and over. If your pet is trapped in a
neighbor's yard or is too injured to move, it may respond to your voice,
so listen carefully. Pay special attention to sheds, abandoned buildings
and anywhere else your pet could be hiding. Perform this search several
times throughout the day.
Create and post signs with a photo of your pet that gives a
description of the animal, the area in which he or she was lost and
contact information. Be sure to place the fliers in your neighborhood as
well as in places where many people are likely to see them such as
grocery stores, pet supply stores, veterinarians’ offices, animal
shelters and pounds. If possible, offer a reward of at least $300
to give people an incentive to return your pet.
Go to the animal shelter and pound often to look at the animals
being held as strays. Check to see if the animal shelter or pound has a
website with photos. Visits in person are much more effective as
shelter/pound employees may not match a particular animal to a lost
report over the phone. You are the only one who can really identify your
lost animal. Visit the shelter for a minimum of ten days.
Contact veterinary clinics, including emergency veterinary
hospitals. Your pet may have been injured and taken to a veterinarian or
veterinary hospital for treatment.
Contact local daily and weekly newspapers to place a lost pet ad.
Also, check the “found animal” section of local newspapers.
Contact local radio and television stations. Many air "lost and
found pets" segments.
Ask delivery people who regularly travel through your
neighborhood if they have seen your pet. Your mail carrier, water
delivery person, gas company employee, security guard or meter reader
may have seen your pet. Ask them to be on the lookout for your animal as
they pass through the area.
Contact laboratory animal departments of universities and
hospitals in your area. Go to the labs and describe your animal to
laboratory personnel. Post a photo of your animal in the laboratory.
File a police report with your local police department or
sheriff's office. If you suspect that your animal has been stolen,
report it to the police immediately. A police report will be useful for
identification purposes when retrieving your pet and will prove helpful
in court if a suspect is brought to trial. If the authorities are
hesitant to prepare the report, remind them that pets by law are
valuable “property” and their theft is either a felony or misdemeanor
under all state laws. By law, the police must take action on your
complaint. Be persistent.
File a report online with Last Chance for Animals. Be sure to
give us detailed and accurate information.
http://www.lcanimal.org/invest/inc_report.htm
Post a description and photo of your lost pet on the internet at
www.petfinder.com.
Contact the police if several animals in your neighborhood have
turned up missing. Provide them with as much detailed information as
possible.
Do not give up! Your pet is depending on you to do your best to
try to find him or her. There are many instances of cats and dogs being
found after many months. The person who responds immediately to a
missing pet and expends significant energy in trying to find the animal
stands a much greater chance of recovering him or her.
Visit
www.StolenPets.com for more information.
|
