Lost Pets
We hope you and your pet are never lost from one another but if that happens, here are some sites where you can post information about your lost pet:
Additionally, here are some tips for recovering your lost pet:
1. First and Foremost: Act Quickly
- Time is precious. Assemble the following tools to begin your search: strong flashlight, tuna fish or canned dog food, outdoor painter’s tape, and a staple gun for posting flyers.
2. Put Out Effective Flyers
- Posting/distributing printed flyers is very important as not everyone is familiar with Internet sites – don’t just post online.
- Make sure the flyers are graphically useful. If your flyer simply says in large letters “LOST DOG” followed with a description, people will not take the time to stop and read it. THE MOST IMPORTANT THING is to put a large color picture, in the pet’s most recognizable stance, as the largest thing on the flyer.
Beneath the photo, put contact details along with the date missing and location. Do not list a reward amount. - Be sure to include the words DON’T CHASE, CALL OUT or WHISTLE.
- Print one original and then have color copies made of the rest. Place the flyers in sheet protectors, open side at the bottom, so the flyers will hold up to rain/snow.
3. Use a Tracking Dog
If you have a blanket, pet bed, or similar item with the animal’s scent on it, that will help the tracker dog. Area dog trackers include:
4. Go to the Local Animal Shelter
The only animal shelter in Montgomery County that accepts strays is the Montgomery County Animal Services and Adoption Center, which only has a 5-day stray hold. As a result, you must act quickly by going to the shelter yourself immediately when you discover your pet is lost and frequently thereafter to look for your lost pet.
Calling the shelter is not a substitute for going in person as descriptions and colors are often perceived differently from one person to the next.
5. Be Sure Your Pet is Lost Outside and Not Inside
- Cats and dogs can sometimes get between floors and walls. Check the attic, flue, tops of closets, drawers, under couches, washing machine, behind the fridge, everywhere. Put out canned, wet food in the house and heat up it in the microwave so the smell pervades the house to attract your little friend out.
- Cats and dogs commonly slip out the door when company comes to visit. So be sure to put your pet in another room with the door closed while company is over.
- Cats like to explore nooks and crannies and sometimes get stuck, while dogs like to explore things that may seem like tunnels to them, or dens and not come out. Cats especially like to hang out on the roof if there’s a way for them to get up there. Be sure to look in all of these places.
- If you don’t find your lost pet inside, look in creeks and local dumpsters behind restaurants and shopping centers. Lost pets need food and water so these are often the first places the animals go.
6. Put Out Food
- Put out some canned food around the same time every evening, when the air is fresher, and heat the food up so the smell of it will travel a long way.
- Keep putting the food out every night for a month at around the same time. If at this point, the food remains untouched, try putting the food closer to the edge of your property or under a bush where animals can eat it without fear of being out in the open.
… and if you are one of the lucky ones to recover your pet:
- Make sure they are spayed or neutered so they don’t add to the overpopulation of pets and have the inclination to go wandering off again.
- Have them microchipped.
- Register the microchip, and update it if you move, so your pet can be traced back to you when someone finds it.
