I can’t imagine Ray Parker Jr. or the Ghostbusters would have a clue who you should call.
By the time you turn to the Internet, you’ve most likely exhausted the simple answer to that question; you’ve walked the area where he/she was lost and last seen; you’ve called his/her name until your throat is hoarse; you’ve talked to your neighbors; and now you’re contemplating signs stuck to telephone poles.
Here’s a suggestion you might want to try first. When I was kid, growing up, we had a beautiful dog named Taffy. She was a cross between a Brittany spaniel and an Afghan. She had the coloring of the spaniel with the long flowing hair of the Afghan. Taffy liked to run. She would bolt every chance she got. We’d walk the neighborhood and every time we got close to her, she’d take off again. She was very smart and elusive and would hide rather than come when we called. She knew that getting caught meant the end of her run, so she did everything possible to not get caught. She may be smart, but she was a dog. It didn’t take us long to figure out how to catch her. We would grab her leash and head out to walk the neighborhood. Instead of calling for Taffy, we’d call out “Taffy, Do you want to go for a walk?” More times than not, she would appear at our side and wait to be hooked up and taken for a walk. Of course, we would have to walk her, or the technique would stop working. But perhaps you know of something that your pet lives for that you could use in a similar situation? If you’ve lost your pet, its certainly worth a try.
In any case, you have arrived at this blog posting because you’ve probably lost your pet. Keep the following three things in mind as you continue your search and embrace the notion that the Internet can somehow help.
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Pets often go where they know. If you’re used to walking a particular path when you take them for their walk, then you should try walking that path. You may find them happily sniffing away at something, totally oblivious to the fact that they were lost.
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A dog who is in relatively good shape can cover 10 miles in an hour pretty easily. If you are going to post “Lost Pet” signs, make sure that you don’t post the signs in your local neighborhood only. Chances are fairly good that you pet isn’t in your local neighborhood.
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All too often, people post “Lost Pet” signs and they just aren’t readable to anybody who isn’t standing right in front of the sign. Make your signs easily readable from a distance of 40 feet. Otherwise, you’ll be lucky to attract any more than “Aww, somebody lost a pet”.
The telephone will be an invaluable tool in your search. In the Saint Louis, Missouri area, visit the Humane Society’s Lost & Found website to register your pet as lost, and print the list of phone numbers to most, if not all, of the local animal shelters, Humane Society offices and animal control. Call every one of these, every day. Start with the ones in the area where your pet was last seen and follow up with the ones that are farther way. The Humane Society of Missouri Lost & Found website is located here: http://www.hsmo.org/m_adopt/lostandfound.php.
In addition to contacting local animal shelters, Humane Society, and animal control, as time goes by you should also contact local animal and breed specific rescue groups, and local veterinarians.
Do you have a Facebook and/or MySpace and/or Twitter account? Tell everybody that you know, that lives or works within 30 miles or so of the last seen location for your pet, that you have lost your pet.
Post easy to read signage at busy intersections within 20 miles of the last known location of your pet. Make a note of where you posted your signs so you can take them down again when you get your pet back. If its a really busy intersection, make your signage easy to read at 200 feet while the car is whizzing by.
Just like when people go missing, the first 24 to 48 hours are the most crucial. A lost pet can cover dozens of miles in a single day. Fortunately, if they’re following their noses, it’s not likely that it will be in a straight line. A search circle which is centered on the location where you lost your pet with a radius of just 12 miles is more than 450 square miles, or 288,000 acres. After the first few hours, your best chance of recovering your pet is when they approach somebody because they’ve missed a few meals and they’re hungry, scared, and looking for a warm or cool place to sleep. And if they happen to be a golden retriever, they’re looking for somebody to scratch them behind the ears and tell them that you’ll help them find their way home.