Finding your lost pet
If your pet is lost, STAY CALM and don’t give up hope. We know losing a pet is frightening but keeping a calm head and not panicking will save you valuable time and hopefully reunite you quickly with your beloved pet.
Here’s a few things you can do:
Microchipped Pets
If you cat is microchipped, contact the microchip organization and alert them so they can post your missing pet and send out alerts.
DO NOT CHASE AND NEVER YELL AT THE ANIMAL!
Establish contact by calling and whistling. Be cautious, however, about calling your pet across a busy road. If you attempt to stop or slow traffic, keep your safety in mind. Remember – stay calm.
Contact all the local shelters and alert Animal Control in the town or city your pet is missing.
In our area, most Animal Control Officers work through the police department.
Petco Love Lost
Petco Love Lost is a free, easy-to-use national resource, using patented pet facial recognition technology to make it easier than ever to find possible matches for lost and found pets. To get useful information if you lost a pet, reunite at lost.petcolove.org.
Create and Post Flyers
Make lost pet flyers with detailed description: name, breed, color, gender, markings or tattoos, weight, collar or tags, and a phone number (with a voicemail set up).
Hand out flyers to people in your local area, especially to people who regularly travel through your neighborhood, e.g.:
- Mail Delivery Persons (also UPS and FEDEX drivers)
- Meter Readers
- Newspaper Delivery Persons
- Police and Fire Departments
- Department of Highway Worker
Email your flyer to Pets Alive
So we too are aware of your situation in case your pet comes into our shelter. Send us a flyer to: info@petsalive.org.
Post on social media to get the word out – Facebook, Nextdoor, Twitter and Instagram etc
There are several Facebook Pages or websites that you can post lost pets.
Lost Pets of the Hudson Valley:
Cindy’s Lost and Found Pets for Sullivan County, N.Y. and Surrounding Areas
New York State – Lost Dogs, Cats & Pets
Please note that while posting online is an excellent way to advertise lost & found pets, some pet websites and internet community boards have been used as a tool by those attempting to commit fraudulent transactions, so you’ll want to closely investigate all responses you may receive from online posting. You may want to set up a separate e-mail address to use just for the posting. Additional information can be found in the article “Avoiding Pet Scams” at this link: http://www.scambusters.org/petscams.html
KEEP SEARCHING!!
Many pets can disappear for months and still turn up.
Once you have found your pet, please remember to notify everyone of that fact, and please remove all flyers previously posted.
Found a Pet
If you have found a stray cat or dog, it’s more than likely that an owner is searching for them. Here are some tips to give the animal the best chance of being reunited with their owner. The most important thing to remember if you find a lost pet is to take the steps needed to reunite them with their owner.
Contain the dog or cat with care. Always be cautious when approaching strange animals. If the stray cat or dog appears friendly, please contain them as soon as possible. This will keep them safe from traffic and other dangers. Make sure to approach stray animals slowly and cautiously while speaking in a calm, gentle voice. Dogs should be secured using a leash or contained in a fenced yard while cats should be placed in a cat carrier or secure, well ventilated, box, and placed in a small room in the house.
Check for tags. Check to see if the animal is wearing an ID tag. If they are, contact the owner immediately to let them know you have their pet. If you are unable to immediately reach the owner, contact your local Police Station as many owners call the police when a pet goes missing. Make sure to notify local Animal Control Officers; you most likely can reach them through the police department.
Walk the area and talk to people, knock on doors; someone may know the pet you have found and know which neighbor is the owner. Most lost pets do not travel very far from home.
Use your social media channels to reunite the lost pet with its family – Facebook, Nextdoor, Twitter and Instagram, etc. Post clear pictures and the area where you have found the pet (make sure to include house numbers, cross streets, and the town).
There are Facebook pages dedicated to lost and found pets in the Hudson Valley. Post and search to see if a family is looking for the pet you found. If you do not live in the Hudson Valley, check out similar pages in your local community.
Lost Pets of the Hudson Valley:
Cindy’s Lost and Found Pets for Sullivan County, N.Y. and Surrounding Areas
New York State – Lost Dogs, Cats & Pets
Additionally, Petco Love Lost is a free, easy-to-use national resource, using patented pet facial recognition technology to make it easier than ever to find possible matches for lost and found pets. To get useful information if you lost a pet, reunite at lost.petcolove.org .
If the pet does not have a collar or ID tags, you’ll want to have them scanned to see if they have a microchip. There are a few places that will most likely have a chip scanner:
- A veterinary clinic
- An animal shelter
- A local animal control department
There is no charge to have a found pet scanned and most shelters and rescues in our area microchip their pets before sending them home with adopters, so there is a very good chance the pet you found is microchipped.