Lost Your Pet?

...here's what you should do

1. Check your home

Do a quick check around your home. Check the garage, any store rooms and check that your animal is not with other family members. Call outside, shake food packets and rattle dishes. If there’s no reaction then TAKE ACTION! Spreading the word as fast as possible is the key to getting your pet back home safely and soundly. Don't wait and assume your pet will just return, it could be injured, frightened and hiding.

2. Get the word out

Log in to blanketID.com, check that your pet’s photo and details are up to date, then click to report your pet missing. An immediate broadcast email will be sent to local SPCA, animal hospitals and shelters. (and a copy of the list sent to you) If you’re not a member, go through your phone book and send your own emails. Attach a recent photo of your pet in case someone finds it without its collar and tag. Remember that Sometimes people pick up a stray and drive it to a distant clinic.

3. Create a poster

Print off copies of your Lost Pet poster from blanketID.com. If you’re not a member, create your own poster as quickly as possible.

• Keep it simple: "LOST DOG (or cat)!" should be at the top in large, easy to read, (even from a moving vehicle) bold letters.
• Include a brief description or breed type: "Beige, wire-haired terrier” or "Striped grey and black short-haired cat."
• Include your pet’s name, it may make it easier for someone to call your pet over and capture him, and it also makes your pet into a valued member of your family, and not just another lost animal statistic.
• Offer a reward, but don't state how much in the ad. Include your telephone numbers in large numbers at the bottom of the poster.
• Include your vets contact details and a note of any medical conditions.
• Include additional contact numbers and cell phone numbers.

4. Use your poster as a flyer

Print extra copies of your poster to double as a flyer. Distribute these to every home, in every direction from the place where your pet disappeared. Put them in mailboxes, under doors or on windshields. Place copies on all notice boards, and in pet shops and community centres. Stop and speak with every person you encounter and hand them a flyer –the more people know about your lost pet, the more likely that someone will call you. Your pet may be frightened or injured, ask people to please check their barns and sheds, especially at night. Call all your neighbors personally.

5. Use your local paper

Place a "Lost" ad in your local newspaper the very first morning your pet is gone. These ads are usually free.

6. Search the area regularly

Get out and call for your pet by name. Enlist family and friends to canvas the neighborhood, in all directions, on the roads and as the crow flies. Don't try to predict where your pet could or wouldn't have gone –YOU NEVER KNOW. If you belong to blanketID you can organize a local search party. The best time to call for your pet is at night, and at dawn. If you are calling from your car, drive slowly, roll down all the windows, stop and turn your vehicle off frequently to listen.

7. Follow-up

Don’t give up!

Visit all local dog pounds and animal shelters, don't rely on their information, go through and look at all animals DAILY. Dogs and cats often wander far away, and do things you wouldn't predict they would do. Try everything, look everywhere, tell everyone. You'd be surprised how many people will be supportive, help you look and will suggest places to look whereother stray animals have gone. Even the friendliest and most social pet may quickly become terrified and hide. Your own friendly pet, when lost, may hide from people, run away if he sees a person, and may even run from you. Don't chase after a lost pet –they are much faster and you'll only scare them more. Instead, sit on the ground; talk in normal tones, repeating the name and familiar phrases over and over again. A frightened animal will usually stick around, and after a few minutes or hours, come closer and closer.

REMEMBER DON'T GIVE UP! Be aggressive in your search, get lots of help, get the word out right away – don't wait a few hours "to see if he'll come home on his own "– you need those early hours to put up posters and give out flyers.