What To Do When Your Pet Is Lost

According to a 1997 study of 1000 animal shelters, conducted by the
National Council on Pet Population Study and Policy, approximately
one million dogs and 584,000 cats were taken in as strays.
Unfortunately, for both owners and animals, only 16% of dogs and 2%
of cats were returned to their owners. These statistics are alarming.

Tag Day is a major effort by American Humane to combat these
statistics. We want to educate consumers on the benefits of
identifying their companion animals with ID tags, license tags, micro-
chipping, or tattooing. Identification is your pet's ticket home!

If your pet does become lost, don't delay. Take the following steps
to help bring your companion animal home to safety:

*Act fast!! Don't wait days hoping your pet will come home. The
sooner you begin your search, the better the odds of finding him.
*Search your neighborhood or area where your pet was lost and let
people know she's missing. You may want to offer a reward. Call your
pet's name and check any places she could have become trapped, such
as in basements, garages or under vehicles. A lost pet often will
hide during the day, so be sure to go out again at night with a
flashlight and them. Sometimes a can of food can lure a hungry and
scared pet.

*Check with your local shelters every day. Don't just call -- also
visit the shelter to search for your pet. Many animals are difficult
to describe over the phone, and only you really know what your pet
looks like.

*Call all animal control agencies in your town and surrounding areas.
Animal control officers work through the police department and pick
up stray animals. Call them or check their shelters at least every
two days.

*Use your pet's photo to make "lost pet" signs. Put them up in your
neighborhood and in post offices, libraries, pet supply stores,
veterinary offices and grocery stores. Inform your veterinarian and
groomer that your pet is lost in case they receive a call.
*Place ads in local newspapers and offer a reward in case someone
found your untagged pet and was thinking of keeping her.

*Watch the found ads. Respond to any that might be close to your pet's
description. A week of wandering the streets can make white pets look
drab gray, and the ad's description might not exactly fit.
*Call your local radio stations. Some radio stations will broadcast
lost pet information for free. Give them very detailed information on
where your pet was lost, his description and how to contact you.

Tag Day is a national public awareness campaign that unites thousands
of local shelters, veterinary clinics, animal care and control
agencies, and other humane agencies in the common goal of educating
pet owners about the benefits of tagging their companion animals. To
help promote this event in your community, contact your local shelter
to help in their efforts.

Everyone can help by identifying their pet or encouraging others to
do so. An ID tag is you pet's one-way ticket home. Make every day Tag
Day, and join our efforts to increase the number of animals returned
home.

{adapted from http://AmericanHumane.org}

Posted on SHARE Yahoo group March 22, 2003