1. Contact your microchip
company.
Microchip agencies can help locate your pet if they’re wearing one. It is one of the easiest ways to find them. Contact the microchip company and tell them your dog or cat is missing. When you talk to customer service, ensure the microchip company has your most up-to-date contact
information.
2. Check your house.
Ask housemates and family members if they’ve
seen your pet and find out when they last saw
your dog or cat. Search underneath large pieces
of furniture like chairs, sofas, or beds.
Sometimes, a dog or cat will curl up in dark
areas to sleep. Check inside dark closets, small
places, garages, sheds, and other sites. Try to
lure them out from a potential hiding place with
their favorite food, treats, or toys.
3. Canvas your neighborhood.
Search your neighborhood for your lost furry friend. Drive slowly through streets. Call out your pet’s name and whistle for them. Talk to your neighbors. Show them a recent picture of your cat or dog. Ask if they’ve seen them. Tell your neighbors to keep an eye out for them. Look within trees, porches, shrubs, and other outdoor areas where your pet may be hiding out.
4. Complete a Found/Missing
Pet Report at ascmv.org
Call local animal hospitals, shelters, and
rescue groups to see if they’ve found your
pet. Sometimes, individuals will bring injured
runaways or stray animals to local veterinarians.
Give them your pet’s description and provide
your pet’s microchip number and a recent photo.
5. Speak with your pet
insurance agency.
Talk with the pet policy insurer and ask if they can provide financial assistance to locate your missing dog or cat. Sometimes, the policies will cover costs to locate furry friends.
6. Use social media posts.
Make a social media post to advertise that your pet is lost. Ask friends and relatives to share the post on their timeline. Add the post on area lost pet websites and in local Facebook groups.
7. Place an advertisement.
Create an advertisement on internet sites about your lost pet. Here are a few websites that can assist you: Center for Lost Pets Craigslist Lost Dogs of America Lost Pet USA Missing Pet Partnership Petfinder: Lost and Found Cats Petfinder: Lost and Found Dogs You can also post a lost pet advertisement in your local newspaper’s want ads.
8. Prepare a flyer.
Create a flyer to find your lost pet. Owners can download the ASPCA’s Pet Safety for Lost Pets, Disaster Prep, and Emergency Alerts app. The free program has a kit that pet parents can use to create a flyer. Use an updated picture. Create a big headline. It should read “MISSING DOG” or “LOST CAT.” Provide information about your lost pet. Write a physical description. Include their sex, breed, height, age, color, and weight. Make sure to leave off two identifying characteristics about your pet. This will prevent scam artists from tricking you. Read the “Be wary of pet recovery scams” section for more information. Attach your contact information (name, telephone, etc;). Provide a second contact name and phone number, if the stranger that located your pet can’t reach you. Make sure all information is factually correct.
One wrong number can prevent you from being reunited with your dog or cat. Avoid offering a reward. This could attach value to a pet. If you do, your dog or cat could end up in the wrong hands. Distribute your flyers. Place them in local stores, malls, doctors offices, U.S. Post Offices, restaurants, and other areas. Ask permission before you post a flyer. Secure them to lamps and electrical posts.
9. Be wary of petrecovery scams.
Unfortunately, owners that lost their dogs or cats must be wary of scams. Some con artists will ask for money for a pet that is not yours. Others demand money for a pet they don’t have. Be careful. Be wary of individuals that demand money up front for a lost pet. Ask a stranger that has found your pet to describe them. They should provide identifying features about your pet left out of the advertisements. “If someone claims that they found your #pet, but can’t name any identifying features, tread lightly—it may be a scam.”
10. Create a scent trail for your pet.
A dog or cat may want to return home but cannot
find it’s way back. Create a scent trail to help
your pet return home, especially during winter.
Place a t-shirt, heavy with your scent, onto the
back of an automobile or in a familiar area.
11. Stay hopeful.
Some pets can even return days, weeks, or even years after being lost. It’s never too late to find a pet that’s still living.
