Companion Connection

What to do when your companion is lost

"The greatness of a nation and its moral progress can be judged by the way its animals are treated...

I hold that, the more helpless a creature, the more entitled it is to protection by man from the cruelty of man." -Mahatma Gandhi-

· If the companion is microchipped, make sure you contact the company you have the animal  registered with to make sure all of your contact information is up-to-date.  Many send out notifications to shelters, veterinarians and rescues.

· Don’t give up!!! You may not find your companion right away, and he is counting on you to find him.

· Post flyers with color pictures of your companion in your neighborhood, in convenience stores, near schools, etc. and veterinary clinics.

· Contact local and surrounding area Animal Controls providing them with the microchip information.

· Call animal shelters in adjoining counties, including the private, no-kill shelters, and report your companion missing.

· Contact area shelters. Physically go look at the companion animals there. Do not take someone’s word your companion is not there.

· Physically look under sheds, decks, etc. Cats are usually on one side of your home or the other. They will not come when you call. YOU need to find THEM!

· Keep water and food outside for them.

· For cats, sprinkle the contents of their litter pan in the yard so they can pick up their scent.

· Leave some of their bedding or your own clothes outside your home where he may find them.

· Set a live trap for him. He will be scared and may not come to you.  Always check the trap frequently—every few hours.  Predators are known to attack helpless trapped companion animals.

· Place an ad in the local and surrounding newspapers.

· Contact all area veterinary clinics providing them with the microchip information in case the animal is left there or brought in for treatment.

· Have the local neighborhood kids look for him. Offer them a reward (tell them to tell you if they see the animal but not to touch it).

· Call the neighborhood school and ask if you can tack a poster to the bulletin board. Kids have sharp eyes and are likely to know if Ranger's around or if someone three streets over found him and doesn't know how to find you.

 

LOST OR FOUND PET SITES:

http://www.petfinder.org/

             Above all , Don’t give up!!! You may not find your companion right away, and he is counting on you to find him.

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Tips if you have found someone’s lost pet:

Most stray animals are someone's companion—don’t keep an animal that you find without making a real effort to locate the guardian.  Talk to neighbors and post signs all around the neighborhood as well as nearby veterinary clinics.

 

· Take the animal to a local veterinary clinic to be scanned for a microchip.  If the animal has a microchip, the guardian can be contacted.

· If the animal has a rabies tag, call the veterinary clinic shown on the tag.

 

What do I do when my companion animal is lost?

 

There are many things to do. 

 

But remember…

 

Don’t ever give up! 

What do I do when I have found an animal?

Most stray animals are someone's companion—don’t keep an animal that you find without making a real effort to locate the guardian.  Talk to neighbors and post signs all around the neighborhood as well as nearby veterinary clinics.

 

· Take the animal to a local veterinary clinic to be scanned for a microchip.  If the animal has a microchip, the guardian can usually be contacted.

· Contact local animal shelters and animal control agencies. File a found pet report with every shelter within a 60-mile radius of your home and visit the nearest shelters daily, if possible.

· Post signs in the neighborhood. Post signs and hand out flyers of the pet and information on how you can be reached.

· Advertise. Post notices at grocery stores, community centers, veterinary offices, traffic intersections, at pet supply stores and other locations. Also, place advertisements in newspapers and with radio stations. Include the pet's sex, age, weight, breed, color and any special markings. When describing the pet, leave out one identifying characteristic and ask the person claiming the pet to describe it.

· Be wary of pet-recovery scams. When talking to a stranger who claims to be the guardian of the pet, ask him to describe the pet thoroughly before you offer any information. If he does not include the identifying characteristic you left out of the advertisements, he may not really be the guardian.

What to do if your pet goes missing.   Dr. Marty Becker “America’s Veterinarian”

 

The biggest mistakes people make when their pet is lost is to not take the situation seriously enough and to fail to act quickly enough. On their own, your pet is about as capable of surviving on their own as a toddler would be.

Lost Pet Flyer

 

Use this flyer to post all around your  neighborhood and area veterinarian clinics.

The biggest mistakes people make when their pet is lost is to not take the situation seriously enough and to fail to act quickly enough. On their own, your pet is about as capable of surviving on their own as a toddler would be.