5 Ways to Find Lost Pets Fast and Avoid Losing Them

photo credit: West Zest

Yesterday I found a dog wandering University Blvd, a busy street that runs through the University of Alabama’s campus.  I asked several passers-by if the dog was theirs, but they all said no.  I knew the dog was likely to be picked up by animal control or run over by a car if she continued wandering aimlessly through town.  So, I grabbed the dog by the collar, lead her down the street towards a grocery store, and asked a nice stranger named Matt to watch her while I went in to buy a leash and dog food.  Until I found her original owners or her new home, she will be mine.

I spent the rest of the day killing time on campus with the dog until I found a friend who agreed to take care of her while I decided what to do with her.  I can’t have a dog in my apartment, but my friend Ryan has a nice big yard and some other friendly dogs, and he kindly agreed to watch her for a few days.

The dog has no identification on her, and though I’ve called veterinary offices and animal shelters in the area and have checked out missing pet forums, I’ve not found her owners.  I doubt I will find them.  My primary focus is on finding her a new home, or figuring out a way to keep her myself.  If I take her to our local overflowing animal shelter, she’ll surely be put to sleep.  I want to avoid that option at all cost.

This experience has led to write a list of ways pet owners can minimize the chances of their pet becoming lost or stolen and ways to expedite the process of retrieving them.  None of this is new information, but apparently a lot of owners either don’t know it or ignore it.  It pains me to see animals suffer or die because of this.  I’d like to warn you that it’s hard for me to write about without anger creeping into my tone, and I don’t mince many words.  Anyway, here’s the list:

1.  Always, always, ALWAYS put proper identification on your pet.

If your dog or cat is lost, an ID tag with your phone number and address will dramatically increase the possibility of it being returned to you.  Keep the tags updated with the best way to find you. I’ve found cats with phone numbers that no longer work, or just an apartment number – without the name of the apartment.  These incomplete IDs are useless if you want people to return your pet to you.

You should put an ID tag on your pet even if you think it is impossible for her to jump the fence or run out the front door.  Mistakes happen and pets do weird things.  Don’t assume that your dog can smell its way home or that your cat can take care of itself.  If you really love your pet, you’ll put proper identification on her, just in case.
So you say your dog is notorious for slipping her collar and your cat won’t even let you put his collar on him?  My first answer for this is, toughen up and find a collar and tag that will work.  Isn’t your beloved pet, who counts on you for love and sustenance, worth the trouble?  My second answer is…

2.  Microchip your pet.

Ask your veterinarian to embed a tiny microchip containing identification under your pet’s skin.  Animal shelters and veterinarians can easily scan your pet to find you if for some reason her ID tag is missing.

Since neither microchipping nor ID tagging is completely foolproof, do both.  Find the answers to common questions about microchipping here: http://www.hsus.org/pets/issues_affecting_our_pets/common_questions_about_microchips.html

3.  Don’t leave your pet tethered in your yard.

If you need to contain a pet, use a fence or keep it in your home.  Many dog owners make the mistake of tying their dog to a stake or a dog run, even though some cities have banned this practice.  Here is a list of reasons why you shouldn’t tether your pet:

1. Your dog can’t escape from danger if someone tries to steal it or abuse it.
2. Your dog can’t escape from danger if another dog or animal tries to attack it.
3. Your dog will be bored out of its mind.
4. Your dog risks suffering from exposure, tugging on its leash, and other environmental factors.
5. Your dog might pull loose from his collar and accompanying ID, making it harder for someone to return him to you if they find him.

While searching for the owner of the dog I found, I discovered several listings in lost pet forums in which an owner left his or her precious purebred tethered in the front yard, only to find it unhooked and stolen later in the evening.  I hate to be brutally honest, but those dogs are now probably being sold on the black market or used as bait in dog fighting.

I’ve also read several cases in which vicious stray dogs or hungry wild animals prey on tethered pets.  Do you want your dog to be torn to shreds by a pack of stray dogs or a wildcat? Tethering your dog makes it much more vulnerable to attacks.

In another listing on the lost pet forum, a dog escaped from its chain by pulling off its collar.  The dog then wandered off without its ID, minimizing the possibility of someone returning him to his owner.

4.  Call all your local veterinary offices, groomers, and animal shelters promptly to report a lost pet.

Most animal care facilities will keep track of lost pet notices.  If someone brings in or calls to report a stray, they can look over their records to see if they find a match.  However, they won’t know your dog is missing unless you call and tell them yourself.

Be aware that many animal shelters have extremely short waiting periods before they euthanize lost pets.  Call them quickly so you can pick up a live, happy pet instead of a dead body.

5.  Spay and neuter your pet.

Guys, I know you cringe at the thought of cold, surgical hands amputating your beloved dog’s or cat’s testicles.  I implore you to, “get over it,” because your pet certainly will.  Your dog will be happier without hormones surging through his body, creating overwhelming sexual tensions and angry emotions. Your cat will not fight with every other cat it sees and spray odiferous musk on every surface it passes. Dogs and cats do not have the psychological, emotional attachment to their “manhood” that humans do.  Don’t hurt your pets by anthropomorphizing them.

Maybe you’re ok with neutering your dog, but you REALLY want a litter of puppies or kittens because OMG THEY’RE SO CUTE!!! Here’s an idea: after your pet has a litter of adorable, miraculous bundles of baby life, why don’t you wrap them in a sack, toss in a brick, and dump them in the murkiest, deepest river you can find?  No?  That suggestion doesn’t appeal to you?  Well, it most certainly shouldn’t – but you should know that every time you encourage a dog or cat to give birth to a litter of puppies, you are contributing to the overpopulation of pets requiring that millions upon millions of them are euthanized – killed – every year.  Old pets, baby pets, cute pets, ugly pets, smart pets, dumb pets – they’re all killed because there are too many of them and not enough people who want to care for them.  Before you let your cat or dog have puppies, go check out your local animal shelter and look into the eyes of all those doomed, furry faces, just waiting to die.

I told you that I didn’t mince words.

So what does spaying and neutering have to do with keeping your pet from becoming lost?  Spayed and neutered pets lose the urge to escape their homes and roam the neighborhood in search of one or more one-night-stands.  As far as I know, the dog I found escaped from her owners because she was in heat.

Allow me to close with one more comment that may anger some of my readers: if you don't have the interest, money, or capacity to properly care for a pet, you should not own one.  Give it to someone who will treat it with the respect and decency that a domesticated, dependent, living creature deserves.  Now that I've let that out, let's drink a toast to conscientious pet owners everywhere. *slurp*

Questions? Suggestions? Leave it in the comments, please.  I look forward to speaking with you.

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