By Janet McAfee
The odds are great if you own several dogs and cats that one day one of them will go missing. It’s an animal lover’s worst nightmare, and we imagine the worst of scenarios while frantically searching. When I was growing up, our senior Australian Shepherd dog disappeared from the back yard, never to be found. That was long before social media and the array of tools we now have to find Fido or Fluffy.
Alice Chow from Dream Team Angels rescue in San Bernardino contacted me this week regarding their newly adopted pup Stomps. Stomps escaped from his yard in Sun City Palm Desert, squeezing through a gap in the fence. Alice sent volunteers from San Bernardino to help, but they were an hour away. I called Stomps’ distraught owner Laura with some concrete things to do immediately.
Laura was sobbing hysterically, but I asked her to calm down and assured her the odds are excellent of finding a missing pet within a gated community. Because he had a friendly temperament, it was highly likely a neighbor within a few block radius had picked up Stomps and had him inside their home. Particularly in this blazing hot summer weather, folks are prone to capture and keep a stray animal inside their home. Next, Laura was told to post Stomp’s photo on www.NextDoor.com, a website that sends out information to thousands of one’s neighbors.
Laura had already notified the front gate at Sun City, and a security guard was searching the area in a golf card. I posted Stomps on my Facebook page, tagging Sun City residents and other locals who help in these searches. Stomps was microchipped, but unfortunately Laura had taken off his collar with the ID tag attached. THE MOST IMPORTANT THING YOU CAN DO TO GET YOUR PET RETURNED QUICKLY IS AN ID TAG WITH YOUR CELL PHONE ON HIS COLLAR.
Before we could even round up a volunteer search party, some good news arrived. Stomps was with a neighbor a few blocks away from Laura. Stomp’s story reminds us to involve social media, include as many people as possible, and DON’T GIVE UP. We are also reminded to never take a pet’s collar and ID tag off. Here are some tips should your pet ever go missing. Instead of searching for Stomps, Dream Team’s volunteers secured Laura’s fence.
CREATE A FLYER – Not computer savvy? Find a young person to help. Boiler plates to make flyers with your dog’s photo are available on www.bestfriends.org and www.petbond.com. Put up flyers on bulletin boards including Starbucks, vet clinics, animal shelters, and on telephone poles. Pass out flyers to postal workers, gardeners, utility workers, tree trimmers, and others who work outside. Keep flyers simple and offer a REWARD which will attract more attention.
MAKE SIGNS – Large, colorful, eye-catching size signs can be posted on telephone poles, at dog parks, and at intersections controlled by traffic lights.
SOCIAL MEDIA – Post your dog’s photo on Facebook and ask your friends to SHARE and TAG. Post on the Facebook pages “Lost and Found Pets in the Coachella Valley” and “Dogs in the 760”. Post your dog on www.NextDoor.com and Paw Boost. Include your telephone number and location where the animal went missing. Check Petharbor.com and Craig’s List in case the finder posts him there. Post on Instagram and Tik Tok which are favored by young people.
GO DOOR TO DOOR IN YOUR NEIGHBORHOOD – Lost dogs that are friendly often end up within a 10-block radius from your home. Go door-to-door in the immediate neighborhood. Check backyards, vacant homes, fields, schools, businesses, and underneath cars. Children are often a good source of information about stray pets in their neighborhood. Organize a search party to cover more ground. Leave a flyer underneath the doormats of neighbors who are not home.
CHECK LOCAL ANIMAL SHELTERS – Go in person to your local public shelter since you are the best one to recognize your pet. All shelters check for microchips and ID tags, but sometimes these get lost. Return to the shelter every few days. Look in the kennels, search the “Found” book, the “Dead” book, and fill out a lost report at the front desk. Check with private shelters and rescues. Check the lost and found section on www.rcdas.org. Register your pet on PetLov on www.rcdas.org.
CONTACT THE MEDIA – Check to see if local television and radio stations have programs to help with missing dogs. Post a notice under the “Lost Pets” section in local newspapers such as the Desert Sun and Penny Saver. Continue to check the “Found Pets” column.
DON’T GIVE UP! – Most missing pets are returned to their owners within a short time. Others come back home weeks or months later. Some that are microchipped turn up years later in shelters thousands of miles away. Unneutered male dogs are much more likely to run away, and this is yet another reason to sterilize your pet.
