By Janet McAfee
On April 17, Loving All Animals newly adopted Loving All Animals dog Phoebe escaped near Avenue 53 and Lee Lane in Coachella. Her new owner was giving her a bath and removed her collar and ID tag. She is microchipped to LAA but not everyone knows about microchips or has the time to go to a veterinarian to have a found animal scanned. We are desperate to find 40-lb Phoebe, so please call LAA with any information at (760) 834-7000. She is skittish, but a skilled “animal person” may have picked her up.
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 cameras outside homes.
THE MOST IMPORTANT THING YOU CAN DO TO GET YOUR PET RETURNED QUICKLY IS AN ID TAG WITH YOUR CELL PHONE ON THEIR COLLAR.
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 but include animal’s size, location and a contact phone number.
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 in a home 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 under front door mats as residents are reluctant to open a door to strangers.
CANVASS CHURCHES, SCHOOLS & BUSINESSES – Have several people hand out flyers when people exit the local church service. Pass out flyers near schools when the students exit. Ask owners of local businesses if you can post a flyer on their window or bulletin board.
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 Penny Saver. Continue to check the “Found Pets” column. Fred Roggin with the Rogin Report on KMIR television station often features missing dogs.
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. I was in a search for a dog named Lexie who was found after 6 weeks…she was being fed by homeless people under the Jackson Street bridge! Unneutered male dogs are much more likely to run away, and this is yet another reason to sterilize your pet.
