Your pet has gone missing. Now what? First and foremost: stop and breathe. Allowing yourself to descend into pure panick will serve no purpose other than you spinning in circles and coming back to the same place.
Here are some tips taken from Susan Bulanda's article about finding a lost animal:
- A frightened dog will typically run to a quiet, dark area -- start your search there
- Guess how far your dog might run, then add a mile to that. On a map, draw a circle that has a 1 mile radius with his last-seen location being the center of that circle. That's your search area
- When a dog runs away, they typically run into the wind
- Travel slowly and stop frequently (every 5 minutes or so) calling his/her name. Give them a chance to come to you
- When you find your dog, do not run to him. Simply sit down and remain calm. Call his name and let him come to you. If possible, position yourself up-wind so that he can smell you. Remember, he is likely frightened so don't run at him and exercise patience
- Be sure to spread the word: hang signs, contact shelters, and let your neighbors know what's going on. If you are a Premium Pack Member at PetHub, you can do all of this by clicking on the animal's PetCard and clicking the Report Lost button. This will let you print out a flyer, notify shelters, and more.
- Don't give up -- dogs and cats can be found months later so keep looking.
Being Prepared
Of course the best approach is to be prepared. Microchip and tag your animals and, most importantly, keep your data updated. At PetHub, we make this easy with our PetHub Digital ID tags and free Basic account. If you want notifications and GPS maps when someone scans your pet, along with being able to quickly notify shelters, these services are available in our premium subscriptions.