Persistence can prevail with lost pet

Many of us who share our lives with pets have had the experience of coming back to the house, kennel or yard where we left our pet and finding that they are not there. That sense of dread and worry starts to creep up on us. Most of the time, we find them pretty quickly or discover they were never really gone, only hiding in an unusual place or stuck in a rarely opened closet. But, sometimes a dog goes through an open gate or a cat slips through the door.

What should you do?

If your dog is missing, walk to places you’ve taken her or that you know she likes. Carry treats, call her, whistle for her. Have friends and family spread out and try to cover a radius of several blocks around the house.

With cats, you may need to sit and be patient. Indoor cats who get outside often take cover under a porch or in thick bushes and sit, immobile, until things quiet down. Most of the time, they do not go far from the house, and they are often right in your own backyard. They may come out at night or early in the morning when things are quiet. Sit on the porch with some food and call your cat like you would if calling him for a meal. You may have to wait quite a while, but if you sit quietly by yourself and keep the atmosphere as calm as possible, your cat will often meow an answer to you or venture out of hiding.

Inform the neighborhood

Tell your neighbors and regular visitors such as newspaper delivery people or mail carriers. Make fliers that include a good picture of your pet and your phone numbers, and post them around the neighborhood, at grocery stores, veterinary hospitals and in any public gathering spots. Call local veterinarians with a description, so they can watch for your pet.

Inform the local shelters (see box). You can check their Web sites or hotlines to see descriptions of the pets that have been found, and you can leave information about your lost pet. It is a good idea to go to the shelters in person every couple of days, because descriptions of pets can be very subjective and you may not recognize that they are talking about your pet.

Inform the community

Place a Lost Pet ad and check the Found Pet ads.

Increase your chances of finding your pet by having proper ID. Your pet should wear a collar with tags that have your current address and phone numbers. You should have recent, good quality photos that you can place on fliers should your pet become lost.

Microchip your pet in case his collar and tags come off. Microchips are about the size of a grain of rice. They are implanted over the back of the neck in dogs and cats through a simple injection. Scanners used by all veterinary hospitals and animal shelters can detect the unique identification number carried by the microchip. If your pet is brought to an animal shelter or to a veterinary hospital, they will check the pet for a microchip.

If one is detected, they will call the company that made the chip (usually AVID or HomeAgain in the U.S.), find out who the chip is registered to, and get in touch with the registered owner. If your vet or the shelter from which you adopt your pet implants the chip, then they are the “registered owner.” Make sure you register yourself with either AVID or HomeAgain as the owner of the pet. Otherwise, precious time will pass while the finder of your pet calls your vet or shelter, and they in turn look through their records to find out which animal received that chip.

Don’t give up

Sometimes pets turn up several weeks later, so stay vigilant for clues as to your pet’s whereabouts. In the sad event that you never find your pet, at least you will know you did everything in your power to be reunited with him.