What to do if you lose your pet:
- Don’t wait for your pet to find his way home. Search the neighborhood several times a day. Ask neighbors, mail carriers, and delivery people if they have seen your pet.
- Post fliers with a recent picture where your pet was last seen. A photo is especially important if you have a mixed breed dog, whose appearance can be difficult to describe.
- Place a lost & found ad in the local newspaper(s).
- Check with local veterinarians, kennels, groomers, and law enforcement to see if a found pet has been reported to them.
- Go to Franklin County Animal Shelter (614-462-4360) for dogs or Capital Area Humane Society (614-777-7387) for cats as soon as you think your pet is missing. Continue to visit the shelter every few days.
- File a lost pet report with every shelter within a 60-mile radius of your home.
How to prevent losing a pet:
- Always license your dog with Franklin County. Many shelters offer extended services if a found pet is wearing its license. Also, the license fees help to support shelter animals waiting for homes.
- Have a personal tag made up with your pet’s name, and your current contact information: an address and phone number with area code. golden retriever
- Always keep a collar on your pet with its tags. Make sure your pet’s collar fits properly. You should only be able to fit two fingers between the collar and the neck. An animal wearing a collar that is too loose can back out of it, losing their identity.
- Indoor cats should wear collars and tags, too. They can sneak out when a door doesn’t close all the way. Make sure it is a break-away collar in case he becomes caught on something.
- Consider getting a microchip for your pet. It is a simple procedure that doesn’t require anesthesia.
- Take a photo of your pet with a digital camera and keep it current on your computer.
- If you move, update everything: tags, microchips, vet information, etc. Keep your pet’s records in one place so that you can easily locate and update these items.
- Keep your pet safely secured inside if they are spooked by fireworks, thunderstorms, etc.
- If your backyard is gated or fenced, consider putting a lock on the gate so that no one from the outside can open the gate, especially when you aren’t home.
- Walk around your fence periodically to check and repair. Look for holes that need to be filled. If your dog is a digger, consider pouring concrete by your gate so that he can’t dig himself out of the yard.
- Crate or buckle your dog in the car. If they are crated or buckled in during an accident, they are less likely to be thrown or flee the scene out of fear.
- Always transport a cat in a carrier. A carried cat can bolt and hide if frightened by loud noises. When a cat is frightened in strange surroundings, especially with traffic noise around, it will hide and will not come to you.
- Trainers consider “come” to be the most important command to teach your dog. If he associates “come” with a favorite treat or toy, even if he is chasing after something exciting, like a leaf, he will stop and come back to you. Another tactic is to try “sit.” If he doesn’t respond to “come” try “sit” instead. Have your pet spayed or neutered because it reduces the roaming urge. This is also a good time to have a microchip implanted.
What to do if you find a pet:
- Stay put if at all possible. Try to trace the owner before surrendering the stray to a shelter. The animal is probably not far from where she was lost.
- Be cautious when handling a lost pet. It will probably be frightened and possibly injured. Avoid quick movements. You may be able to use food to get close to the animal, rather than just reaching for it.
- Keep the stray animal away from your pets, since you are unaware of the animal’s disposition and vaccine history.siamese cat
- Check to see if the animal is wearing any identification.
- If possible, take the lost animal to Avery Animal Hospital, Capital Area Humane Society, or Franklin County Animal Shelter to have her scanned for a microchip.
- Report the lost animal to all of the local shelters and veterinarians, since the pet’s owner will likely check there for their pet.
- Post fliers with a photo of the lost animal. Be sure to display them in the area that you found the animal, and make sure it is large enough to be seen by a passing car.
Helpful Links:
Franklin County Dog Shelter
Pet FBI website
