If you have lost a dog or other pet, take the following steps immediately:

• Make Telephone calls:
  1. Call Animal Control Shelters and Humane Societies in all neighboring counties, since lost dogs can travel up to 10 miles a day.
  2. Call your neighbors and keep them on the lookout for your pet.
  3. Call all nearby vet clinics and animal hospitals.
  4. Call the vet that is listed on your dog’s rabies tag.
• Visit local shelters
  1. Don’t just call the nearby shelters, but visit them every 5 days. Shelters are hectic places, and staff may not be able to search every kennel, or they may not recognize your pet from your description. At the shelters be sure to check any isolation kennels, and their ‘hospital’ kennels. Ask to see the euthanasia list. Be sure to visit every 5 days. Most shelters are forced to euthanise unclaimed pets every 5 days to make room for more strays.
• Advertise:
  1. Run a ‘lost dog’ ad in local newspapers and look on www.helpinglostpets.com
  2. Check the ‘found dog’ ads in the local papers every day.
  3. Put up large flyers in your neighborhood and on all major roads in the greater vicinity giving a brief description of your pet and the date lost. Include a reward if you can.

There are also online ‘lost and found’ sites for posting advertisements nationally, such as Lost and Found.com.