Determining how your dog went missing will help you strategize to find him safely. The first question to ask yourself is “How Did My Dog Go Missing?” Be honest. In a panic, most people jump to the conclusion that their dog was “stolen” because they’ve never been lost before or because they make a false assumption that the dog couldn’t possibly have gotten out of the yard. Check the scene carefully. Are there holes in the fence? Did the wind blow the gate open? Did a meter reader or contractor leave the gate unlatched? Were there loud noises that could have scared your dog?
The key factor to the opportunistic dog is that the dog was in a happy frame of mind when he went missing. He either saw an opportunity to wander (an unlatched gate, opening in fence) or he was following his nose (chasing a chipmunk, deer, etc.) and got further away than normal. If your dog fits this profile then the following series of articles will help you determine your course of action. These dogs have a high probability of being picked up by a Good Samaritan who didn’t want to see them get hit by a car. Read these articles for tips that will help.
Dogs lost from stressful situations include those spooked by loud noises such as fireworks, thunderstorms, gun shots and cars backfiring; dogs lost from places other than home such as pet sitters, boarding kennels, animal shelters, vet clinics, foster homes, newly adopted or purchased dogs; and those lost from car accidents and house fires. These dogs have a high probablity of becoming shy, elusive dogs who may run and hide from all people (including their owners) and who may live indefinitely on their own. Read these articles for tips that will help.
Regardless of how your dog went missing, immediately file a report with our partner, Pet FBI. You will be able to create a free flyer and social media links so that you can spread the word about your missing dog. Your flyer will be posted on our corresponding state’s Facebook page by a volunteer. Print out and hand deliver your flyers door to door in the area where your dog was last seen. Deliver copies to all local vet clinics, shelters and police departments. Do not rely on services (free or paid) who say they will alert shelters and vets for you. Those emails may never be received or opened and/or never seen by the staff. Your dog may end up at their facility and be adopted out or put down without you being notified.
Never Give Up! Your dog is relying on YOU to bring him safely home.
Our tips, ideas and articles are based on information gathered from thousands of successful lost dog recoveries. All of our services are free. Any advice or suggestions made by Lost Dogs of Wisconsin/Lost Dogs Illinois is not paid-for professional advice and should be taken at owner’s discretion.
One of our goals is to work with the animal control facilities and shelters to untangle the mess that is currently the lost pet recovery system in our nation. The main function of tax-payer funded animal control is to hold lost pets until owners reclaim them, thereby protecting the public from traffic accidents, dog bites, scratches, etc. caused by loose pets.
Our organizations advise people that have found a dog to contact their official local stray holding facility (whether it be the shelter, a vet clinic or kennel, the town office or police department). Some stray-holding facilities will allow the finder to “foster” the dog until an owner is found; but many want the dog brought to their facility. And that is okay, as long as they are doing everything possible to proactively reunite the dog with their family. Unfortunately, there are still stray holding facilities that do not proactively search for an owner and the dog may be at risk of being put down at the end of the stray hold period. In these municipalities it is common for a Good Samaritan (the person who has found a loose dog) to want to ensure the best possible outcome for the dog. The higher the “kill rate” of a shelter, the less likely it is that the dog will be taken there. Instead of taking the dog to the correct animal control facility for the location, the Good Samaritan may surrender the dog to a rescue. We understand this and appreciate the Good Samaritan’s compassion for the dog. Unfortunately, many of these dogs are never reunited with their owners, and instead are rehomed to new adopters who may not realize that they have adopted someone else’s dog.
Rescues have the responsibility to make sure that the dogs they are rehoming are truly homeless. If they aren’t, they are simply selling someone else’s property, a criminal offense in all fifty states.
We have compiled this checklist to help rescues find the owner of a missing dog. This does not exempt the rescue from liability if an owner comes forward after the dog is rehomed. Civil cases brought forth by an owner against ar rescue or a new adopter are being won in court.
Scan the dog for a microchip several times with different scanners using Best Microchip Scanning Procedures. If a microchip is found but appears to be a “dead end” fill out a form for our free service by clicking here. This can be used even if the microchip is unregistered. The owners of many dogs with unregistered microchips have been found through this service.
Fill out a found dog report with our partner, Pet FBI with several clear photos of the dog from different angles. Keep the listing up to date.
Print out the free flyers provided by Pet FBI and distribute them door to door in the area where the dog was found.
File a found dog report with the correct stray holding facility for where the dog was found, as well as those in surrounding communities and counties. It is not uncommon for a dog to travel a long distance when they are lost or to be taken to a neighboring county shelter by a Good Samaritan.
File a found dog report with all police departments, sheriff’s offices, town and county offices and other local authorities in the immediate area and neighboring communities. This is often the first place that owners will contact.
Contact all local vet clinics, pet boarding facilities, groomers and pet supply stores to ask if they have had any reports of lost dogs. Supply them with a found dog flyer to post.
Scour the lost dog listings in the area including Craigslist, Nextdoor, Everyblock or other neighborhood sites, Facebook groups, local newspapers and radio stations and all lost and found pet internet sites including of course, our partner, Pet FBI – the nation’s largest non-profit database for lost and found pets.
Consider that the dog could have been lost a long time and do not let appearance factors like weight, overgrown toenails, matted coat, etc. deter your search for an owner. Also consider that the last person who had the dog may not be the rightful owner. You owe it to the dog to find the rightful owner and find out the truth.
Consider that the owner may not speak English or may not have a cell phone or the internet. Do not assume that because no one has responded to your social media posts, that the dog has been abandoned. Many people are not on social media or do not have access to the internet. Expand your search for an owner to include other languages. Use more traditional methods of getting the word out, such as door to door flyering and signs.
These steps will ensure you have done your due diligence to find the legal owner of the pet and would minimize any possible future legal action if an owner comes forward later. However, the only way you can truly indemnify yourself as a rescue, is to only pull dogs from shelters after they have completed their legal stray hold time.
We understand that this places an additional burden on rescues but the positive implications are huge. Rescues who reunite a dog with their rightful owners free up an adoptive home for a dog who truly needs it. Valuable money and resources can be saved to help truly homeless dogs. Happy reunion stories are widely shared and can elevate the rescue’s reputation in the community. This increased goodwill (and potential donations) enables the rescue to save more lives. Let’s all work together to help more lost dogs get home!
According to a recent study, about 85 million households in America have a pet, roughly 68%. Cats and dogs are the most popular pets, with the number of dog households edging out cats by about 13 points (60.2% dogs vs. 47.1% cats). RV’ing with your pets (whether full-time or part-time) is gaining popularity so I would like to offer some tips to help if the unthinkable happens and your dog goes missing from your RV or campground.
Our organization, Lost Dogs Illinois, has helped in the recovery of thousands of missing dogs from all types of situations. We are a network of pet-loving volunteers who have banded together to assist owners who are missing a pet.
Some of our state affiliates have been in existence since 2010 and we can now look back at our statistics and make some pretty good predictions about what may or may not have happened to your missing dog. The most important thing we have learned is that lost dogs (and pets of all types, although we focus our efforts on dogs) do not drop off the face of the earth. They are out there somewhere. But sometimes connecting the dots to get them home is counter-intuitive to what the owners may do in a panic.
We have learned to profile lost dogs (similar to what is done in missing person cases) to achieve the best possible chance of a successful recovery. Dogs lost while travelling fit into our profile category Dogs Who Have Gone Missing From Somewhere Other Than Home. This category also includes dogs lost from boarding kennels, petsitters, vet clinics, groomers, animal shelters, foster homes, newly adopted homes and car accidents. Today we will talk specifically about dogs lost while RV’ing.
Although preventative methods such as making sure your pet is wearing a collar with visible ID tags and is microchipped with up to date contact information are important, that is not what we want to discuss here. It does no good for your dog to have a microchip or a collar if he can’t be caught!
A few things to consider which may be hurdles to these cases:
The owner may not know the geography of the area or even which county they are camping in. Since most animal shelters and sheriff’s departments are administered by county governments, this can be an issue. Owners may also not know where the vet clinics are – another important first point of contact when your dog goes missing.
The owner may be on a time frame which requires him to leave the area before the dog is found.
Campgrounds often have summer time fireworks celebrations. Camping and fireworks can be a deadly combination for an older, sensitive or fearful dog. Dogs who were not afraid of fireworks in their younger years may become sensitive to loud noises as they age. If your dog is afraid of loud noises, it may be prudent to check ahead with the campgrounds where you will be staying so that you can make alternate plans if necessary.
The owner may not have good wi-fi or cell service and a printer to quickly file a report and print and deliver flyers in the area where the dog went missing. If the dog ends up at a nearby animal shelter and the owner hasn’t filed a lost dog report with the shelter, the shelter may adopt the dog out to a new home or put him down in as little as 24 hours depending on the stray hold ordinances in that municipality. Police departments, vet clinics, animal shelters and stray holding facilities do not cross-communicate. You must contact each of the facilities separately if your pet is missing.
Although it may seem like a hopeless situation, the good news is that it isn’t! We’d like to share with you what we have learned. Although we never say never please consider these tips:
If your dog has bolted, especially from a loud noise or other scary situation, he may go into survival mode quickly. This means that he will revert to behavior similar to a wild animal and may be reluctant to approach any humans, even his owners.
These dogs do not generally travel very far – often staying VERY close to the spot where they went missing from. They generally do not head for home or set off on long journeys (unless they are chased). Consider your campsite ground zero and keep it quiet. Do not allow people to congregate there. Many lost dogs will be drawn back by the familiar scent of their owner and vehicle but they will remain wary if there are too many strangers milling about.
The MOST important thing you can do is to spread the word to everyone that is helping you to NOT call, whistle, approach or pursue your dog. The dog needs to be lured back to the spot it went missing from, as if you were trying to lure a scared cat or tame a wild animal like a squirrel or chipmunk.
Do not offer a reward for your dog. Rewards encourage people to chase your dog which could endanger his life if he is chased into traffic. Rewards will also bring scammers out in full force which will distract you and waste your time chasing down false leads and sightings.
Using scent articles (the dog’s bed, toys, and dirty articles of clothing or bed sheets from the person most bonded with the dog) will help keep the dog in the area. Place them somewhere safe (well away from roadways) along with smelly, tasty food and water. When hunters lose a dog while hunting they leave their coat out on the ground at the place they last saw their dog. The dog is often lying on it when the hunter returns the next day.
If you see your dog, immediately sit down on the ground (preferably upwind) and toss a few tasty treats (like small bits of hot dogs) out around you. Stay low and do not make eye contact. A scared dog will not usually approach a group of people. Do this by yourself and ask others to leave the area. It may take a few minutes, or a few hours, but your dog might approach you. He may circle around and approach you from behind. Be patient and speak softly or not at all.
Flyer the area heavily and use intersection signs to alert passing motorists about your missing dog. Again, remember to stress “Do NOT Chase” on your flyers and signs. The greatest risk to a shy lost dog is that he will be chased into traffic and killed.
Be patient. Dogs lost from somewhere other than home may hunker down for a day or two and then creep back out to where they went missing from – lured by the tasty food and scent items you left.
How We Can Help:
If your pet goes missing, immediately file a report with our partner, Pet FBI at www.petfbi.org. This is a FREE international database (Canada and the U.S) where your dog’s description and photo will be stored until he is safely home. This enables our volunteers to watch for potential matches with found dog reports. Our volunteers will also create a free flyer and post it to our social media sites including Facebook and Twitter, which have large, local followings. In some states we are also available for free consultations with more tips and advice especially if it becomes necessary to humane trap your scared lost dog. We have a series of articles on our website that explains the trapping process in detail.
Please read through our website articles for more tips and ideas which may help you in your search.
According to the U.S. Census the average American will move 12 times in their life. Moving is stressful for both two and four legged family members. Your dog’s health and behavior can be off during and after the move. Below are tips for moving with your dog to help alleviate some of the stress and keep your dog safe.
Ensure your dog is wearing a properly fitted collar with current information on the ID tag.
Contact your dog’s microchip company to update your contact information.
During the move (both from old residence and new residence), confine your dog in one room with familiar bedding/toys. If your dog is crate trained, use the crate. Close the door and place a large sign stating, “Do Not Enter”. If it is not possible to confine your dog to one room, then considering boarding him/her during the move.
Keep your dog’s current vaccination records as well as a list of numbers for your local animal control, non-emergency police line and area vet clinics handy. Keep a current photo of your pets either printed or handy on your phone or tablet.
If you are driving cross country for your move, be mindful of your dog darting out of car doors at gas stations, rest stops, hotels, etc. Make sure your dog is attached to the leash before you open the door and you have a firm grip on the leash.
Once moved:
For at least the first few days place baby gates in front of all exterior doors even to the door leading to the garage.
If your new home has a fenced yard, perform a safety check; look for holes both in and under the fence, loose boards, broken gate latches, etc. Continue to be diligent – watch your dog’s behavior for the next few weeks in the fenced yard, he/she could find the weak link to escape out of the fenced yard.
Familiarize yourself with your new community by getting to know where your shelters, animal control facilities, vet clinics, police departments and town offices are. You will want to have this information handy in case your dog goes missing.
If your dog does get loose/lost please immediately file a report with our partner, Pet FBI at www.petfbi.org to create a free flyer and social media links. One of our volunteers will post your listing to the appropriate state or provincial Facebook page. Then check out this article from our website: Tips For Dogs Who Are Lost From Somewhere Other Than Home.
