Category Archives: Usefull Tools

Driveway Drops – What is that?

Time is of the essence to get the message out about your lost dogs. Many times it is just plain overwhelming when you realize how many houses there are in your area..

A group of women in the Chicagoland area came up with the idea of driveway drops. This is a quick and simple way to get the message out

What do you need to get started?

Sandwich bags

Pebbles or rocks

1/4 page flyers that you can make yourself (can use a full page flyer (folded) or even preprinted business cards)

Enlist your neighbors, kids and friends to help you put the driveway drop bags together. Put pebbles and flyer into a sandwich bag.

Finished bag

Easy peasy to make and to distribute. Have one person drive and the passenger toss the bags into the driveway. Some owners have done 500 bags in one night.

Thank you, Kim, Rosanne, Elaine and Colleen for your commitment to bring lost dogs home and idea of driveway drops!

Chicago Pets Benefiting from New ID Tag Engraver at Chicago Animal Care and Control

Misty getting her new tag. Her family being reunited with Misty

Chicago Animal Care and Control took one giant leap for petkind recently by adding a high-tech ID tag-engraving machine to its shelter facilities.

CACC Administrative Services Officer Susan Cappello said the non-profit group, Friends of Chicago Animal Care and Control, donated a VIP Pet ID tag machine to the shelter in January 2016.

“The Pet ID Tag machine will be used to provide free pet ID tags to all customers who adopt a new pet, find their lost pet, and attend our monthly low-cost pet vaccine clinic,” Cappello told Lost Dogs Illinois via email. “In less than one week of use, CACC made over 10 tags already to new or existing pet owners.”

Cappello added that CACC’s next low-cost vaccine clinic will be held Feb. 17 and that “[W]e plan to provide a pet ID tag to every customer” that day.

Providing pets with ID tags can help shelters reduce overcrowding. A 2010 study conducted by The American Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals suggested that pet ID tags containing owner contact information make it easier for people to help get that animal home should it become lost. That allows a shelter to direct its resources to supporting true homeless pets.

ID tag and collar

“Having a microchip is a great safety measure for emergencies or if the pet loses a tag or collar,” Dr. Emily Weiss, vice president of shelter research and development for the American Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals told New York Times blogger Tara Parker-Pope in 2011. “But an ID tag is the simplest, easiest way to assure your pet is going to get home.”

Chicago Animal Care and Control strongly recommends that all pet owners microchip and obtain a collar and tag for their pets, Cappello said.

“Cats that get lost are nine times more likely to be reunited with their owner if they arrive at a shelter with a collar and tag or microchip,” Cappello emphasized. “Dogs are five times more likely to be returned home to their owner if they have a collar and tag or microchip.

“If your pet gets lost and is found by our shelter, we will research the tag and microchip information and contact you as soon as possible,” Cappello said. “Collars with identification are your pets’ fastest ticket back to you should they become lost.”

Engraving an ID tag at Joliet Township Animal Control

CACC joins Joliet Township Animal Control as two major Northern Illinois municipal animal control programs now offering ID tags as part of the adoption/retrieval package. JTAC, which serves Joliet, Joliet Township, Crest Hill and Rockdale, used part of a $20,000 grant awarded it by The Petco Foundation, in partnership with Natural Balance Pet Foods, to purchase its machine in March 2015.

Thank you Lydia Rypcinski for writing this article!

Pictures Matter!

The one thing Lost dogs Illinois has proven time after time on our page is pictures work in getting lost dogs home! Pictures are the universal language.

Point in case…… A match was made this week on the unofficial Animal Welfare League (AWL) – Found/Stray Dogs Facebook Page, which is run by a group of volunteers who absolutely understand the importance of posting found dog pictures. When a volunteer is able to get to AWL, she tries to post pictures of “found” animals to the page.

The match was Pepe, a 19 year old Chihuahua, who was posted as lost on Lost Dogs Illinois Facebook page on July 28^th.

Pepe’s found dog picture was posted on AWL’s unofficial page on August 3^rd even though Pepe was brought to Animal Welfare League on July 30^th.

Luckily one of LDI’s fans recognized Pepe and emailed his owner right away. A very Happy Reunited was made!

So what do we learn from this? If there was an official Facebook page or if AWL would use the Pet Harbor software to post found dog photos (like they use for their adoption photos), Pepe would have probably been home by August 1^st. This would have meant less stress for Pepe, Pepe’s family, other dogs in the shelter, volunteers and staff. It would have also been less of financial strain for Pepe’s family and the shelter.

We hope successful reunions like Pepe will convince Animal Welfare League to post pictures on Pet Harbor or their own official Facebook page. Technology has made it so simple – a cell phone can be used to upload photos directly to Facebook. Don’t our Illinois dogs deserve the very best chance to get back home to their families?

Luring a Shy, Lost Dog Using a Portable Grill

Using a portable grill can be very helpful in catching a shy, scared dog. If you are getting sightings of your dog in a general area, we recommend setting up a feeding station. This can help to keep a lost dog in one area and eventually lead to capture. However, sometimes it is difficult to get a lost dog to find the feeding station. Grilling meats with a portable grill can help!

The smell of bacon or bratwurst cooking on a grill is very strong. Humans can pick up the scent of grilled meats when someone in the neighborhood is grilling out. Which means a hungry dog can also pick up that yummy, tempting scent, but from an even greater distance since dogs have a much better sense of smell than humans.

When you are grilling for a shy, lost dog, you must do it very quietly. You do not want to scare him out of the area. Pick a location near to where your dog’s sightings have been, but make sure it is an area that is people-free and safe for your dog (away from roadways, train tracks and thawing ponds). If your sightings have been consistent and you suspect that your dog is using a regular path of travel, then we recommend grilling near that pathway. This can improve your chances of your dog finding the tempting food. It is also important to get permission from the landowner to grill on their property. Make sure to read and abide by the grilling instructions included with your portable grill. Never leave a grill unattended.

Once you choose the location and receive permission from the owner of the property – you can begin. It is best to only have ONE person grilling to prevent your dog from getting scared away by the sounds of your voices. Remember, for a shy, lost dog – two’s a crowd! Once your grill is set up and the meat is cooking, quietly sit in the area for as long as it takes to cook. When the meat is cooked, you can place it on the ground or in your dog’s dish. If possible, set up a trail camera facing the grilled food, so you will know who has stopped by to eat and when (set the time/date function on the camera).

Don’t be disappointed if your dog does not find the food within 24 hours. Just grill quietly again the next day and leave the area. If your dog is seen eating the grilled food, it is important to continue to keeep yummy, tempting food at this location. He or she will be sure to stop by again for more. Once you know that your dog is coming to this feeding station on a regular basis, you can consider setting up a humane live trap near the food. Please see our articles on humane trapping for details.

Good luck and happy grilling! Remember, your lost dog is depending on YOU to bring him safely home.

Colleen Duero, Lost Dogs of Wisconsin Volunteer

Contact your local radio stations!

Flyer, flyer and flyer some more!

Your friends and family members are eager to help you find your lost dog. They are willing to do whatever it takes to bring him/her home, including combing through every street and back alley in your neighborhood. They are all waiting for instruction from you. But, what should you tell them to do? What is the best way to use their time and effort to find your missing dog?

Friends want to help? Send them out flyering

Even though it may seem counter intuitive, you should not send your friends and family members on a wild goose chase, or, in this case a dog chase, through the streets. Looking for a lost dog by wandering through the streets is like looking for a needle in a haystack. And, a dog who is approached by someone the animal doesn’t know well may get scared and run even farther from home…even if all the person was trying to do was return the dog to its family.

What you should say to your friends and family members is that you’d appreciate them taking some time to put out flyers all over town. Hand each of them a stack of flyers that include a full, current picture of your dog, a description of his or her appearance that highlights any unusual physical or behavioral traits the dog has, and your contact information.

When your friends and family members look at you like you’re crazy, remind them that the most effective way to find a lost dog is by putting up and handing out flyers as soon as possible following an animal’s disappearance. More often than not, a dog is reunited with its family because someone who has reviewed a flyer sees the lost pet, and calls the dog’s distraught owners.

So, if your pet goes missing at some point in the future, gather as many friends and family members as you can, and send each and every one of them out with big stacks of flyers. It is the best way to ensure your lost dog will be returned to your loving arms.

Google Maps – A Useful Tool for an Elusive Dog

You’ve lost your shy dog and you’ve done a good job delivering flyers and posting intersection signs. Now your sightings are coming in but you’re having a hard time keeping track. The sightings seem to be all over the place. It couldn’t possibly be your dog, in so many places, in such a short amount of time. Or could it?

Lost dogs in survival mode require three things. They require food and water, hiding places, and avoidance of predators (people). If you use maps and satellite photos to assess food sources, hiding places and safe, secluded routes of travel; you may start to see a pattern emerge. Using an online mapping service is an invaluable tool to help you record and evaluate your sightings.

Google Maps is a free web mapping service that can help you plot your sightings and give you clues to your dog’s whereabouts. Be aware though, that Google maps and satellite images are not updated in real time, they could be several months or years old. New construction may not appear on the maps and photos. Buildings and landscapes change and you will have to take that into consideration. Photos are taken during different seasons. Summer photos will appear very different from photos taken in the same area in the autumn after the leaves have fallen.

Different areas of the country have satellite photos taken at different resolutions. Generally, the more populated the area – the better the photo, and the closer that you will be able to zoom in and see detail. Many urban and suburban areas also now have Street View – a setting that lets you see buildings and landmark features as if you were standing on the ground in front of them.

This blog isn’t a tutorial on how to use Google maps. There is plenty of information on-line. Instead, we want to give you some specific tips on how to determine where your dog may be. The best way to learn how to use Google Maps is to dive in and try it. Enter the address where your dog went missing from. Practice changing from map to satellite (aerial photo) view, and zooming in and out.

Practice adding place markers for the following. Use different colors and symbols for:

Locations where your dog went missing from
Every sighting with a time and date
Areas flyered
Sign locations
Potential food sources
Potential hiding places
Potential routes that your dog is traveling

Switch to satellite view. Objects viewed from the air appear different from the ground. Practice somewhere you are familiar with. What do these things look like from the air?

Common landmarks:

A golf course:

A cemetery:

A shopping mall:

A mobile home park:

Vertical landmarks from the ground may not be easily apparent on a satellite photo. Watch for the shadows made by the objects. Vertical landmarks include:

Water towers
Power lines
Church steeples
Cell phone towers
Tall buildings
Doppler radar sites

A water tower in satellite imagery. It looks like a golf ball, but notice the shadow that it casts

Look for possible hiding places that lost dogs commonly use:

abandoned farms and homes
cemeteries
golf courses
parks near populated areas
industrial areas
run down neighborhoods
quiet suburban neighborhoods especially if they adjoin parks and trails

Look for possible routes of travel that lost dogs commonly use:

bike and hiking trails
fence lines and the edge of fields
logging roads
power lines
pipelines and cut lines
railroad tracks

Be aware that narrow roads, trails, and power lines may “disappear” in summer photos because of tree foliage. Railroad tracks are usually very apparent in photos because of the width of clearing around the track bed. Trees do not usually overhang train tracks.

Look for possiblefood sources:

restaurants and hotels
farms (cat food, corn and spilled grain)
convenience stores and grocery stores
campgrounds, picnic grounds, rest stops and parks
golf courses with food services
food processing plants
feed mills

Keep your Google map updated and share it via email link with the friends, family and volunteers that are helping you. Lost dogs will often fall into an habitual pattern, visiting the same food sources and using the same hiding places and routes of travel. Flyer these areas heavily to get more sightings. Place intersection signs strategically so that passersby will also be on the lookout for your dog.

You may realize that sightings that seemed impossible at first, really are possible when you view them from the air. Driving routes are often much longer than the routes that lost dogs will take. Using shortcuts, they can travel what appears to be a long distance in a short amount of time.

Advances in technology are giving us more and more tools in the toolbox of lost dog recovery. Using Google Maps can save you valuable time when recovering your lost dog.

A tutorial showing how to create a Google map and drop markers to help you organize an effective search for a dog created by Retrievers Volunteer Lost Dog Team: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tQRfKf2gb4k

Change Your Voicemail When Your Dog is Lost

We thought we’d take a moment to tell you how important it is to change your welcome messages on your voicemail and answering machines if your pet goes missing. Even though this is a task that many owners of lost dogs overlook, the importance of changing your messages to reflect your dog’s status as “missing” cannot be overstated.

Because most people cannot always answer their phone, it is important for you to realize that your recorded greeting is what will make a first impression on someone who is trying to share information about your lost pet when you are not available to take a call. If your message does not indicate that your dog is lost and you are trying to recover your pet, but are simply unable to answer the phone at that exact moment, the caller may decide you don’t really want your dog back. Or the person may think you don’t deserve to get your dog back since you didn’t have a moment to pick up the phone.

Right or wrong, people can be justifiably or unduly judgmental. So it’s vital that your message communicate that your dog is currently missing, you are eager to have your pet returned to you because you love and care for him or her, and that you will respond to any caller who leaves a message for you as quickly as possible, as the following exemplary message does:

“Wait! Please don’t hang up! I have a lost dog. If you are calling because you think you saw my dog, please leave a message. I’ll return your call as soon as I possibly can. Thank you for your help!”

Look at it this way. If one of your family members was missing, any caller could be trying to contact you to share information necessary for your loved one to make it back home. And since many of us view our pets as children, the circumstances are very similar, meaning every caller could provide information that helps you get your dog back.

So it is imperative that you change your voicemail and answering machine greetings to messages that will encourage, not dissuade people to leave messages for you. Simply changing your messages can be the difference between someone choosing to leave a helpful message for you or not. It could mean the difference between your dog being returned to you or not, in other words.

To create your free flyer and social media links to help you generate sightings of your missing dog please file a report with our partner, Pet FBI at www.petfbi.org. One of our volunteers will post your dog’s listing to the appropriate state or provincial page.

1/12/2021