Baby, it’s Cold Outside – Keep Your Dog Safe

With the weather becoming blustery, dog owners might consider the following safety tips:

Keep ID tags on your dog at all times along with a properly fitted collar – personal ID tag, Rabies/license tag, and microchip tag. If your dog gets lost, you want the person who finds your dog to be able to easily contact or find you.
Make sure your dog is microchipped and the chip is registered to you. A microchip is a tiny chip implanted between your dog’s shoulder blades; it can be scanned and used to identify your dog. Don’t forget to update your contact information with the microchip registry if you move. (If you adopted your dog from an animal shelter, he/she may be already microchipped. Check your adoption records or ask your veterinarian to scan your dog for a microchip.)
Use a sturdy, traditional leash; slip the loop of the leash over your right thumb and close your fingers tightly around the loop. Use left hand to hold the leash further down. This will keep the dog on your left and if she/she tries to bolt, you have both hands on the leash.
When children are walking the dog, they should not only be old enough to understand the safety precautions, but also physically strong enough to handle the dog if he/she attempts to bolt.
If you let your dog out into a fenced yard, check the fence on a routine basis to make sure it is secure. Winds and snow can damage your fence.
Be extra cautious with shy/timid dogs. When walking them, make sure they have a properly fitted martingale collar along with a harness; either hook the harness and collar together with one leash or leash separately. Both collar and harness should have ID tags.

Bundle up and enjoy!

Safe Driving with Dogs

Many dogs are lost from auto accidents. Sometimes this is unavoidable and if it happens to you, please read our article on how to quickly and safely recover these dogs.

Tips For Dogs That Are Lost From Somewhere Other Than Home

But prevention and good safety are key to keeping a dog safe while you are driving. We would like to share this very educational infographic with you on Safe Driving With Dogs.

fullcoverageautoinsurances.com/safe-driving-with-dogs/

Thank you to Andrew from Teens4Safety.com for suggesting this to us!

Lost Dogs Illinois: More than a posting service…..

You know Lost Dogs Illinois provides free posting of lost and found dogs in Illinois, reuniting over 22,000 dogs in our nearly 6 years of existence, but did you know we do more than that? Take a look below and read about the other services we proudly provide to the Illinois dog community:

www.lostdogsillinois.org is the LDI website packed with educational and resource materials to help prevent losing a dog and guide lost dog owners on how to find their dog. Articles providing resources and action plans are just two of the great resources.

Lost Dogs Illinois has partnered with Helping Lost Pets (HeLP). HeLP is a totally FREE, map-based national lost/found registry which provides 4 different flyer templates.

Tips, articles and other useful resources to assist in finding a lost dog or a lost dog’s owner are posted daily on our Facebook page.

Community Outreach Events are an important way for LDI to spread the word about our services, provide educational handouts and provide free microchip scans for dogs. Also, thanks to an ASPCA grant, LDI is now able to make engraved id tags on the spot at events and provide them at low cost to pet owners.

We believe microchips are an essential part of identifying lost pets and LDI donates microchips to be used by shelters, rescues and animal control agencies at low cost clinics.

Pinterest, Instagram and Twitter are three important social media platforms that LDI also uses.

Education for Animal Welfare Professionals; LDI believes in working not only with the public but animal welfare professionals by presenting best practices for starting a lost dog recovery team and increasing return to owner rates for shelter/rescue/animal control staff.

Also, for owners of lost dogs and finders of lost dogs we don’t just post the dog; they receive an informational email and are directed to our website for tools and resources in lost dog recovery.

So, there is a lot more going on at Lost Dogs Illinois than just the lost and found postings on our Facebook page! We thank you for your support of all our work.

Joint Microchip Clinic – Joliet Township Animal Control

Tips For Dogs That Are Lost From Somewhere Other Than Home

Lenny escaped from a transport in southern IL. He was being transported from a Missouri puppy mill to Chicago. Luckily a Good Samaritan and the local ACO kept food/water/shelter out in the area for Lenny after he escaped. 60 days later Lenny was captured very near to where he escaped.

Lenny escaped from a transport in southern IL (being transported from a Missouri puppy mill to Chicago). Luckily a Good Samaritan and the local ACO volunteered to take over the search for the Chicago family. They kept food/water/shelter out in the area where Lenny went missing. 60 days later they were able to capture Lenny very near where he escaped.

It is not uncommon for a dog to go missing from a location other than home. These situations can include but are not limited to dogs that go missing from a:

Vacation or camping trip
Pet sitter
Vet clinic
Groomer
Animal Shelter
Foster home
Rescue transport
Car Accident

This sounds horrifying, but with a good plan of action these dogs are usually quite predictable in their actions and can be successfully recovered.

We’d like to share with you what we have learned. Although we never say never please consider these tips:

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).
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.
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 and toss a few tasty treats out around you. 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.

Please read through the rest of our articles on Shy Lost Dog Strategies . Never give up! Your lost dog is counting on you to bring him safely home.

From A LDI’s Volunteer Perspective

Volunteering has really made me rethink my dogs. First, do I have decent pictures? I have cutsie ones, but would they help identify Chumbly or Phoebe if they ran off? Second, my gate has a lock, but it’s never locked because it sticks. Time for a new lock! Third, my dogs never have a collar when at home. They are pugs and collars are hard with pugs. They have harnesses with all the good info on them. the info isn’t much good if the harnesses are hanging in the closet. They are both microchipped and I think the info is current. I’m going to double check that one tomorrow, just to be sure. I guess the biggest mistake people make is thinking that their dog could ever go missing. Me included.

Keep Your Dog Safe During The Fourth Of July

Noisy parades, loud music, neighborhood picnics, and, of course, fireworks, –these summertime traditions are all great fun for people, but they are traumatic and dangerous to their pets.

More pets run away from home over the Fourth of July holiday than any other. And with many towns holding fireworks displays throughout the summer, summertime escapes are becoming more and more commonplace.

Many dogs experience similar phobias during thunderstorms or when loud music is being played. Your dog may show the following signs: shaking, drooling, howling or barking, finding a place in the house to hide, and loss of bladder or bowel control.

Lost Dogs Illinois/Lost Dogs Of Wisconsin offers the following tips to keep pets feeling safe and secure when during fireworks or thunderstorms.

Take your pet for a walk or play date before the fireworks start. This allows your dog to exercise, release energy and, of course, go “potty”.
Keep pets indoors. They may even feel safer if they are placed in a smaller interior room with a radio/tv playing.
Close your windows. Dogs, in particular, can try and get out of the house by pushing out the screen. Dogs have been known to bolt through screen doors so keep your inside door closed.
Resist the urge to take your dog to the local Independence parade and festivities. Loud, crowded activities are no fun for your pets.
Check your fence line for loose boards or openings that your dog could slip through or dig out of. We suggest during these activities, you even keep a leash on your dog and walk him/her in the fenced yard.
Make sure your pet has a license and a readable, up to date identification tag on his/her properly fitted collar and consider having a microchip identification inserted into your pet.

If your dog does accidentally escapes, please follow our 5 Things to Do if You Have Lost Your Dog.

LDI/LDOW wishes everyone a safe holiday!

Beware of Scammers!

Photo credit: angel_shark / Foter.com / CC BY-NC-SA

Even though most people are good-hearted and honest, there is the possibility that you will be contacted by dishonest reward-seekers and scammers when your dog is missing. Just last week, an owner of a lost dog emailed Lost Dogs Illinois (LDI) saying someone had contacted them from out of state, using a disposable calling card, leaving no address or name and ask to be paid a reward. The owner was distraught. Did we think they had their dog? What can they do? Losing a dog is a heartbreaking and we, at LDI, cannot understand why people would be so cruel to defraud lost dog owners. In an article last year, Better Business Bureau (BBB) published the most common scans and how to prevent them.

The Pay-Me-First Scam: The lost pet owner receives a phone call from a person claiming that they have the lost pet in their possession. This person asks that the reward money be sent to them before they return the pet. If the pet owner refuses, they will often threaten to hurt the pet in order to pressure the pet owner into sending money. Once the scammer receives the money, they are never heard from again.

The Truck Driver Scam: Someone claiming to be a long-haul truck driver tells you that he came across your pet while on his route. He then asks you to send him money so that he can send your pet back to you, or he may ask you to wire him money to board your pet until he can send your pet back with another truck driver who’s heading your way.

The Tag Team Scam: You receive a call from someone who says that they think they have your pet. After talking to you for a while and getting information about your pet, they apologize and say that they’re sorry, but it turns out that it’s not your pet after all. They then give all the information about your pet to a partner. This is a set-up — in a short time, the scammer uses the information received about your pet only to have a second person call and claim to have found your pet who will try collect any reward money in advance..

The Airline Ticket Scam: Someone calls and claims that your pet somehow ended up in another state. They ask you to send money for a kennel and an airline ticket in order for them to ship your pet back to you. Once the pet owner sends the money, the scammer walks away with it, leaving the owner without their pet and with less money in their bank account.

BBB provides the following tips to keep from falling victim to a pet loss scam:

1. If you get a call from someone who claims to be out-of-state, ask them for a phone number where you can call them back.

2. If a caller claims to have your pet in their possession, ask them to describe something about the pet that wouldn’t be visible in pictures which may have been posted.

3. Never wire money to anyone you don’t know.

4. Report the scam to your local police.

So, we bet you are wondering if the family found their dog? Yes, they did. A Good Samaritan had picked their dog up. Because of the family’s heavy flyering in the area, they were reunited with their dog. A Very Happy Reunion!

Probability VS. Possibility

Photo courtesy of ponsuwan/Freedigitalphotos.net

At Lost Dogs Illinois, we never say never. We have had too many surprises and unlikely scenarios play out in the last few years. But, that being said, we have learned a few things from the thousands of successful reunions that our organization and those of our sister sites have been involved with.

An owner that focuses the majority of their effort on what “probably” happened to their dog; rather than worrying about what “possibly” happened, is far more likely to have a quicker, more successful recovery.

Consider the weather. Is it possible for it to snow on any given day of the year in Illinois? Yes. Is it probable? No. So you can probably safely leave your parka at home in August.

Some examples pertaining to dogs:

A dog lost from a car accident that is not being pursued will probably stay within a 1/2 mile radius of where the accident occurred.
A small friendly dog lost in a populated area has probably been picked up, often very close to where they went missing from. They can be taken to a shelter, stray holding facility or rescue; or kept, or rehomed.
A shy, fearful dog is probably still “out there” learning to live on their own and avoiding people.
A “dandelion”; common dogs that all look alike (eg. labrador retrievers) are easily lost in the animal control/shelter system.

We have broken down our website articles to try to help you quickly “profile” your dog so that you can focus your efforts on probability. First; determine whether your dog has the risk factors of an elusive dog or an opportunistic dog.

Then read the corresponding articles from the Shy or Friendly categories on our website. Click on the categories on the right side of our webpage.

Our most likely “prediction” – most dogs are recovered because somebody that saw or knows something, saw a flyer or sign for the missing dog. Go door to door in the area that your dog was last seen and ask everybody if they have seen your dog. Use intersection signs to attract the attention of passing motorists.

Don’t delay! Your lost dog is depending on YOU to bring him safely home.

Reuniting Lost Dogs With Their Families – How Shelters Can Help

Patty, an Animal Control Officer at Winnebago County Animal Services in Rockford , Illinois checks the kennels for dogs matching the descriptions in the Lost Dog reports.

There are more lost dogs now than there have ever been. Pet ownership is up and we, as a nation, are saving more dogs, with many more people choosing adoption as their option. This is a great thing but it comes with its challenges. For many people, this is their first experience owning a shy, rescued dog. These dogs are often high flight risks and can quickly escape through a door or wiggle out of an ill-fitting collar, harness or slip lead.

Searching for a shy lost dog is expensive and time-consuming. Most shelters and rescues are obliged to help search for a dog that has gone missing from a newly adopted home, a foster home, their transport or their facility. Publicly funded shelters and stray-holding facilities are also obligated to proactively return lost pets to their owners, because they are taking taxpayer money to do it. Please read our series “Harnessing the Energy” on how rescues and shelters can organize teams of volunteers to help capture a lost dog.

But unfortunately, many shelters do not proactively help reunite lost pets. The average national Return to Owner (RTO) rate for dogs is 20%, for cats – a dismal 2%. You only have to walk down the aisle of a shelter and read the kennel cards and see how many of the animals are listed as “stray” to realize the enormity of the problem. If shelters could get more lost pets home, it would reduce shelter deaths and save taxpayer money.

Shelters that are introducing proactive programs (often entirely volunteer-run) are seeing their Return to Owner rates rise. Some shelters are reporting RTO rates higher than 70% for dogs.

What can a shelter do to improve their Return to Owner rate and why would they want to?

Goodwill, positive press and donations are generated when an animal control agency or shelter takes a proactive approach to reuniting lost pets with their families. Heartwarming stories and photos (easily posted on Facebook) elevate the reputation of the facility from “dog catcher” to compassionate life-savers.

A shelter typically has two windows of opportunity to help people find their lost pet.

1. When a person who has lost a pet comes in or calls to file a report.

2. When “stray” dogs and cats are picked up and impounded at the facility.

There are different levels of staff and volunteer participation that can be utilized to help facilitate more reunions. Starting with just a few simple changes can make a difference! Animal control officers should be encouraged to do field redemptions whenever possible. Equip animal control officers with microchip scanners and laptops or smartphones. Getting lost pets home before they even enter the shelter system lessens the workload on the kennel staff, decreases overcrowding and illness, and reduces euthanasia.

Volunteers and staff can be trained to implement many parts of an RTO program. Here are some ideas that have been successful:

Reuniting “Owned Strays” with their owner:

Scan every animal that is brought to your shelter for a microchip using “Best Microchip Procedures”.
Keep detailed records about where and when an animal was picked up and make this information available to the public.
Use a dedicated email address for lost and found reports. This will help keep these reports separate and out of the general email stream. example: lostpets@abcanimalshelter.com

Keep detailed records of calls your facility receives from people who have lost a pet. Use an online reporting system also, so they can fill it out after hours. Request that they email or fax a picture and show the photo to your staff members and volunteers immediately after you receive them.
Have volunteers or staff members compare lost pet reports with the animals your facility is holding to see if any match. Store the reports and photos in a binder that is easily accessible to staff and volunteers.
Depending on volume, either set up a dedicated Facebook page or use albums on your regular Facebook page to post pictures of lost pets that were brought to your facility. Allow the public to post as well. Facebook allows other people to share the posts and many times reunions happen because a neighbor or friend recognizes the dog. Websites are usually only viewed by the owner. It is easy to train volunteers to maintain and moderate a Facebook page.
Set up an account with Helping Lost Pets.com, an international, map-based website that makes it easy for staff, owners, finders of dogs, volunteers and the general public to get involved in matching lost dogs with their owners. Here is an article on the HeLP system: http://lostdogsofamerica.org/helping-lost-pets-provides-one-national-website-for-all-missing-pets/
Post the same pictures on your website for those people that don’t have a Facebook account. Using the Helping Lost pets system will provide a “shareable” link to the photos to Facebook and Twitter.
Use a volunteer “greeter” that can help people that enter the facility looking for their pet. This will lessen the workload of the front office staff. This volunteer should know what the requirements are and be able to easily communicate this with an owner (eg. proof of ownership, vaccination records). Have these printed out in both English and Spanish to give to the owners so lost pets can be reclaimed as quickly as possible. Many pets are “abandoned at the shelter” because the reclaim fees are too high. You always want to facilitate fast reunions to reduce this abandonment.
Negotiate and lower fees to reduce abandonment at the shelter. Authorize front desk staff members to negotiate fees. Many owners are embarrassed to ask or don’t know that the shelter will negotiate. Make it easy to reclaim a lost pet.
Have volunteers monitor other internet and community lost pets listings including Craigslist, community newspapers, Facebook pages and websites.
Trained volunteers can track down the owners of impounded pets with disconnected phone numbers or lacking current microchip information. Here is an article that will help: https://www.lostdogsillinois.org/how-to-trace-dead-end-microchips-and-tag-information-on-found-pets/
Mention whether a dog that is adoptable or impounded was brought to your shelter as a surrender or a stray.
Scan every animal in your shelter one last time before allowing him or her to be adopted or euthanized.

If the owner’s lost pet is not at the shelter, compassionate, customer-service oriented volunteers can be trained to assist the owner by doing the following things. Extra assistance may be needed for elderly owners; owners without internet, computers or transportation; and those owners for whom English is a second language.

Assist the owner in filling out a lost pet report form. Explain to them how to “red flag” their missing pet with the microchip company and/or update information if it isn’t already done.
Provide them with our 5 Things Flyer in either English or Spanish. The 5 Things Flyers is good for both dogs and cats.
Provide them with an Lost Dogs Illinois business card if it is a dog. Our website has a lot of valuable information that can help them find their dog. If it is a cat – provide them with the link to any Lost Cats or Lost Pets Facebook pages in your area as well as the catsinthebag.org and missingpetpartnership.org websites.
If they already have a flyer made – post it on the shelter bulletin board. Volunteers should keep the bulletin board tidy and up to date. Date each flyer and then call owners after a certain number of days to do follow up and provide more support and assistance.
Develop a “pet detective” team that can help owners develop a strategic plan for finding their lost pets based on the circumstances regarding their disappearance, their breed, location, etc.
Provide trap rentals for the public. Here is a series of articles on trapping: https://www.lostdogsillinois.org/humane-trapping-before-you-begin-part-9-in-a-series-2/

Shelters should be willing to dedicate a portion of their website to helpful advice for missing pets. May people lose their pets late at night and frantically look for information on the internet to help them with their search. Providing links to good information on your website will work for you even when your staff is busy or the office is closed. You will appear to be a “helpful” resource in the community even if people only accessed the information via your website.

At Lost Dogs Illinois, we are committed to helping reunite people with their lost dogs. Together with the help of shelters and stray-holding facilities we can make a difference. Please contact us at lostdogsil@gmail.com if we can be of assistance to offer training to shelter staff and/or volunteers. We have numerous power points for all components of our volunteer training that we would be happy to present.We would love to hear from you!