Pet Recovery Tips |
 |
You've been responsible and had your pet microchipped. A microchip provides reliable identification for your pet and many modern shelters and clinics scan animals for this ID device. However a microchip is not a global tracking device and only works when your pet is taken to a scanning facility. Here are a few tips on how to get them home safely. |
Tips for Finding Your Lost Pet
- Call us first 1-866-597-2424. Talk to one of our 24PetWatch Pet Recovery Specialists and report your pet lost.
- Search your property thoroughly.
- Walk the neighborhood, talk to everybody, and leave your phone number.
- Make noise while you walk around the neighborhood. Animals respond to sound.
- Bring a flashlight (even in daylight hours) for checking in dark spaces.
- Place strong-scented articles outside your home. Animals find their way by scent as well as sound.
- Visit your local animal control agency, and all animal shelters, in your surrounding areas. Calling is not enough.
- It is sad to say but there is the possibility of your pet being hurt while lost. Consider getting EmergencyCare coverage before your pet wanders off. EmergencyCare covers up to $3000 of life saving treatment should your pet become sick or injured while missing. Click Here to learn more.
- Post lots of posters within a 1-mile radius of where your pet was lost. Click Here for tips on making a good lost pet poster.
- Place an ad in your local newspaper.
- Check newspaper "found" ads every day.
Never give up! Pets have been known to find their way back home after being lost for several months.
- NEVER respond to a "found" pet contact alone. Take a friend with you.
- Arrange to meet in a public place.
- NEVER invite the person to your home unless you know them well.
- Beware of scams. A common swindle is a person calling and claiming to have your pet in a different town. They then ask for the money to ship your pet to you. This person does not have your pet; they are simply trying to take your money.
- Don't look for your pet alone, during the day or at night. Always bring a buddy, especially in unfamiliar neighborhoods.
- Collect all of your posters.
- Thank everybody who has helped you.
- Call 1-866-597-2424 and let the 24PetWatch Pet Recovery Specialists know that your pet has been returned safely.
- Click here to email us the story of your reunion. We may feature your pet on our website
Safeguard Your Pets Before They are Lost
- Always keep a collar on your pet and be sure 24PetWatch tag is attached.
- Pet-proof your yard and fence. Keep your pet safely confined and check regularly for new escape routes.
- Keep fence gates securely locked.
- Never allow your pets to roam free in the neighborhood. Leash them at all times.
- Always transport a cat in a carrier.
- Take some good, up to date photos of your pet, before it's too late.
- Take close-up shots that show details well. You want your pet to be unmistakable.
- Train your pet to associate a "Dog Whistle" with pleasant things. Blow the whistle each time just before you feed them. They will be more likely to respond to the whistle when they are lost if they associate the sound with feeding time.
- Make sure you can be located when your pet is found. Keep your personal information and your alternate contact information up to date in the 24PetWatch Pet Recovery Network. Update your information now.
- Have a current rabies tag and pet license tag attached to your pet's collar.
When making a lost pet poster, keep in mind the following:
1. When you prepare a flyer give only a physical description.
- Do not give your pet's name. Your pet may not answer to it's name when it is lost and scared.
- Do not give any behavioral information. When a pet is lost it's behavior can change dramatically.
- Do not give information about a collar. Forty percent of pets recovered are lost with a collar and found with no collar or a different collar.
2. If you have a photo of your pet make sure it describes your pet accurately. If not, then you may want to consider using a line drawing from a breed book that you can find at your local library. A photocopy will be fine.
3. Writing the word "Reward" on top of the flyer in large print does attract more people. Do not give an amount, when you give an amount you may get some crank calls from people who do not have your pet. A reward is not a must, but it may help.
4. Do not indicate that you think your pet was stolen, you may scare people off. The person returning the pet may have nothing to do with the theft.
Remember, if your pet becomes lost...
Call us first 1-866-597-2424.
 |
According to a 1997 study of 1,000 animal shelters across the country approximately 1,000,000 dogs and 584,000 cats were taken in as strays. Unfortunately for the owners’ and the animals, only 16% of those dogs and 2% of those cats were returned to their owners, thousands of those left behind had to be euthanized. |
