Finding Your Lost Pet

Losing a pet can be a devastating experience. Smiley Dog Rescue offers the following suggestions:

• Notify neighbors, search areas thoroughly (especially in the evening as many pets become frightened during the daytime and hide), canvas door-to-door leaving a picture of your dog along with your phone number and address.
  
• Advertise in local papers and websites such as www.craigslist.org. Don't wait for the finder to advertise. Place posters in the vicinity where the pet was lost, including markets, schools and dog parks. Use a picture of the pet on the posters for easy identification. Make sure that anything that is obviously revealing about your dog is included. A recent picture is of greater value than an older picture. Remember to remove the posters once the dog is found.
  
• Enlist the help of children and friends in the area. Offering a reward may generate more interest.
  
• Check with local veterinarians, not just yours. Injured pets may have been taken there.
  
• Go to the animals shelters in your area as soon as possible. It is necessary that you go personally check through the kennels at least every 2-3 days after filing a lost dog report. Volunteers are usually very helpful in assisting you with filing a report. If there is one, check the "found dog" reports as well. Do not give up too soon. Many times animals have been found wandering for weeks before being picked up by Animal Control or other well-meaning citizens that have held the dog for some time before turning it in.
  
• Make sure to check adjacent animal shelters in your area. It is very possible for your dog to travel or be carried into the jurisdiction of another animal shelter.
  

Lost and Found Sites

There are a number of lost and found sites that specialize in helping you find your dog. You can locate many of them by doing a search on goodsearch.com for lost my dog.