Losing a pet can be heart breaking! So prevention is always better. However, in the event that you have lost a pet, here are some tips to help you:
1. Check your home and garden thoroughly!
Stay calm. Carefully search your home and make sure that your pet isn’t hiding. Be sure to check any unusual places it has access to. Ask family and friends to help you search if need be.
2. Tell neighbours and walk around your neighbourhood calling your pets name
Begin searching for your pet immediately. Do not wait in the hope that they will find their own way home. Tell the neighbours that your pet is missing. They could help you look for it or just keep an eye out. Make sure you take a recent photo to show them. If your dog is lost, concentrate on the areas where you usually take it on walks and any other places you have recently visited.
3. Contact all Animal Shelters and Vets in the area
Contact all animal shelters and vets – even the ones outside of your area and leave them a description of your pet and your contact details. Sometimes animals wander far from home or are found by people and taken to SPCA’s or vets in another area.
4. Create and Distribute Flyers
Create a ‘Missing/ Lost Pet’ flyer and distribute it to houses and shops in your neighbourhood. The flyer should include a photo, your pet’s name, a detailed description (type, breed, size, age, sex, colouring), when and where your pet went missing, your name and contact number.
5. Check your microchip details (if applicable).
If your pets microchip details are not current, contact the microchip agency and update your details immediately.
6. Search for your local suburb's lost pets group on Facebook and post your contact details and a picture
Utilise social media - post on one of the numerous Facebook lost and found pages out there.
Remember to be persistent and keep looking. The SPCA recommends repeated visits to your local shelter at least every six days. Bear in mind that legally, these facilities are required to hold stray animals for seven days before they are legally allowed to rehome your pet or consider alternative options. Frequent visits to shelters in your local area will give you the best chance of finding your lost pet.
Please note:
Proof of ownership may be required. Photo ID may be required to claim an animal
It is important to have recent photo's of your pets, especially puppies and/ or kittens!
PS: Poster used for example purposes only! #GaryTheFemaleCat IS NOT MISSING and is safely at home, most likely sleeping on the bed
Disclaimer: We have compiled our information from various different sources and we claim no rights to any of the information obtained herein.
