¨ Check the immediate area calling your pet’s name. Check sheds, crawlspaces, garages, etc, think about where your pet could be hiding. Stay calm and try and focus on the following list of things to do.
¨ Make posters and flyers with a picture of your pet and post them in the area. Also post them in convenience stores, pet stores, local veterinary clinics and the pet food aisle of the grocery story. (Be sure to ask permission and remove posters when your pet is located). Visit www.missingpetpartnership.org. They have some specific tips on likely behavior of lost animals to help you locate your pet. This is important!
¨ Place an ad in your local newspaper and its online version and check for lost pet ads. Follow up on any ad that sounds even remotely like your pet. Not everyone will classify a pet as the same breed.
¨ Contact your veterinarian and make sure they have current contact information for you. If someone finds your pet and calls them based on the rabies tag, they will need to contact you. Don’t forget to contact past veterinarians as well as just in case the pet is traced back to them.
¨ Contact local emergency vets. If you pet was injured it might have been taken there. Leave contact information and a description of your pet.
Sugarland Emergency Clinic: 281-491-7800
Veterinary Emergency Referral Group: 713-932-9589
Animal Emergency Center of West Houston: 832-593-8387
¨ If your pet is microchipped contact the microchip company and make sure they have current contact information.
¨ Call your local Police Department
¨ Contact local Animal Care and Control and other local shelters.
Harris County: 281-999-3191 SPCA Houston: 713-869-7722
Fort Bend Animal Control: 281-342-1512 BARC: 713-229-7300
Sugarland Animal Services: 281-275-2596 Houston Human Society: 713-433-6421
Rosenberg Animal Control: 832-595-3490
¨ Visit local animal shelters every day, IN PERSON. Only you can truly ID your pet and they may not have long to be recovered once they are in the shelter. Do not only check in your city, check in neighboring cities in case your pet wandered into their jurisdiction.
¨ If your pet is a specific breed contact local breeders or breed specific rescue groups. Give them your information.
¨ Check and post on websites including social networking sites if you are a member. Also, if your neighborhood has a website, post an ad on there.
www.craigslist.com www.fidofinder.com www.petfinder.com
www.lostandpound.com www.facebook.com www.twitter.com
¨ Petfinder also has some really useful information as well as a section to post lost and found pets. Also check the adoptable pet section. If a good Samaritan found the pet there is a chance it ended up at a rescue group instead of the local shelter, and the rescue group may have posted it as an adoptable pet.
http://www.petfinder.com/after-pet-adoption/find-lost-dog.html
***Please note that even if you do not have a computer or use the internet frequently, that does not mean that the person who found your pet is the same way. Your pet may be listed on five different sites but you won’t know unless you look. The opposite is true as well. The person who found your pet may not have the internet and may bet listing the pet in newspapers. Please keep this in mind and use every available resource to look for your pet.
This information courtesy of Friendship Animal Hospital 9825 South Mason Rd, Suite 150, Richmond, TX. 77406 281-239-6500. To learn more about Friendship Animal Hospital be sure to visit their website- www.FriendshipAH.com
