When Jennifer Woods found out that she had lost her pet, golden retriever, Jackie, she panicked first. But, soon, she realized that panicking wouldn't do any good and pulled herself together.

First, she printed and distributed missing pet flyers about Jackie in her neighborhood. Then she wrote a Facebook post and asked her friends to share it. She also contacted local pet shelters and veterinary clinics.

After a week of a dedicated search, Jennifer got a message from a girl who lived a few blocks away. It turned out that some kind people found her lost dog Jackie and took her home to take care of while the pet's owner was found.

How relieved Jennifer was! Sleepless nights were over and Jackie was home, safe and sound.

Jennifer and her pet were lucky enough to reunite since less than 24% of pets reunite with their owners after getting lost. Because she followed the necessary steps, she increased her chances of finding her dog.

In this blog post, we've prepared a few actionable tips that will help you find your lost dog if they get lost. Enjoy your reading!

Why do pets go missing?

Jennifer's story isn't unique. In the US, 1 in 3 pets gets lost during their lifetime. Pets go missing for a number of reasons:

• Lack of security in a house. Open doors and windows can provide dogs and cats with the chance to run free, which is a natural urge for any animal. No matter how loved a pet is, boredom and curiosity can always get the better of them.
• Loud noises. Fireworks, gunshots, yelling, and other loud noises can make pets want to run. Dogs are much more loyal than cats, which are more likely to go missing and then can turn up again weeks or months later. On the other hand, dogs are more at risk of going missing if an unexpected opportunity occurs, or they are off the lead when on a walk. 
• New home or owners. If there have been changes at home that unsettle them, new owners, or moving houses, pets may go in search of familiar surroundings.
• Sexual urges. A pet that hasn’t been neutered can also cause an animal to escape the home. 

Where pets might go if lost?

As for where pets might go, that depends on the animal and surrounding area. Cats, for example, might routinely visit other families or those who feed them every so often. Some cat owners don’t get worried unless they’re away from home for longer than a few days.

Whereas for dogs, losing them is more serious and something that requires immediate action. Smaller dogs are more often than not recovered within no more than a 2-mile radius of where they ran from. Whereas larger dogs can potentially run as far as 5 miles from home. 

Some of the most common hiding places for missing pets include:

• Under cars
• In bushes
• In nearby gardens and backyards
• Parks and other areas that are familiar enough, offer some kind of shelter, and the possibility of food. 

Remember, pets aren’t wild. Not unlike people, they are going to search for a way to stay safe, warm, and find food, even if they can’t find how to get home. 

Steps to take to look for a missing pet 

#1: Contact your neighbors

Approximately 40 percent of households have pets. Plus, almost every town and city has local government departments that take in missing animals until hopefully an owner can be located. So, when you are panicking about finding a lost pet, remember there are hundreds of people in your surrounding area who will act in a helpful way.

Either a neighbor could take a lost dog or cat in, or hold onto them for a while until the municipal authorities can come and collect them before returning to the owner. 

#2: Print missing pet flyers

In most cases, people still print pages with photos, descriptions of gender, breed, and color, as well as contact details and stick them up around the local area. Lamp posts, rubbish bins, telephone boxes, telegraph poles, and other pieces of street furniture are some of the best places to promote the fact that a pet has gone missing.

Keep in mind that a reward for a pet will increase chances for your pet to be returned.

#3: Distribute the news on social media

Beyond printing missing pet flyers and leaflets, every town and city has social media groups for residents, usually on Facebook. Creating a post and sharing it in these groups is equally if not more effective than flyers, that way people who’ve not seen the flyers can look out for a beloved missing pet.

#4: Call pet organizations

Calling pet organizations within at least a 60-mile radius of your home is essential. Pet clubs, pet shelters, pet hospitals, pet hotels, and animal control agencies become your area of interest.

Make sure you provide them with an accurate description of your pet and express your concerns if the pet has been stolen. 

#5: Search again after looking once

Get a map or print one of the local areas. Think about the size and fitness of your dog or cat. Think about places you’ve looked, and where else they could be. Also, give some thought to potential risks, such as busy roads, or railway lines, or places you can’t necessarily go, such as gated areas behind buildings. A pet could easily get in such spaces.

Now, get help to assist if you can. As part of this renewed search, consider knocking on nearby doors in surrounding streets as you never know if someone has already found and taken your pet in, or they’ve wandered into a garden without a homeowner/renter realizing.

As part of this renewed and widened search, make sure to tell friends and family in the surrounding area. Even get them to come over and help if they can. 

Wrapping up

There's always a high chance that our beloved pets come back safe and well after an unexpected adventure.

To prevent such sad situations, consider several prevention measures like:

• QR Pet tags, people who find your pet can quickly call you or scan the QR code on the back of the tag and send a message to your online profile. In a meantime you will receive the GPS location of the scanning place.
• GPS trackers on pet collars to trace your pet real-time location.
• Microchips that allow veterinary services to scan the pets and find the owner's contacts.
• Tattoos that make your pet recognizable among similar breeds.

Plus, you can add an extra layer of security when you register your pet on Animal ID, a secure international database for pets. The platform provides you with an online profile that links with QR pet tag and microchip number to quickly find your pet in case they go missing. 

Secure your beloved ones and stay together always!