Lost But Not Gone,
Or
How To Find Your Pet

by
The Tracker,

for www.metropettracker.com
the dog & cat lost & found for Los Angeles County & City

Your worst nightmare has not disappeared upon waking.  The unimaginable is a reality.  The confusion, the lack of direction, the total inability to make a single decision or action leaves you feeling like you’ve stepped into a dark hole.  You’ve lost your adored dog or your cherished cat and you don’t know what to do first.  Well, a good first step is to take a deep breath, try to calm down and read on.   What will follow are some guidelines that will assist you in your search. 

Looking for a lost dog or a lost cat has some basic differences. A dog might wander beyond his territory. You can calculate a two to five mile radius, depending on how fast you begin your search.  If he was frightened by someone or something, he might run until he felt safe, realizing, when he came to a stop, that he had run beyond anything that was familiar.  He will then most likely start looking for you, your scent or the familiar scent of his neighborhood. But, by now, he is very lost. A cat, on the other hand, rarely, if ever, goes beyond an approximate circumference of two blocks.  If scared by a sudden loud noise, or being outside (for those in-door only cats) by some wayward curiosity, she will usually find a very nearby, small, dark and secure place to hide.  Or, she may be under a weeks worth of laundry in the corner of your closet.

The similarities are, the pup may just have wandered off to visit a neighbor, or a favorite tree and is still near by. Or, he may have been picked up by some well-meaning stranger, hoping to get him back home. Or, the kit, if she is an outdoor cat, some of the time or all the time, may be visiting a neighbor.  Or, she may have, out of curiosity, found herself in some strange car or truck being transported to a strange new land.  Or, she may still be hiding in your closet under a week of laundry.

STEPS TO FINDING YOUR PET

The following is a list to follow until your pet is found.

DOGS:

1. Get a good, clear photo of your dog; paste it to an 81/2x11 paper; print a big, bold LOST on top of photo; include a description below the photo; add your phone numbers. Hang the flyers in vets’ offices, pet stores, around your neighborhood and anywhere else they’ll allow.
2. Call your local newspaper and any other newspaper and place an ad in the Classified Section. Newspapers have cut-off dates for accepting ads for specific days, so do it as soon as possible. Weekends are best, if you can’t afford a daily one.
3. As long as you are on  http://www.metropettracker.com/, submit a listing.
4. Visit your local, as well as all surrounding shelters as often as you can. Become acquainted with the personnel, the hours and their regulations.
5. Walk your neighborhood and talk to your neighbors, even the children.  Go to places you frequented with your dog.   Pass out your flyers to all.
6. Wherever you go in your search, don’t forget to call out his name. Your voice and his
name can be heard from a good distance.  Listen for a response.


CATS:

1. Get a good, clear photo of your cat; paste it to an 81/2x11 paper; print a big, bold LOST on top of photo; include a description below the photo; add your phone numbers. Hang the flyers in vets’ offices, pet stores, around your neighborhood and anywhere else they’ll allow.
2. Call your local newspaper and any other newspaper and place an ad in the Classified Section. Newspapers have cut-off dates for accepting ads for specific days, so do it as soon as possible. Weekends are best, if you can’t afford a daily one.
3. As long as you are on http://www.metropettracker.com/ submit a listing.
4. Visit your local, as well as all surrounding shelters as often as you can. Become acquainted with the personnel, the hours and their regulations.
5. Walk your neighborhood and talk to your neighbors, even the children.  Pass out your flyers to all.  Look in small dark places and check garages, etc.
6. Remember, kitty may be hiding. Use your imagination.  Make believe you’re a cat.

They can fit where you can’t and they’re not afraid of the dark. On and around where you live, look everywhere – garages (yours and your neighbors), under crawlspaces, in storage bins, cartons, under blankets, etc. Take that same search and spread it outwards.
And, don’t forget to call out kitty’s name and listen for a response.

WHEN YOUR SEARCH HAS BEEN SUCCESSFUL

...and your family is once again united, take another precious moment and think about tomorrow.  Tomorrow should be the day you get your wandering dog or cat a way back home. In most cases, your pet could have been returned by a caring person in a shorter time, alleviating the additional time of anguish.  All your pet would have needed was the protective shield of identification – an ID Tag, a microchip, and/or a tattoo. Don’t delay. Get it today.  Don’t let there be a next time.