What To Do If Your Pet Goes Missing

What To Do If Your Pet Goes Missing It's a terrifying moment, when you realise your pet is missing. You've searched the entire house, including their favorite hiding places and, nothing. That sick feeling means you know he's gone. Your pet is missing, what do you do? Let's back up for a moment, and talk about steps we can take, to prevent getting to this point. Prevention: Be careful when opening doors. You looked around and didn't see the cat, so you thought it was safe. Next thing you know, he's running out the door. Always look around and make sure the animals are not there. Never linger with the door open. You may not even notice him darting out. From the beginning, teach your children not to leave doors open. Drill the message into their heads, until they get it. That goes for their friends as well. If you have a yard that your dog plays in, make sure the fencing is secure - no loose boards, spaces underneath or flimsy gate locks. Make sure your dog is part of the family. Take him for walks, the dog park, and let him interact with other dogs as well. Dogs are pack animals, and aren't meant for the solitary life. Leaving your dog alone in the yard, for hours on end is not fair, and will increase the likelihood of him escaping. Okay, so you do all of this stuff, and your pet still goes missing. Here's what you do: Scour the neighborhood: Have as many people as you can knock on doors. Ask people to check backyards and garages. If they don't know you, or your pet, hand them a flyer. Make flyers: Find a recent picture and make as many flyers as you can. Don't forget to include all your contact numbers. No need to post your name or address. Offering a reward may help motivate people. Hand them out to passersby, give them to people you know to hand out, post them on poles, in shop windows, community bulletin boards, libraries, dog parks, gas stations and anywhere else you can think of. Don't just stick to a few blocks around your house. Dogs and cats can cover long distances in a short period of time. Spread the word: Call local animal shelters, animal control facilities and veterinary offices. They'll want to know the area, a full description of the animal and contact details. Keep the list handy and have someone call often. Don't take chances and rely on anyone to call you back. Things get busy, wires get crossed and mistakes sometimes happen. You wouldn't want the unthinkable to happen to your pet Post on lost pet databases. Use social networking to spread the word. How to make it easier for someone to return your pet to you: Even if you do everything, the unthinkable may happen. Accidents happen, and you can't prevent them all. Make it easy for someone to return your pet to you. Always microchip your dogs and cats. It doesn't matter if your cat never sees the light of day, they only have to get out once, for it to be worth it. By their very nature, it's a lot harder to catch a cat, then a dog. Be sure to keep the information on the microchip current. If you move, or change/add a phone number, contact the microchip company and update your records. Have a well fitting collar with id tags, or a collar with the name and number stitched right on the collar. Remember to update that information as well. Be prepared in case of emergency: Much like you have, or should have, an emergency evacuation plan for your family, why not have an emergency pet recovery plan. Sit down as a family, and decide what steps you would take should your pet go missing. That should include having a list of local vets, shelters, rescue groups and animal control facilities and phone numbers ready. Any local pet finder sites would be good to have, as well. Are there friends, neighbors or other family members you can go to for help? Make a list. You don't want to be panicking, running around looking for phone numbers. Everything should be in place, and ready to use should you ever need it. Having a plan will save valuable time, when time is of the essence. Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/ Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/7381086