If Your Dog Gets Lost©

Daina Beckman

Dog Behavior Specialist
Happy Tails Dog Behavior & Training
607-698-9122

Be prepared ahead of time in case your dog gets lost.
You should have current pictures of your dog.
Make sure your dog has a tag with at least your phone number on it. Two phone numbers are better. You could use the phone number of a family member or friend. You could also use your veterinarians phone number.
You could have your dog micro-chipped. This is not 100% guarantee that you dog will be returned. I highly recommend micro chipping.
Have something distinctive on your dog such as a unique collar.

I have some unique collars in the Happy Tails Pet Store. You can also glue ribbon to your dogs collar or take a permanant marker and write your phone number on it. I also offer G.P.S. systems.

 

If your dog gets lost, make a poster that has his picture and description on it. Be sure to offer a reward. Make sure you mention the unique things about your dog, his breed, when and where lost, age and color. Include your phone, your name, the dogs name if he need medical care, his veterinarians name and phone number.

 

I recommend you distribute this poster to all of the dog catchers, veterinarians and animal shelters in at least a 50 mile radius. You can also call local radio stations within that radius and ask if they offer lost dog reporting. Place your poster in local news papers. There are several lost dog directories on the internet, register with all of them. You can also place your posters in grocery stores, banks, restaurants and other establishments.

Once you have done all of the above recommendations, I suggest you call the shelters and dog catchers on at least a weekly basis to see if they have found your dog. Be sure and offer them the reward if they do.
Unfortunately when people find a dog they conjure all this drama up in their imagination. They assume the dog was “dumped”. This makes them a hero for rescuing a dog that was abused, neglected and left for dead. Or they imagine that the home was so horrible that the dog ran away. The best way to be affirmed for being a hero is to take the dog to the vet. Unfortunately not all vet. Staff is savvy enough to realize that the dog may be grievously missed by his family. As a result they do not check for microchips. Who ever finds the dog can easily remove the collar and tags. Your poster posted in the vets office may be your only hope of getting your dog returned.

If your dog runs off on a regular basis you may want to consider getting a GPS Tracker. I do sell them if you are interested. You can track up to 4 dogs or kids with this system. If you are interested let me know and I will email you the information. This is the system that was featured on several T.V shows.

 

  

lost dog websites

http://www.lostdoghq.com

 

http://www.fidofinder.com

 

http://www.dogdetective.com

You can post on my FaceBook page   www.facebook.com/HappyTailsDogBehaviorTraining

 

If you search the web you will find more sites you can also post classified ads for free on craigslist and many other sites.

SAMPLE POSTER

Notice that I used very bright colors and a picture that will get attention and touch peoples hearts.