11/05/2024
🐕🦺Tuesday Tip🐕🦺
Do you know what to do if you have LOST or FOUND a dog?
Dogs get lost or go missing for numerous reasons. Please do not assume any lost/found dog has been dumped, someone could be looking for their beloved pet and would be heartbroken if proper measures have not been taken to be reunited.
LOST means ‘your dog is lost and you are missing your dog’
FOUND means ‘this dog does not belong to me but I am looking for its owner’
“I’ve lost my dog, now what do I do?”
🐾contact your neighbors and report your lost pet to your local animal control that way if someone calls that found your dog they know whom to contact
🐾 dogs lost from car accidents or stressful situations typically stay in the area
🐾 put out dog bedding and your worn clothing and let their nose help bring them home
🐾put up bright neon large posters with the dog’s picture and your contact number that can be read without getting out of a vehicle. So a picture can be snapped from their vehicle too. Also put a large poster in your yard so if someone is driving around that may have found your dog they know where they belong.
🐾 print flyers with the dog’s picture, location lost from and your contact info and place in surrounding areas, give to postal workers, bus drivers or anyone who is frequently in your area
🐾 set up a feeding station if you have multiple sightings and feed at the same time of day
🐾 post on social media—always include your phone number to be contacted, make your post public if it’s your personal page so it can be shared, use the same picture of your dog when posting on multiple sights (there are so many lost dogs it’s confusing if the pictures are different angles or lighting) also make sure comments are turned on if it’s personal page so people can provide updates.
🐾go IN PERSON every 3 days to the surrounding county animal shelters to look for your dog. Do not assume your dog is not there, your dog may look different to the staff so it’s best to look in person.
🐾if your dog is microchipped, call or go online to the chip company to report your dog is lost. This ensures your contact on the chip is up to date so that if your dog is scanned and reported to the chip company as ‘found’ you can be reunited quickly
🐾once your dog is back home PLEASE make sure to go to your original social media post and click the three dots on the top right and select “edit” and update with new info. This helps when your post has been shared multiple times.
“ I have FOUND a dog that does not belong to me, what do I do now?”
🐾take a picture, check for a collar or tags with contact info. If the dog has a rabies tag, call the number on the tag. The vet’s office typically can search their system and find the owner that way.
🐾call neighbors or ask people in the area if they know the dog. Drive around the area and look for people who might be searching for the dog.
🐾call the local animal control facility in the county where the dog is located to report the found dog. DO NOT take the dog out of state if you’re traveling. Animal Shelters are there to help reunite owners with their missing pets and this is where most people call first.
🐾take the dog to a veterinary office, animal hospital to be scanned for a microchip. This is a FREE service. You can not feel a microchip so until the dog is scanned you will not know if it has a chip or not.
🐾 post as FOUND on social media lost/found pet pages. Make the post public on your personal page and allow comments. Include a picture of the dog, area/location of where the dog was found, phone number of who to call if they know the dog. Often times post are made without this info or contact info and the owner sees it but cannot not get in touch with the finder of the dog. The more info provided the faster the dog is back home.
🐾 print flyers with the dog’s picture, location found and your contact info and place in surrounding areas, give to postal workers, bus drivers or anyone who is frequently in your area
🐾once the dog is reunited with the owner or turned over to animal control please click the three dots in the top right corner of your original post to add an update. This helps when your post has been shared multiple times.
🐾 if you have found an injured dog and it’s normal business hours please contact the county animal control. If it is after normal business hours please call the non-emergency number for local police for assistance.
Links👇🏻for a lost or found dog. (Do not forget to update these sites as well once the dog is back home or reunited)
🐕🦺lostdogsgeorgia.org (a free flyer can be created here)
🐕🦺 pawboost.com (Georgia page)
🐕🦺 petFBI.org
🛑 beware of scammers 🛑 never send money or give out personal info. Ask for proof they have your dog.
