An estimated one of every three pets gets lost during its lifetime.
Any pet can get lost, but newly-adopted pets are as much as four times more likely to run away, compared with established pets. Taking your pet on vacation or moving it to a new home can also increase the risk of its getting lost.
In observance of National Lost Dog Awareness Day—April 23—we recommend simple actions you can take to reduce your dog’s—or cat’s—risk of being lost and improve your chances of getting a lost pet back home.
See our previous post, “Could We See Some ID?” for recommended ways to identify your pet.
Keeping Your Pet from Getting Lost
There are a number of measures you can take now to keep your pet safely at home where he or she belongs.
Secure your yard, making sure fencing is intact and gates are closed. Fill in any gaps at the base of the fence and, if necessary, install wire mesh above and below to discourage jumping and digging.
Secure windows and doors. A motivated pet can easily push through a window screen or unlatched door. Be particularly attentive when workers or guests are coming and going and doors may be left open.
When outdoors, keep your dog on a leash. While your off-lead dog may usually stay close and come when called, even the best-trained dog can be startled by loud noises or irresistibly tempted to chase other animals that unexpectedly appear on the scene.
Spay or neuter your pet to reduce the urge to roam. Mating instincts are powerful!
Secure your pet in a crate or carrier when traveling. While your home may be relatively secure, conditions away from home may not be, and the area will be unfamiliar to your pet.
Plan ahead for fireworks, thunderstorms and other noisy situations that could trigger your pet’s flight response. See our posts, “Is Your Dog Noise Phobic?” and “Managing Your Pet’s Noise Anxiety” for advice on keeping your noise-averse pet safe.
What to Do if Your Pet Gets Lost
If you lose a pet, call the Hendricks County Animal Shelter immediately. Be prepared to supply photographs and a description of the pet and details of where and when you lost it.
For a video overview of preventing pets from getting lost and finding those that do, see “How to prevent and deal with lost pets!” from the Jackson Galaxy YouTube channel. Although the channel is focused on cats, the recommendations apply to dogs as well.
This 5-minute video from the City of Sacramento’s Front Street Animal Shelter, “How to Find a Lost Dog,” offers practical advice on improving your chances of recovering your lost dog.
The Sacramento shelter has a similar video, “How to Find a Lost Cat,” that describes how to adapt your search methods to typical lost cat behavior.
If You Find a Pet
If the pet will come close enough to allow it, check for an ID tag and call the phone number listed. If the pet has a digital tag with a QR code, scan it with your phone to access the owner’s contact information.
If you can safely capture the pet, if possible, confine it to your home and/or fenced yard to keep it safe while you attempt to contact the owner. If you are unable to keep the pet in your home while trying to find the owner, make arrangements with the Hendricks County Animal Shelter to bring the pet to the shelter.
If there are no ID tags, knock on doors to see if neighbors recognize the pet.
Photograph the pet and post on community and neighborhood social media pages.
Have the pet checked for a microchip at a veterinary clinic or shelter. If a microchip is present and the owner has kept contact information current, you can get the information you need to contact the owner from the microchip registry.
How We Can Help
If you’ve found a pet and are unable to contact its owner based on collar tags, call us to arrange a convenient time to bring the pet in to the clinic so we can scan for a microchip.
If you report a lost or found pet to the Hendricks County Animal Shelter as we strongly recommend, we will help spread the news by sharing lost and found Brownsburg pet posts from the shelter’s Facebook page on the Brownsburg Animal Clinic page.
It’s our way of doing what we can to help get lost pets back home where they belong, and nothing pleases us more than to see “HOME” added to a post we’ve shared.