Lost Pet Resources

Flyers are a great way to alert the community to your lost pet.  Flyers will be most effective if they are large, brightly colored, and have clear contact information that can be viewed while driving by. When it comes to flyers, the more the better! You should place flyers at every intersection leading to and from your neighborhood.  Additionally, you can tape a flyer to your car to make a mobile sign.

 Smaller flyers can be put in mailboxes and neighbor's doors. It is also a good idea to carry small flyers to pass out to people you see while out searching. Don't forget to give a flyer to your mail person and delivery drivers! 

Social Media is a great resource to help find your lost pet!  When creating a post, be sure to use a recent, high-quality photo of your pet. Give information such as your pet's name, age, breed, sex, and physical description including size, color, and markings. Be sure to ask people to report any sightings of any animal that might be yours.

• Facebook - Post your lost pet in local lost pet groups and on general neighborhood/town community groups. It is also a good idea to create a page for your lost pet that you can share with your community and friends. 

• Nextdoor - The Nextdoor app is a great resource to alert people in your area. If you don't already have the app, it might be faster to have a local friend post for you as it can take a long time to become approved to join. 

• Ring Community - Ring Cameras have a community group to share neighborhood information. If you don't have a ring camera, it is a good idea to ask someone local that does to post for you and ask your neighbors to check their cameras for videos of your lost pet. 

• Petco LoveLost and Pawboost - Posting in Petco's and PawBoost's lost and found pages can be another good place to get the word out.

• Craigslist - For the most part, Craigslist is being used less and less but it may also be worth posting on their local lost and found page. 

*When posting on social media, be cautious of people who will try to scam you. Unfortunately, there will always be those who will take advantage of people.  Watch out for people asking for money or personal information.

Humane traps can be a really good tool. Lost pets, no matter how friendly they typically are, can become very scared and my revert to more feral behavior, making them very hard to catch even when in sight. Traps should be set up in a safe, shaded place that can be checked on frequently. Humane traps can work for both lost dogs and cats but are particularly helpful for cats. Make sure to use the correct size of trap for your pet. Humane traps can be purchased at most farm and feed stores and online. 

Trail cameras can be useful for determining if your lost pet is returning to an area or coming out of hiding at night or during quite moments. When pets get scared, they may hide or run away from their family. You can put your pet's food and familiar objects out to encourage your pet to stay in the area. Trail cameras are a great way to monitor an area without further scaring your lost pet. You can purchase cameras in most sporting goods stores or online. Cheaper cameras use SD cards that you will have check manually and more expensive may have the option to send you real time videos and photos. Even the cheap cameras can be very helpful!

Drones can be a good tool to search large or inaccessible areas. Drones with thermal cameras make the best choice when trying to locate lost pets, since the thermal camera makes spotting animals much easier.  If you don't already own and operate a drone, your best option is to use social media to find someone with a drone and license to help you look for your lost pet.