Nicole and Michael discuss tips and best practices for keeping your dog safe, what to do if you find a lost dog, and steps to take if your dog has gone missing.
If you find a lost dog
- Approach the dog with treats and a leash quietly, calmly and safely
- Place the dog in a safe area – fenced in yard, garage or gated area of home where no other animals can go
- Check for tags or take to any vet clinic to check for embedded chip
- Contact animal shelters
- Post on local lost pet sites or neighborhood sites like Neighbors (Ring)
If you have lost YOUR dog
- Stay Calm and Create a Plan – don’t panic
- Contact Your Microchip Company. If your dog is microchipped, go online or call the company to locate your pet
- Visit neighbors and call family and friends.
- Put the Word Out on social media. Locally we have Kalamazoo Area Lost Pets – Facebook – Neighbors
- Visit local animal shelters.
- Post fliers.
- Keep looking and drive around.
- Put out a piece of clothing and water where you last saw your dog and check back frequently.
How to prevent runaway or lost dogs
- Make sure collars/harnesses/leashes are in good shape and secure
- make sure microchips and tag are up to date and readable (road id tags are guaranteed for life)
- microchips are NOT gps trackers.
- Microchips must be registered (Found Animals)
- List of free microchip registries
- Your dog should have both tags and a microchip
- Make sure all fences/gates/doors and windows are secure and latched
- Do not drive with car windows down and make sure when your dog is riding in the car they are buckled in
Products we use
- Best dog tag – roadid
- Best dog collar (washable)- geopetric
- Seatbelts for car – Vastar adjustable 2 pack seatbelt attachments
- Best harnesses
Microchips are inexpensive and cost between $25 and $60. Registration might cost money through some companies, BUT there are FREE options that are extremely reliable: List of free microchip registries
Missing pet statistics:
Each year, approximately 10 million pets are lost in the United States, and millions of those end up in the nation’s animal shelters. Tragically, only 15 percent of dogs and 2 percent of cats in shelters without ID tags or microchips are reunited with their owners.
Only about 22 percent of lost dogs that entered the animal shelters were reunited with their families. However, the return-to-owner rate for microchipped dogs was over 52 percent (a 238 percent increase).
Keep your cat inside at all times also https://humanesocietyofmacomb.org/keep-cats-indoors/