When You Can Still See Your Dog
- Do not run after them! Your pet may think this is a game.
- Get low and look away, or run in the opposite direction so they can chase you.
- Remain calm and use a welcoming tone.
- Don’t reach over their head. This could be scary, and cause them to run again.
When Your Pet is Out of Sight
- Keep searching on foot or in a car to cover more ground.
- Talk to everyone you pass to ask if they’ve seen your dog, and to create awareness.
- Recruit family members and friends for a search party.
- Contact your local non-emergency police line to see if they can get the word out to patrolling officers.
- Contact your local Animal Control.
- Contact local pet hospitals, vets, dog-walking services, animal shelters, pet stores, and other pet-related businesses in your area. They’re often willing to help!
- Create and print fliers to post around your neighborhood. Print extras to hand out to people you meet on the street.
- Try a service such as www.lostmydoggie.com. LostMyDoggie is a website that can generate robo calls to the community to help locate a lost dog.
Fortunately,
most dog escapes are easily preventable, and taking some extra
precautions to keep your dog secure is a great way to avoid a
frightening situation. Here’s to a safe fireworks season—and beyond!
