Tips for Lost Pets

The PetLink Team has prepared some tips to help you report your pet as lost, and to organize a local search to get your beloved pet back home as soon as possible.

Remember the “Three R’s” of locating a lost pet:

  1. Remain Calm
  2. Report & Review
  3. Recover

Remain Calm

  • Know that you have the protection of a microchip and PetLink registration on your side. Make sure you have your PetLink login details. Make sure your contact information is up to date in PetLink. We strongly encourage you to list an alternate contact too.

Report & Review

  • Login to your PetLink account and complete a Lost Pet Report
  • Review your contact information and update it if needed
  • Prepare and print PetLink Lost Pet Posters; be sure to include a recent photo of your pet
    • Be specific about where you think your pet was lost
    • Mention any special markings your pet has
    • Mention any medical conditions your pet has
    • We recommend that you do not include a specific amount as monetary reward
    • Avoid using terms like “show dog,” “breeding dog,” “rescue dog” that indicate monetary value
  • If possible, have the posters laminated at a local office supply store before posting them outdoors so that they better withstand the weather.
  • More tips

Recovery

  • Mobilize a team of family, friends, and neighbors to canvas a two-mile radius of your home. It’s important to do this as soon as possible after you realize your pet is missing.
  • Begin posting and distributing your Lost Pet Posters while you canvas the neighborhood. Leave posters with local businesses, vets, animal shelters, community centers, parks, etc. Be sure to include UPS and FedEx drivers, police, crossing guards and other neighborhood regulars like walkers, joggers…
  • Extend your search if necessary
  • Call local animal shelters, vets and animal control facilities to see if they have your pet

Cautionary Tips

Although we’re here to help protect and help recover your pet, we’re also concerned with your safety. Protect yourself from scams and unscrupulous people who seek to take advantage of you in a vulnerable state.

  • Avoid calls asking for money or train, bus or air fare
  • Always meet someone claiming to have your pet or have information about your pet in a public place and never go alone; do not invite strangers to your home or give them your address
  • Before calling off a search, verify that a found pet is, in fact, yours

Stay hopeful! In a study of US Animal shelters, cats with registered microchips were over 20 times more likely to get back home and dogs with registered microchips were more than twice as likely to be reunited with their families.