A lost pet can be a frightening experience for any pet parent. Immediate action is crucial, but where do you start? Underdog Animal Rescue and Rehab partners with Petco Love Lost to make reuniting lost pets easier and free using facial recognition technology to search a national database.
Protect Your Pet
We recommend taking the following steps to prevent your pet from getting lost in the first place:
Prepare: Underdogs are microchipped prior to adoption but it's important to ensure your pet's ID tag (worn on a properly fitted collar) and microchip information are up to date. Make sure your friends and neighbors know your pet(s) and keep current photos in case they go missing and you need help finding them.
Register Your Pet on Petco Love Lost: Upload your pet's photo to Petco Love Lost's free national lost and found database to prepare for the unexpected. If your pet goes missing, one click will allow you to quickly search thousands of found pets using patented pet facial recognition technology.
Keep Your Pet Secure: When panicked by fireworks, storms, or other scary disturbances, dogs run and cats tend to hide. You know your pet best. Think about your pet's behavior whenever you leave home. Keep your pet secure and make sure they have adequate leashes, harnesses, gated off areas, etc. If you think your pet might be frightened, keep them safely indoors and use white noise, a tv, or radio to help drown out loud noises. Keep your pet adequately leashed when outdoors and loop their leash around your shoulder or waist so they are still attached to you should you trip or fall.
Ensure your yard and home are secure: Make sure your yard's fence is sturdy with no loose boards, nothing your dog could climb and jump over, or dig and crawl under, and that window screens and exterior doors to your home are securely in place.
Is Your Pet Lost?
We recommend following the steps below for the best chance at a speedy reunion:
Walk the neighborhood: Take a walk around the immediate area and speak to any neighbors, postal service workers, landscapers, or anyone who may have seen your lost pet. You know your pet best, so look in areas that your pet may have been interested in or comfortable hiding in. Most pets are found close to home.
Share their scent: Put a couple of your pet's favorite items near the most common entry ways into your home. The front door and the door into your yard would be the best locations. You can include items like their favorite bed, blanket, toys, their litterbox (if cat) and any other items they use frequently. Their scents may help them find their way home.
Search for your lost dog or cat on Petco Love Lost: Underdog has partnered with Petco Love Lost to easily help search the national lost and found database and create a searchable and shareable alert for your missing pet. Upload a picture of your pet or search by location. Powered by facial recognition technology, Petco Love Lost helps match found animals to reported lost pets nationwide. Visit Petco Love Lost and search now!
Spread the word about your missing pet: Use the sharing features on Petco Love Lost to distribute your lost pet listing on other social media outlets like Facebook, Craigslist, and Nextdoor. Ask your friends and family to share your pets information within their networks. Create a Lost listing that can be shared and print out premade fliers. Make sure any posters or fliers made are large and bright with only relevant information on it. Place in high traffic areas and in the vicinity of where your lost pet went missing.
Make sure your pet’s microchip information is updated: If someone finds your pet and takes them to be scanned for a microchip, you want to make sure that all the information is correct so that you will be contacted immediately.
Check with your local animal services, animal control, and animal shelters: Call to see if your missing pet is at one of these locations. An in-person trip is preferable so you can look and see if your pet is in their care. Many organizations allow you to place a lost report with them, where you can leave a photo of your pet and your contact information.
Don’t give up! Finding a lost pet can take time. Remember to regularly check websites that you have posted your lost pet on and make updates as needed. New lost and found pets are added regularly to Petco Love Lost and to your local shelters.
Additional suggestions for finding a lost pet can be found HERE.
Did You Find a Pet?
If you found a lost pet (or they found you), here's what you should do:
Work the neighborhood: Speak with neighbors, postal carriers, landscapers, and anyone else in the vicinity who might know who the animal belongs to.
Register the pet on Petco Love Lost: Frantic parents may be sharing pics of their missing pet and you can help make the critical connection. Take a photo of the found pet, upload it, and search the Petco Love Lost database. If there is no match, create a free Petco Love Lost found pet flyer to share on Facebook, Nextdoor, and other social networks.
Look for identification: If you can safely restrain the pet, check for an ID tag on their collar and look for contact information. If the pet is friendly you can also take them to a Petco or other pet retailer, vet office, or animal shelter to scan for a microchip.
Make a call: Contact your local animal shelter, non-emergency police number or animal control office, as they might know if a dog or cat has been reported missing and can take a found pet report. If someone contacts you to claim their pet, be sure to confirm proof of ownership (i.e., veterinary records, pet’s photo on your phone, etc.).
Spread the word! Use the sharing features on Petco Love Lost to distribute your lost pet listing on other social media outlets like Facebook, Craigslist, and Nextdoor.
Additional suggestions for handling a found pet can be found HERE.
Did you know 1 in 3 pets will go missing in their lifetime? We’re partnering with Petco Love Lost to help pets reunite with their families. Petco Love Lost is a free, easy-to-use national resource, using patented pet facial recognition technology to make it easier than ever to find possible matches for lost and found pets. Join us, and let’s unite to reunite at petcolovelost.org.
