TO FIND A LOST DOG AFTER 4th OF JULY, ACT FAST

On Fourth of July more pets get lost than on almost any other holiday.  Like most holidays it's busy and chaotic with potentially dangerous food, decorations, guests coming and going, and travel, especially camping.  It's also a time when the "F" word rears it's ugly head.  The "F" word being Fireworks.   

While fireworks are beautiful to us, for many dogs and other pets they are booming loud noise, bright lights, and the lingering smell of small explosive material in the air.  It's no wonder 4th of July weekend is one of the busiest intake months for animals shelters.  You need to act fast to find a lost dog after 4th of July. Here's what you should do.

Many dogs and cats are lost on 4th of July.

HOW TO FIND A LOST DOG 

If your dog is micro-chipped you are in luck.  The chances of recovering your dog or cat are greatly increased!  If  you spent the $10 - $50 to microchip your pet, congratulate yourself and contact the recovery service immediately to alert them that she is missing.  They can help not only by receiving a call from a good citizen, shelter, or Veterinarian who has found your pet, but in the interim they can assist in recovery by sending alerts out to shelters and Veterinarians in your area.

> Whether your pet is microchipped or not, after a few hours you need to take action.  Start by going online and posting quality photos and details about your lost pet.  You can post on many local sites as well as WherePetsAreFound.com , Craigs List, and your local newspapers' web sites.  You can search "Lost Pets In [your town], or do a “lost and found dogs in [your city]” search for other sites you can post photos and details on.  

More dogs go missing over 4th of July weekend than almost any other time

Many fabulous shelter staff comb through Lost Pet sites in an attempt to find an owner if there are no updated tags or microchip on the dog upon arrival.  This only works well if your dog has a unique look or is an uncommon breed. 

> Enlist the kids!  Get the kids to round up all their friends to each go online to their Facebook pages, Instagram, text messaging accounts, etc. and post photos and details about your lost dog.  Have them ask their friends to share the post and ask others in their network to do the same.  Kids can be a great little online army in the effort to find your lost dog!

> Enlist family and friends!  Do the same thing with family and friends.  Send them a good photo of your dog and the details of when/where/how your dog got lost and ask them to SHARE it.

> Start visiting local area animal shelters to search for your dog - go to ALL of them not just the one closest to you!  Animal shelters often move animals around in an effort to house all the animals that have come in, especially when it's very busy like the days following July 4th.

Animal shelters fill up over 4th of July weekend with lost dogs & cats

The shelter you assume your dog would have been taken to may not be the one he's at!  It depends on who picked up your dog and where they took him; whether it was an Animal Control Officer, a good Samaritan or someone else.  It also depends on how much space was available in each local animal shelter at the time.  Animal Control Officers take pets to the shelter that has room for them. Shelters often swap pets between them depending on who has space to house pets at the time.

> Visit shelters often, once every day if you can and inform shelter staff of your lost dog.  Shelters typically only hold dogs and cats for only 3 to 4 days before placing them up for adoption, in accordance with local laws for pet holding periods.  If a shelter calls you and says they have your dog, DROP EVERYTHING  and get over there!  I'm serious, it's happened many times where a dog was found and the owner located, only for the dog to be "mistakenly" euthanized by a staff member who didn't realize the dog's owner was on their way.  Don't wait all day, get over there now!

4th of July weekend is one of the busiest times for animal shelters taking in lost pets

> Get the best quality recent color photos of your pet you can find.  Photos should clearly show the dog’s face and body.   Make a flyer with a color photo of your pet, don't make the photo on your flyer black and white, it's not very effective.  The first thing people notice is color so spend the money to have flyers with color photos made.  Put details on the flyer with the dog's gender, any unusual markings, his name and other identifying attributes.  Include your cell phone number in your contact information, you don't want to miss a call!  Cast a wide net - a lost dog can travel far and fast.  I'd pinpoint at least a 5 mile radius for my search.

> Pass flyers out to all the neighbors within several blocks. Post them in nearby grocery stores, the library, veterinary offices, and other central places near where your dog went missing.  Bring flyers to area animals shelters to post up on their LOST DOG bulletin boards.

> Make signs and post them throughout the area, especially near major roadway stop signs and traffic lights.  Don't use white 8.5" by 11" paper, most of us can't see them from a car!   Buy larger pieces of oak tag in bright or neon colors, post a color photo of your dog, and write details and contact information in large black lettering.  Don't cheap out, spend the money to have color photos printed!



This is a good example of a lost pet sign; bright color w/ large black lettering.  It was placed at a busy stop sign. Half the neighborhood knew about this missing turtle and was on the lookout!

UPDATE!!  on that lost turtle.  A couple of months after this Lost Pet sign was posted, Oscar the turtle was FOUND!  I really had my doubts, a turtle is hard to spot!  The family posted this lovely, sweet sign after Oscar returned home. How great is that?!

The whole neighborhood was overjoyed that Oscar the turtle was found!

> Another idea I heard about is to make very large signs and have someone stand on the corner of a well traveled roadway holding the sign.  Do you ever drive around and see someone standing by the road holding up a really large sign, moving it around a little to get your attention?  It's usually to advertise a store opening, a big sale, or for a local school fundraiser like a car wash.  

Use this concept to help find your lost dog.  A giant sign like this being held up by someone on the side of the road will get noticed!  Of course, be safe about it, you want to attract attention but not create a dangerous distraction to drivers or put the sign holder in harm's way.

Follow these steps and hopefully your precious pooch will return home and be back in her bed before long.  When she does, be ready to give her lots of hugs, belly rubs, and treats! 

Have you ever lost a dog or other pet and had him returned home safely?  What was the thing that helped bring your pet home?  Please leave us a comment and share your experience, we love hearing from you!!