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In the News: Tails of Marin
Act Fast If Your Pet Goes Missing
By Carrie Harrington
Even the most responsible pet owners can find themselves in the unfortunate position of losing a pet. In Marin County alone last month, nearly 100 people reported their animals missing to the Humane Society.
Losing a pet is an extremely upsetting and stressful experience; it's important to be prepared so that you can act fast. Here are some pet recovery tips to keep handy so that you'll know what to do if your four-legged family member ever goes missing.
- Begin searching immediately. Canvass your neighborhood on foot, by car, during the day and at night. Look in garages, yards, basements, closets, under cars and in shrubbery. Set up a feeding station and place clothes with your scent on them, or your pet's bed or crate nearby.
- Call and whistle to your pet. Keep in mind that your dog or cat may be injured, frightened, trapped or unable to come to you. Hearing your voice may encourage your pet to answer you. Remain in one place long enough for your animal to find you after you call out.
- Come to the Marin Humane Society. All stray animals rescued by our field officers are transported to MHS in Bel Marin Keys (or to area veterinary hospitals if urgent medical treatment is required). At the shelter, an animal care technician will assist you in looking through the kennels. Return to look for your pet at least twice a week or as often as possible. Stray animals sometimes arrive weeks or months after they first disappear.
- Make sure to file a lost pet report and search through the found animals books located on our front counter. Call our lost animal hotline at 883-4621 every night after 6 p.m. The recording is updated daily and includes animals who were brought in during the previous 48 hours.
- Also check neighboring animal shelters and rescue groups. When pets are found, people often take them to a location nearest to their home. A list of Bay Area shelters is available on our Web site.
- Spread the word. Post lost pet notices on bulletin boards in stores, churches, libraries and around your neighborhood. Pass out fliers to your friends, neighbors, babysitters and mail carriers. Try placing ads in local newspapers. Offer a reward. Contact local radio stations; some might be willing to make an announcement for you. When filling out lost reports or writing a newspaper ad, remember to include your pet's name, description, a photograph, and your name, address and phone number. Lost pet notices are available at MHS or can be downloaded from our Web site.
- Look for cats online. While 89 percent of stray dogs brought to MHS are reunited with their guardians, only 35 percent of stray cats are redeemed. To help increase the number of cat redemptions, some stray cat photos are now posted on our Web site. If you do not see your cat's photo on our Web site, it is extremely important that you come to the shelter to look for your pet in person.
DO NOT GIVE UP! Survival is one of the strongest of any animal's instincts. It might take months before a pet is found. For your animal's sake, keep up the search. Persistence pays off.
Carrie Harrington is the public information assistant at the Marin Humane Society.
Tails of Marin appears every Saturday in the Home & Garden section of the Marin Independent Journal
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