Search Tips: How to Get the Word Out
Large Posters for Signs
- Make large posters in very bold print, on neon colored poster board that can be seen by a passing vehicle, with a phone number of someone immediately available to check out a sighting.
- For each day without sighting calls, put new signs out approximately 1 mile in each direction.
- Make the sign brief - just LOST SHELTIE and the PHONE NUMBER. Do not include your dog’s name.
Home Phone & Cell Phone Messages
- Change your outgoing message: “If you are calling about the lost Sheltie, please leave your name, phone number, time, sighting location including street number or intersection and the direction they were headed. Thank you for calling.”
Flyers
- Bring flyers to all houses & businesses in the area of where your dog was last seen. Do not include your dog’s name, but state that the dog is microchipped, and add DO NOT CHASE and DO NOT COAX (this may cause your dog to run from the area). Please stress the do not chase.
- Flyers may be placed in newspaper boxes. It is illegal to place them in mailboxes.
- Take a business card when you leave flyers so you can go back to remove flyers once your dog is home.
- If you suspect the dog may have been stolen, state that the dog is microchipped and spayed/neutered. Some put "NEEDS MEDICATION" in large print on the flyers.
- Post flyers at schools, playgrounds, businesses, restaurants, kennels, groomers, pet supply stores, dog daycares, school districts/bus transportation, churches, grocery stores, libraries, churches, bus stops/stations, gas stations, car dealers, laundromats, the fire/highway/police department.
- Post flyers wherever allowed within a 2 mile or 20 block radius of where the dog was last seen. Send flyers to all vet clinics within a 60 mile radius. For each day without sightings, expand your radius of flyer distribution.
- A sample flyer can be found at Lost Dog Search.
********WE CAN NOT STRESS ENOUGH HOW IMPORTANT FLYERS ARE!********
Business Cards
- Make business cards with your dog's photo, “Lost Sheltie” & phone numbers ... hand those out to people out walking their dogs, runners, bikers, etc. These are easier for people to tuck into a pocket.
Tag Vehicle
- Tape a flyer to the back of your vehicle or use bright colored window markers, so everywhere you go, people know "somebody" is still looking for this dog, and is not going "to just go away!"
- Here is a link to help with tagging.
Who To Talk To
- Talk to local delivery people, mail carriers, meter readers, newspaper carriers, trash collectors, etc. and ask them to keep an eye out for your dog. Give them a flyer or business card. Talk to anyone and everyone you see. People will tend to remember better when there is that personal connection.
Notify By Phone/Email/Fax
- Animal Control, Animal Shelters & Rescues, Veterinarians, Police or Sheriff’s Departments, Highway/public works department & Animal service businesses that are in your town and surrounding towns.
Checking Facilities
- YOU MUST PHYSICALLY go to check the Animal Control facility and Humane Society daily. Do not leave the decision as to whether the dog brought in is a Border Collie, Aussie, or Sheltie up to the shelter worker. Ask to see the strays that have come in.
Be Diligent In Your Search
- Don't expect that your dog will come home on their own. That is rarely the case with Shelties. It may take several days before they are hungry enough to venture out of their hiding spot to look for food. That is when your flyer distribution efforts will pay off with sighting calls. At that point somebody needs to GO, right then... because fear will again overtake hunger and the dog will go back to hiding.
- Once you get sightings you can think about the best and safest way to catch your dog. Keep in mind that your dog’s survival instinct is to run from everyone, including you. Searches can go on for weeks or months – with a successful outcome.
Humane Live Traps
- A humane live trap is a good idea once you have a sighting. Put food (KFC chicken or tuna) and something with your or your dog's scent on it inside the trap. Animal Control or a humane society may loan/rent you one, or try a rental place. Check the trap frequently to release other captured critters and restock the food. We've found the smellier the food, the quicker it will entice the dog into the trap. Online site to buy a trap: Tomahawk Live Trap or check with area humane societies or rescues.
Drop Zones
- Create "drop zones" where you can leave food and an article of your clothing with your scent to keep your dog in the area.
- Open the gate to your fenced yard in case your dog does find their way back home. Be sure to safeguard your other pets.
- Leave your dog’s crate or bed or blanket outside with some of their items.
Lists & Maps
- Keep a list of phone numbers of everyone who calls with a sighting so you can follow with questions about the sighting.
- Make a list of people who offer to set out food for your dog or who are willing to monitor a trap on their property. Instruct them to wait for you if your dog is in the trap and not to open it.
- Map the sightings of your dog. This can help you to see a pattern for route or timing. Record the date, time and exact location of the sighting in a notebook. Use a separate map of where flyers have been distributed. For maps use: Google Maps.
Think Like Your Dog
- Which direction would they most likely go? Is there a house/yard in the neighborhood similar to yours? Follow the lay of the land and take the path of least resistance. If you come to an area where there is a drainage ditch, railroad tracks, river.....that is like a highway. Walk it and "quietly" look for the dog. Look for them at their regular meal times.
NEVER GIVE UP! IT IS PERSEVERANCE THAT WILL GET THEM HOME!
Once You Get Your Sheltie Back:
- Have them examined by the vet immediately. We were able to save the life of a Sheltie who had consumed rat poison.
- Fix the reason as to how they were lost. Leash in unfenced area. Supervise outside. Collar and harness should fit snugly. Check fence for gaps and make sure gate is locked. This breed is a flight risk.
- Update or delete online listings so people know your pet is home and remove flyers from businesses.
Internet & Social Networking
Newspaper ad, post on Facebook, call police immediately when the dog is lost if Animal Control is closed.
Research
- Lost Dog Search (good information on each step in the process, print-outs, and a list of sites where you can report your pet missing)
