Every year in France, thousands of dogs and Cats are lost. Their owners then find themselves confronted with the anxiety of never seeing their four-legged friend again. However, there is still hope. Indeed, it is possible to put all the chances on your side to find your lost dog thanks to the pet Alert network.
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Plus, great stories are not uncommon. Some dogs are sometimes found several years after their disappearance. The motto is to never give up.
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Here are all our tips to maximize your chances and find your four-legged pet as soon as possible.
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Do not hesitate to ask the people you meet or your neighbours by leaving your contact information just in case.
If you have just moved in, and what's more, in a house, a lost dog who does not yet know the limits of his territory very much wants to go and visit the surroundings and in some cases get lost. Or to return to its former territory.
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If your dog gets lost in a place he doesn't know, he will try to get back to where he got lost. Leave a piece of clothing or object that smells like you there and come back there regularly. If you are lucky, it will simply be lying on top of the piece of fabric. And if necessary, leave kibble and water.
Have you just noticed the disappearance of your dog? First, try to stay calm. The situation is stressful, but you need to keep your cool to act as effectively as possible.
The first thing you need to do is take a walk around your neighborhood. Remember to take candy with you. Call your dog. Take a look under the cars. Ask questions to passers-by you. You can even ring the bell at the locals to ask them if they have seen your pet. If despite your research, you come home empty-handed, go to the second step.
What should I do if I see my dog?
If you see your animal, stay in control of yourself. Running up to him, shouting at him, or even worse, yelling at him, could scare him away. Call him gently and lure him in with a treat. Praise him when he approaches you and reward him with caresses. His return should be synonymous with happiness for him as well as for you, and not stress or anger.
Attract the attention of passers-by with the help of posters that you will have everywhere in your neighborhood: electric poles, shops... The aim is to warn as many people as possible. For your poster to be successful, do not embark on a complex design: go for the simplest one. Information should be legible and clear at first glance. Enter the name of your dog along with a photo, briefly describe your animal, specify if it is tattooed or chipped, then leave a contact method (email or telephone).
But the most effective and the fastest way to find your dog is still our network. Pet Alert. With its three million users, Pet Alert allows the rapid distribution of animal disappearance announcements on social networks.
Pet Alert is organized into Facebook pages. There is one for each French department in order to facilitate research. Since its creation in 2012, the PetAlert network has allowed hundreds of thousands of dogs to return to their homes, sometimes several years after their disappearance.
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To post an ad, go to the Pet Alert site and click Post an ad. You will need to fill in the name of your animal, its place of disappearance and its date. Give as much information as possible (identification, character) in order to put all the chances on your side.
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The Pet Alert network also offers the tool for Boost by Pet Alert, which allows you to broadcast your ad to the largest number of people and thus speed up the process. There is a charge to publish an immediate announcement, but to publish an announcement that is delayed for 24 hours is free.
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Once your ad is published on your department's PetAlert page, volunteer detectives will get to work on site to help you. Thanks to user shares, your ad will reach as many people as possible — much more than an ad shown within your neighborhood.
For your part, continue your research. If your dog is identified, immediately notify I-CAD, the file that lists all chipped dogs and cats in a database. Report the disappearance of your animal to this organization by going directly to their site.
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Once your report has been made, then contact the impoundments in your region. Also notify the town halls, as well as the surrounding police, especially if your dog is not identified. If this is the case, go to the pound regularly to check that your animal is not there. Note that after eight days, an unidentified animal is considered abandoned and will therefore be given to an association to be offered for adoption.
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Finally, if you suspect theft, you must file a complaint with the police and the gendarmerie.
Another very important point: make yourself known to associations in your region. If your dog is not identified, it may have been brought to a shelter by the pound. Contact shelters and associations to explain your situation to them and to prevent them.
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If your animal is collected, you will thus be notified more quickly and effectively.
Also, don't forget to call veterinary clinics near you. Indeed, a person who found your four-legged friend may have taken him to the vet to check that he was not injured. If your dog doesn't have a tattoo or a chip, the vet will have no way of identifying it. He may then contact the pound or an association.
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On the other hand, if you have warned him, the practitioner will be able to recognize your four-legged friend and contact you to give you the good news.
