Lost Pet Guide

Tips for finding your lost pet

File A Lost Report at the City Animal Shelter

If you haven’t already, the first thing you should do is contact the Animal Service Center and file a lost report. If possible, you should also go down to the Animal Shelter in person and look at the animals who have been brought in at least once a week until your pet is found. A black cat or brown dog can look very much like another black cat or brown dog. You are the best person to identify your pet. The Animal Shelter can be reached at 850-891-2950.

File A Lost Report at the Helping Lost Pets website

Go to HelpingLostPets.com Once you have filed your report there, it will be posted and shared on the Lost & Found Pets Tallahassee Facebook page, which is an excellent tool for reuniting lost pets. Their Facebook page also has an excellent guide for how to use their free service and more tips for finding your lost animal pinned to the top of their page.

Update Your Pet’s Microchip

 If your pet has a microchip, but you’re not sure if it has been registered to you, it is a good idea to call your vet or the microchip company and make sure that the information attached to the chip is up-to-date. Below is the contact information for the primary microchip companies in the US. You can use the Microchip lookup tool to determine which company the microchip is from.

A microchip identification implant is the size of a grain of rice and is inserted under an animal’s skin. It contains a number that is filed with a national registry. The registry keeps owner contact information. When a shelter or veterinary practice finds an implant on a lost pet, they contact the registry. To get a microchip ID for your pet, consult your veterinarian.

Every dog and cat adopted since 2005 from the Leon County Humane Society has a microchip ID implant. If you have an LCHS pet and haven’t kept your contact information current with the national registry, please call us at (850) 224-9193.

Talk to Your Vet

The next step is to call your vet and any other vets in your area to let them know your pet is missing. Fax, email or personally take them a flyer with your pets’ photo and your contact info. We will also put up any posters we receive here in our office at the Leon County Humane Society. Our fax number is 850-558-5520. You may also contact us via email.

Facebook

Facebook is a wonderful tool for spreading the word for both lost and found pets. If you have a Facebook account, you’ll want to make a post containing a photo and location lost, then share it with as many people as possible.

Craigslist

Craigslist is another venue for spreading the word about lost and found pets. Under the Community section, there is a Lost and Found page where you can post a photo and location lost. Many people post to this page when they have found a pet.

Put Up Posters

Placing “lost” posters all over your neighborhood and at nearby busy street intersections is often very effective. If you do this, be sure to use brightly colored, large poster board. Include the pet’s name, breed and coat color, when and where your pet was last seen, and your phone number and email. Do NOT include your name, address or a specific reward amount. Be sure and tell your mail carrier and children in your neighborhood that your pet is missing so they can help.

More Things You Can Do

If your cat has gone missing while in your neighborhood, consider spreading any litter she has used in your yard. This creates a clear “scent marker” for her, which may help her find her way home if she is lost.

You can do the same thing for your dog if you put an article of clothing that you have worn outside your house. Your scent may help him find his way home.

For more great info and tips for recovering your lost pet, visit www.missingpetpartnership.org.