Hey Woofas

This actually happened today!

A friend of mine was out driving and came across a little Poodle who was wandering around the streets lost.

She stopped her car and managed to pick up the dog.  She went door knocking to houses nearby but no one knew the dog apparently.

She brought the dog to me because I have a microchip scanner.  We scanned the dog and sadly there was no microchip.

We took pictures of the dog and posted them on local Community Facebook pages in the hope that someone would recognise the dog.

Luckily my friend’s dog is a friendly dog, so after I groomed knots out of the Poodle, she took the dog home to wait and see if anyone claimed her.

Monday morning the Poodle was going to be dropped off at the local Animal Care Facility.

Thankfully though due to the posting on the local Community Facebook pages the owner saw the post!

Said Poodle is home safe back with her owners.

This ended happily.

Some dogs aren’t so lucky.

WHAT TO DO IF YOUR DOG GETS OUT AND IS LOST!

There are a number of things you can do to try to find your dog –

1. Make sure your dog has a microchip.  That way if someone does find your dog they can take them to the local Vet to have the chip scanned.  The microchip will have your current details on them so they can contact you to come collect your dog.
2. Join your local Community Facebook pages.  There are a few in our area, I follow my immediate area and then those adjoining my area, the more coverage the better.  Someone may find your dog and post their pic on one of these pages.
3. Follow your local Animal Care Facility aka The Pound.  Generally if it’s a weekday and someone has spotted a dog roaming around they call the local Animal Care Facility.  They will then send out Rangers to collect your dog and take them to the Facility.  Your dog will stay there until you are contacted, via their microchip.
4. Local Animal Charities – There may also be local Lost Dog Charity pages that you can follow as well.  I used to be a volunteer for one of our local Lost Pets pages.  People would find a dog, post their pic on the page, we would go out and scan the dog for a microchip.  If there was one AND the details were correct, the owner was called and all was good.  Sometimes owners would recognise their dogs on the page, or someone would know the owner and contact them.
5. Call your local Vets – Sometimes people take dogs they’ve found on the street to their local Veterinarian.  They may have facilities there to hold the dog until the owner is contacted, they may recognise the dog, or they may have a microchip scanner and will find the owners that way.  OR  your dog could have been injured and taken to the nearest Vet for care.
6. Put a Missing Dog Post – up on your own facebook page and have all your family and friends share it.  Or Print out flyers and leave them at the local Vets or Shops etc.
7. Drive the streets where you walk your dog.  Because dogs are familiar with the way they go on walks, they may tend to head off in the same direction.
8. Door Knock – ask your neighbours if they happened to see your dog out at all and if so which direction they headed in.
9. Local Police or Fire Brigade – Sometimes people may report your lost dog to the local police or fire brigade, so try calling them also.
10. Check at your Local Dog Park – sometimes dog will be drawn to other places that dogs go.
11. Check at your Local Playing Fields – dogs can be drawn to all the activity going on at playing fields.  People playing sports, running around, walking other dogs, balls being kicked around, can all draw the attention of your dog.
12. Drones – if you know someone with a drone (and it is safe to do so), you could send the drone up with a camera on it to see if your dog is roaming somewhere.  This happened for a dog once that was lost in the bush.
13. Check your own yard/house – some dogs have been reported missing only to be found hidden or stuck somewhere in their own back yard, or somewhere in the house.
14. Check the local shops, parks or schools – dogs will go wandering and can end up at these places.  We have had call outs to these places where dogs have been found.

HOW TO MAKE IT EASIER FOR YOU IF YOUR DOG DOES GET OUT AND IS LOST?

1. Make sure your dog is Microchipped!

This is a no brainer.

A microchip is exactly that, a little chip that usually goes into the back of your dog’s neck.

It has a number associated with it, so when it is scanned the number can be looked up and your correct details correspond with the microchip.

Therefore, making it easy for you to be contacted.

This can be done at your local Veterinarian or Animal Care Facility.

2. Put a name tag on your dog’s collar!

If your dog wears a collar, make sure they have a tag on it with your name and contact number and your dog’s name.

Some collars allow embroidery, so you can put your dog’s name and your number into the collar.  No tags involved or getting lost.

This way if someone does find your dog they can contact you direct.

For Billy, we have an Apple Air Tag on his bandanna, so when we go out his bandanna with the Apple Air Tag goes on.  We can track him on our phones if need be.

3.  Have cameras on the outside of your house!

This way if your dog does get out, you can see on the camera what time they got out and what direction they went in.

4.  Social Media Pages!

Already be members of your local Community Facebook pages as mentioned above.

This way it’ll be quicker for you to post pics of your dog!

You won’t have to be accepted first etc.

5. Local Vets & Animal Care Facility Numbers!

Have these in your contacts already.

That way the numbers are at your finger tips already, no need to research websites.

Hopefully this never happens to you and your dog.   But it’s best to be prepared in case it does.

WHAT DOES ALL THIS MEAN?

Sadly sometimes our dogs do get out and become lost.

It’s a scary situation to be in, knowing your dog is out there lost and roaming around without you.

Above are some recommendations to consider in case this does happen.

IN THE COMMENTS BELOW – BILLY WOULD LIKE TO KNOW – IF YOUR DOG HAS EVER GOTTEN OUT AND HOW YOU FOUND THEM?