Losing your pet can be a traumatic experience for both you and your pet. To assist you in finding your pet Caldwell County Animal Control suggest the following:
- Visit our animal shelter at 829 Fairview Dr. SW immediately when you realize your pet is missing. You should visit at least every three days to look for your pet. Please do not call. You are more able to recognize your pet than someone working from a description. Found strays that we have are now listed on pet finder and they will soon be listed on our Facebook page.
- Register your pet as lost or missing with Animal Shelter staff.
- Register your lost pet on the Pets 911 Lost and Found Database.
Other suggestions to find a lost pet:
- Walk or drive through your neighborhood several times. Ask neighbors, letter carriers, and delivery people if they have seen your pet. Show them a recent photograph of your pet.
- Hang large brightly colored signs with large lettering so it is easily read from a passing vehicle with a description of your animal and a phone number. Post signs at major crossroads and subdivisions within a 4 - 5 mile radius of where your animal is lost. Remove the signs when your animal is found.
- Run lost or found ads in the local news paper.
- Call all vets in your area including emergency clinics. Fax them a picture and description of your lost pet if possible.
- Be wary of pet-recovery scams. When talking to a stranger who claims to have found your pet, ask him to describe the pet thoroughly before you offer any information. If he does not include the identifying characteristics you did not include in your advertisements, he may not really have your pet. Be particularly wary of people who insist that you give or wire them money for the return of your pet.
Don't give up!
Animals who have been lost for months have been reunited with their owners.
Ways to prevent your pet from becoming lost:
- Spay or neuter your pets as soon as possible. Both male and female pets that are not spayed or neutered are much more likely to go looking for companionship and get lost as well as produce unwanted litters.
- Make sure that your pet has on a collar with a rabies vaccination tag and ID tag. Cats can wear stretch collars with flat tags that are riveted directly to the collar.
- Have your pet microchipped. Microchips are a great way to help you find your lost pet. All animals that enter the Caldwell County Animal Shelter are checked for microchips.
- Keep your pets in a fenced yard or on a leash when they are outside. Do not let your animals roam.
- Keep all pets indoors during severe thunderstorms and other severe weather situations and on the Fourth of July because many pets escape from their yard or run away because of their fear of the fireworks or thunderstorms.
