It is often said that having a pet is quite similar to having a baby. This is because both the pet and the baby are completely dependent on you. It is you who is responsible for catering to every demand that they might have. It is your responsibility to ensure that no harm befalls them. An owner is emotionally connected to their pets. You tend to spend quite a bit of time with them, and thus you form a certain bond with them.

Therefore, when the pet gets lost, it tends to worry you to no bounds. Pets, especially cats and dogs have a tendency to wander off and sometimes they cannot find their way back. The idea that you have lost your pet and might never see it again could be rather devastating. However, it is important that you do not lose your cool. Panic would not do you any good. Instead, it is important to keep a cool head and opt for a systematic approach. We are now going to provide you with some of the ways that you could use to find your beloved pet back.

An owner is emotionally connected to their pets. You tend to spend quite a bit of time with them, and thus you form a certain bond with them. Therefore, when the pet gets lost, it tends to worry you to no bounds. Pets, especially cats and dogs have a tendency to wander off and sometimes they cannot find their way back. The idea that you have lost your pet and might never see it again could be rather devastating. However, it is important that you do not lose your cool.

Panic would not do you any good. Instead, it is important to keep a cool head and opt for a systematic approach. We are now going to provide you with some of the ways that you could use to find your beloved pet back.

The idea that you have lost your pet and might never see it again could be rather devastating. However, it is important that you do not lose your cool. Panic would not do you any good. Instead, it is important to keep a cool head and opt for a systematic approach. We are now going to provide you with some of the ways that you could use to find your beloved pet back.

The idea that you have lost your pet and might never see it again could be rather devastating. However, it is important that you do not lose your cool. Panic would not do you any good. Instead, it is important to keep a cool head and opt for a systematic approach. We are now going to provide you with some of the ways that you could use to find your beloved pet back.
What to do?

Search
The first thing that you ought to do when you could not find your pet is to search the neighbourhood thoroughly. Commence by heading and calling your pet by name. Sometimes, the pets are in hiding, but they tend to respond when they are called by their names. Make an effort to spread the word. If the word gets out that you are looking for your pet and are worried about, there is a high chance that you would be contacted if someone sees an animal somewhere. Take the help of family and friends to go through every nook and cranny of the neighbourhood.

Do not leave out any area on chance. If you are looking for your pet via car, make sure that you drive at a slow speed and roll down the windows so that the pet can hear you when you call it. Make sure that you drive through the neighbourhood regularly several times. Inquire of the people around if they have seen an animal. If you have a recent picture of the pet, hand it out along with the information as to how you could be reached if required. It is a good idea to call all the neighbours personally which would deliver the message as to how desperate you are.

Contact authorities
You should contact the respected authorities at the earliest which would enhance your chances of getting your pet back. Get in touch with animal shelters and animal control agencies and file a report for your lost pet. If you do not know about the local shelter, you can look it up on the internet or find it by means of a phone book. In case there is no animal shelter in your locality, you ought to acquire the services of a local police department. Make sure that you provide the agencies with the right description along with a photograph of the pet that was recently taken. The police should also be taken into confidence if you think that your pet has been stolen.

In case there is no animal shelter in your locality, you ought to acquire the services of a local police department. Make sure that you provide the agencies with the right description along with a photograph of the pet that was recently taken. The police should also be taken into confidence if you think that your pet has been stolen.

Make a call to all the veterinary clinics including the emergency hospitals for vets available with them. Sometimes, it happens that people pick up animals that they think to be a stray animal and hand it over to a distant clinic. Thus, calling these places might get you your pet.

Instead of just calling to check if any shelter has found your pet, it is a better idea to instead go to the places on your own on a regular basis.

Advertise
Do not forget to focus on getting everyone on board for looking for the pet. This could be done by extensive advertising. You can post notices at various places including the likes of community centres, veterinary offices, grocery stores, and traffic intersections among other places. Make sure that you also post a notice in newspapers and use radio stations. Ensure that the details regarding your pet such as its sex, age, weight, colour, breed, and point of identification are all mentioned in your notice. It is a good idea to leave out one characteristic of your pet in your notice. You can ask the person, who contacts you that he has found the pet if that characteristic the pet has. This will ensure that you get your own pet and do not end up becoming a victim of pet recovery scam. People might try to lure you into accepting a certain animal as your pet to extract money from you. Be wary of such attempts and make sure that the animal you get is indeed your beloved friend.

Make use of the internet
The internet has made life easier in more ways than one. You can also make use of it to find your pet. Various sites are available for the purpose. All that you need to do is to find a site that deals with lost pets in your locality, and your work will become a whole lot easier. As time passes, the hope of finding the pet tends to diminish. However, you should know that the pets are reunited with their masters several months after they are lost. Therefore, do not lose hope and do not give up on your efforts.

It is quite common for people to blame themselves when they lose their pet. However, the thing that you need to understand is that wallowing in guilt and self-pity would not bring your pet back. You need to make active efforts for the same. Therefore, if you lose your pet, gather yourself and think of the approach that you will take to find it. Keeping a cool head would improve your chances of finding your pet back.

Places to contact

The UK Missing Pet Database