With fireworks celebrations getting bigger and bigger every year, the postings about lost dogs seem to grow in number as well. Inevitably, facebook explodes the end of December and the beginning of July with reports of lost dogs.
I have been fortunate to be involved in a number of lost dogs searches over the years which lead owners to recover their dogs. Barney and Kash were two of the big ones in which I was involved, but there have been others as well.
I often get tagged in these pleas with people saying “ contact Ken, he can help.” I try to help out as best I can. Due to the locations of missing dogs, work schedules and other factors, there are times I cannot take an active role in the search.
I wrote an article a number of years ago in an effort to help out, give people some tips on how to go about looking and what to do when their dog is spotted. With Mayley and Mia going missing, I thought it might be best to revist this article.
So here it is…
When your dog goes missing, DON”T PANIC. Get the word around via social networking, radio stations and word of mouth. Contact all the rescues and animal control both with a description and picture of your dog. Continue to check in with them. Remember, shelter staff change often. Just because you called reporting your black lab type dog missing one day, does not mean your dog is not at that shelter the next. Pictures, descriptions, constant follow ups are important. The more people who know your dog is missing, the more eyes open, the greater the likelihood of a quick return home.
There are a number of facebook groups out there that you can use to help spread the word:
This list is not meant to be exhaustive. Check in with the shelters, rescues and groups in your area.
So, you have the word out…now what…
Organize searches. Driving around is ok but often times scared animals will avoid roads entirely. Get out, start walking and beating the paths. If you have friends and family who the dog is familiar with, try to get them involved with the search. Dogs are much more likely to come to people they know as opposed to people they do not. Try to narrow down the search area to the one the dog was lost in and/or in the last CONFIRMED sighting. Dogs tend to stick in the one area unless being driven out. This area could be small or it could be large. At least, it will give you and the searchers an area to focus on. At this point, the important things is a sighting that can be confirmed.
A note to searchers…there is nothing more defeating than day after day, seeing notes up on your search page….”searched x area and found fresh tracks”. Please do not do that. Most of us have no idea if a track is “fresh” or not and definitely have no idea that those tracks belong to the missing dog. This is especially true in urban areas where the walking trails and parks are full of “fresh tracks”. Unless you spot the dog, best to not say things like that as it gets the owners running all over when their efforts are best put into CONFIRMED SIGHTINGS.
About the only thing more frustrating for owners than the “fresh tracks” comment is hearing “it has been a week now and no sightings, perhaps somebody has stolen him/taken him/he is dead”
Please please please refrain from those type of comments. Trust me, the owners know this is a possibility. The do not need reminders from you. For the record, all dogs, even very small ones can survive our worst weather just fine for weeks on end. Barney and Mayley are prime examples of this.
For dogs that are friendly and who do not fear strangers, the scenario is not so bad. Most times, especially in the more urban areas, they will be picked up by somebody and taken in. As such, it is important that your dog have readily recognisable and accurate id on them. Ensure tags are up to date and worn at all times. Microchip your dogs. It is a great service and helps in their return…more on that after.
There are dogs who are very timid and who are going to be very frightened. When this occurs it is important to remember that the dog may be running scared. He may not even approach people he knows. He may not even approach family as often times he is not seeing friendly faces, just danger. If this is the case, the dog must be approached with caution so as not to spook him. Remember a frightened dog may not act rationally even when it encounters it’s loved ones.
If your dog is running scared, request searchers not approach the dog. Again request they follow the dog and only appraoch when and if they can ensure safe trapment of the dog. Ball fields, backyards, sheds can all be put to use in this regard. The best thing for searchers to do, when the dog is spotted, contact the owners, follow the dog calmly, slowly, avoiding eye contact and wait for the owners to arrive.
Remember, approaching the dog could drive the dog out of the area
If and when you spot the dog, follow the dog but stay back and try to get them into a confined area...somebody's back yard, a soft ball field...any place where you can close them off is great. If this happens call the owners and then have the owners get the dog from the confined area. If you can get him in a fenced area and cannot reach the owners or an animal control agency, use a jacket, a blanket, something to throw over and trap him. Watch his teeth as he might bite. Wrap the jacket or blanket around him and keep your hands away.
The best thing to do when approaching is to do it slowly, avoid eye contact and talking. You want to convince the dog you are ignoring him as opposed to trying to catch him. If the dog thinks you are trying to catch him and is running scared, in all likelihood, the dog will bolt.
Keep in mind that these dogs can move fast when spooked and if they feel you are following them or trying to catch them, they will be spooked so be as non-invasive as possible...avoid rushing up and trying to grab the dog unless the situation dictates that you can do so and even then do so slowly and carefully.
Sometimes having another dog around works wonders as you can let the other dog go and they can approach corale and distract while you try to capture the dog. Again this has to be done carefully and with tact. Special note, if you choose a dog for this, that dog has to be bombproof. It has to be a dog that will approach calmly and easily. It also has to be a dog that you can call off if the other dog bolts. If you can get a dog that is like this and is known to the other dog, all the better.
If the dog is being spotted around the same area, most times it is because he is sticking to that area. This is a good thing and another reason chasing him should be avoided as it could drive him out of that area.
Each dog reacts differently in this situation. Most times when I do something like this, it means a lot of judging things on the fly and trying to read what the dog is feeling and thinking. I try to anticipate their next move.
A couple of years ago when Barney, a little shih tzu went missing for three weeks in late March, so many people went searching. I saw a tremendous outpouring of support for this dog and it was beautiful. He kept being spotted in the same area of the city by various people including his owners. He would not come to anybody. Upon being spotted, he would immediately bolt. He was running scared. The day that I found him was after a snow storm and he was walking a trail on hill behind Cowan Heights. I followed him in through the power line for a couple of miles before he got bogged down in enough snow that I was able to run to him, toss a jacket over him and grab him. I stayed away from him enough not to spook but close enough to keep him in sight. It was touch and go but I got him. If I had reacted too early, he would have run and I never would have gotten to him.
Do not loose hope. Your dog can surivive just fine. Keep looking.
Now….let’s all work to prevent something like this from happening in the first place.
A couple of notes on that...
A calm, relaxed and confident dog is a dog that is bombproof. One achieves this by early proper and extensive socialization to everything and everyone. A good place to START is a good quality obedience course. Notice I said this is a good place to START. Often times, people will enrol their dog in obedience and then do little else. That would be like sending your child to elementary school and leaving the child’s education there. Work with your dog every day to ensure your dog is comfortable in all kinds of situations. It means working towards good solid walks, reliable recalls, and reliable stays in all types of environments .
If you know your dog is scared of fireworks, loud noises, cars, traffic, people…..you know there is a major glitich in your training that needs to be addressed. Address this right away. Arrange a one on one with a quality trainer (I happen to know an excellent one who helps clients deal with these issues all of the time), get a plan in place and get those issues addressed. It is too late to deal with it when your dog is missing. I cannot stress this point enough. If a problem exists, get it addressed ASAP. Having a dog and not getting these problems addressed is like you never learning to swim but choosing to work on the water without a lifejacket. It is just dangerous, stupid, neglectful and so easily fixed.
Ensure your dog’s identification is up to date AND your dog is wearing it. Too often I hear stories of dogs going missing with no id. The chances of your dog returning to you increase exponentially if it is wearing up to date id.
Get your dog microchipped as well. It will help the rescues, and shelters get your dog back to you in a much more expedient manner.
Again, this write up is not meant to be exhaustive. It is meant to give people some tips on what to do if their dog goes missing and offer advice on how to prevent it from doing so.
If you have any questions, I am always available for contact.