I recently had the good fortune to join a friend in her hunt for her lost dog at just the right moment. On our first pass through the neighborhood, Bonnie and I were yelling Mariah! over and over when suddenly there was rustling in the bushes and out trotted a very tired and bedraggled Cocker Spaniel. What a joyous moment! The other teams out searching in an adjacent neighborhood heard our screams and soon we were all fussing over Mariah and exchanging teary hugs.

Finding Mariah was no coincidence, however. Bonnie and her friends had put in hours worth of footwork and followed all the advice of experts over a two day search before I showed up on day two to join the search.

It all started Thursday morning when Bonnie was off at a herding lesson with her other dog and Mariah was home with Bonnie’s husband. He went out the back gate to take out the trash and left it open for a minute while he was out. Usually, Mariah wouldn’t think to leave the yard, but just then the neighbor’s lawn care service came by with a leaf blower and Mariah took off in a panic and was out of sight in an instant.

So began two days of intensive searching. Bonnie started by walking familiar routes with her other dogs in tow and calling and calling. After a few hours of searching, she spoke with the local mail carrier, called the police station, animal control and the local vet to report her lost dog. Then she went home, created a “lost dog” flyer on her PC, and posted some near her home and by the local shopping center in front of the grocery store and drug store. By late afternoon, she realized this wasn’t going to be over quickly and she got in touch with lots of friends in the dog community to organize a search for the next morning. Fortuitously, Bonnie’s friend Carol called with a tip to check out FindToto.com. Bonnie did and quickly decided to use the site’s service to have all her neighbors within a mile notified. In short order, several calls came in reporting sightings in a development a mile from home, but Bonnie was unable to find Mariah there and she went home for the night. The next day, more posters went up and friends in teams of two combed the neighborhood passing out flyers to neighbors jogging, walking their dogs, driving to work, and to children waiting for school buses. Calls went out to schools bus drivers, and follow up calls to police, animal control, vets etc, etc.. Bonnie’s cell phone kept ringing with more calls of Mariah sightings, leading the search to new areas. The searchers were beginning to get rather dispirited by the time I arrived for the relief shift late Friday afternoon, but persistence paid off and we found Mariah in the bushes along an old railroad track running behind a house half a block from her last reported sighting.

We all know there are things we should do to keep our dogs safe, but sometimes it takes something close to home to give us that push. Both my dogs are microchipped and have current licenses on, but Lexi lost her ID tag sometime this year. Time to order a new one! And while I always keep rabies certificates in my car, now I’ve added current pictures as well. Here are some things you can do to keep your dog from becoming a lost dog and tips in case you ever find yourself looking for a lost dog.

Prevention:

ID tag with address and phone number as well as NJ license tag. Personally, I have returned half a dozen lost dogs that have had ID to their owners. If the dog doesn’t have ID, I just call animal control.

Microchip: if your dog does get to a shelter, it will be scanned. Be sure that you have paid to register the chip and that you keep your address and phone number up to date with the registry.

Photos: Have a good close up photo of your dog ready to use. If you travel with your dog, keep a photo as well as current rabies certificate in your glove compartment.

Gates: Put a padlock on your gate or, if you don’t want to lock it, put a clip through the latch to keep it from accidentally unlatching.

Holidays/Thunder etc: Animal shelters are always crowded on July 5th because many dogs panic and take off when they hear fireworks. Be aware of things that frighten your dog and keep him safe indoors.

What You Should Keep Updated and Readily Available:

Phone numbers:

• Local police department (non-emergency number)
• Names / phone numbers of local schools
• Post Office – to contact mail carriers
• School bus company
• Animal control / local shelters
• Local vets

Information:

• Microchip number / phone number of service (Avid, Home Again)
•  If you are not PC-savvy, know where there is a copy center that can make flyers for you quickly

If Your Dog is Lost:

Thoroughly check your own property. If your dog was frightened, he may be hiding under your deck, for example.

Walk your normal walking route. Dogs are creatures of habit and when they get out of a gate, they are likely to head in the same direction you usually take them. As you walk, be sure to keep calling their name and then pause to see if you hear anything. You can also use a squeaky toy or a clicker (if your dog is familiar with it) to make noise. Be sure to carry a leash, treats, a water bottle and throat lozenges, as this is not the time to lose your voice. Wear clothes, especially shoes, that ‘smell like you’. Also carry a flashlight for looking under cars, storage sheds etc. Injured dogs will likely be hiding.

Ask everyone you meet if they have seen your dog. Kids are often eager to help. Be sure to give them your cell phone number in case they see your dog. Bring pens and paper to write your number down.

If you don’t find your dog on your first circuit, stop to make up flyers. Use a good, close-up photo and be sure to list breed, color, weight, sex, and age, but keep the description general – Mariah is buff, but most people understood blonde. Also the color of the collar is very helpful. Give the date the dog was lost and your cell phone number, but for safety leave off your address. Also hold back one or two details of your dog’s description so that you can tell that the person calling really has seen your dog. Post as many flyers as possible within a l mile radius of where your pet was lost. When you post the flyers, post them low enough to be read by children and drivers. Also post them at the local stores, post office and train station. Flyers are how most lost pets are found.

Visit your local Animal Control or Animal Shelter. Contact your township to find out where stray animals are held and then make sure to go there and look. Asking on the phone is not sufficient since your description of the dog may not match theirs. Be sure to leave a flyer and keep checking back. In New Jersey, stray dogs must be held for seven days before being adopted out or euthanized.

Contact local veterinarians and emergency vets to see if any dogs have been brought in that have been hit by cars. Again, leave a flyer there, and keep checking back.

Find out what agency picks up dogs that have been hit by cars (usually either animal control or department of transportation) and contact them.

Make use of technology. There are lots of websites devoted to lost and found ads and services to help you find your lost dog. Find Toto was the key to finding Mariah. They will autodial neighbors within a given radius and leave an automated message describing your dog and leaving your phone number. There is a charge for this service, but Bonnie received a dozen calls that allowed her to pinpoint the neighborhood that Mariah was in and focus her search efforts there.  Our local tracking club has a useful page with hints for finding lost dogs and links to many web services.

Don’t give up hope–stay positive that you will find your dog. Mariah’s search teams met many strangers who were genuinely concerned and offered to help look for her. People who had called reporting “Mariah sightings” called back later, hoping to hear that she had been found.

Mariah’s story has a happy ending because Bonnie took action quickly and had lots of help from both friends and strangers. Happily, Mariah was none the worse for wear after crossing several very busy roads and spending the night outdoors alone. She just really wanted dinner!