Top Tips On What To Do If Your Pet Goes Missing

First and foremost, ensure that your property is secure. You are going to have to really think like your pet here. Can they squeeze through the gap in the palisade? Use that beautiful rock feature to launch themselves over the wall? Rather be overly cautious when escape-proofing your garden than run the risk of them being able to get out.

Also make sure your pets have collars with ID tags and are microchipped. This is so important as their collars can come off (especially with cats who are masters at removing them).

You can also invest in GPS trackers. But do your research because some only have a limited range.

The moment you realize your pet is missing, get the word out. Do not wait, hoping they will just turn up. I read a statistic that there is a 90% chance of finding your pet within the first 12 hours. Post detailed messages with a clear picture on all social media platforms including local community groups, estate WhatsApp groups and local security forums.

Call all vets and shelters in your area and go and visit your local SPCA. They are inundated with dogs and cats on a daily basis, so simply placing a call to them is not enough.

Gather all your friends and family, form a search party, and canvas the area. Chances are your pet is scared and hiding so search under bushes, under parked cars and in all nooks and crannies. While looking, call your pet by name and stop ever so often and listen for any meows or barks. When Harri was MIA, I sent my friends 30 second voice recordings of me calling her name. A familiar voice may have been what drew her home.

The best times to go canvasing is usually early morning or just before dusk when it’s quiet and not many people and cars around.

Create a ‘missing pet’ poster. Keep it simple and include a brief description, any distinguishing features/markings, a clear picture, and their name so people can call them by name if they encounter them. If you are able, offer a reward. Place these posters everywhere! Around your neighborhood, vet rooms, school bulletin boards, in post boxes. Go wild.

Place a sign outside your front door/gate detailing that your pet is missing and that they live there. Your pet may have strayed not too far from home and a Good Samaritan could pick them up and drive/walk around the neighborhood trying to find their home. Having a sign outside would alert the person to where your pet lives.

If possible, and if it won’t allow your other pets to get out, leave your gate/sliding door/ window open for your pet to be able to come in. At any time, your pet could come home and then turn around and leave again if they cannot gain access to the property.

Our cats have a curfew and are locked in at night, so while Harri was missing, we put all the cats in one room that was secured and left both the front and back doors open.

Sometimes you need expert help. Maybe your pet is on chronic medication, is disabled, or needs weekly treatments. In this instance, time is crucial, and you may need to hire the services of a pet detective.

We enlisted the help of Healthy Hounds, an organization that has trained dogs to sniff out and track missing pets. Since Harri has a very bad limp, never leaves the garden and is therefore not street smart, we wanted to find her as quickly as possible. The tracking dogs never actually got to do their thing because two hours before they were set to arrive, Harri came home, but this organization does have a very high success rate.