If you follow our Facebook page, you may have seen ‘Find Fred‘ or the story of George the Staffy on his Facebook page. These lucky pups were found thankfully. George got quite a bit of media over his return. Sadly pups like beautiful Daisy, Tiger, Buddy and Oscar and Toohey and many others are still missing.
Sadly we are hearing about pets that go missing all the time. All types of pets are at risk of going missing. It’s not just dogs and cats (although they are the ones that are mainly brought to our attention) but bunnies, guinea pigs, birds, and even horses and farm pets also go missing.
If you see a missing sign or ad anywhere in your local area, please read it, take note and keep an eye out. You could help reunite a lost family member with their very happy family.
Sometimes our little friends just take themselves on adventures, but sometimes it’s the fault of not-very-nice humans who steal our beloved pets.
If you spot a stray animal, or even an animal which looks a little out of place, please try and catch them. Lost dogs are often easily spotted as they walk around without a human nearby, but sometimes you may see a bunny which looks out of place, or a bird who is flying alone without a flock and comes oddly close to you or your pets, or may not be a native bird… if so there’s a chance that you’ve just found someone’s darling. I read about a person who found a Guinea Pig sheltering in the bushes outside their front door, and we have recently had the pleasure of caring for and reuniting a chatty Lovebird, and later a very gorgeous Budgie who were too friendly to be just passing birds and looked out of place in the area – and were quite hungry! And then there’s the dogs we’ve found and reunited them with their owners within minutes, because they had ID tags with up to date phone numbers on their collars.
It may be difficult to catch a scared stray, but most often with a little quietness, coaxing (and possibly food bribe for a hungry critter) and patience you can get them to trust you. Once you have their trust, it’s easier to hold them and find their home. And please ALWAYS TRY AND FIND THEIR FAMILY. Never keep a found pet without trying to first find it’s home as someone out there is hoping every day for a miracle. Call your local ranger and vets and let them know what animal you have found and please take found cats and dogs for a vet visit just in case they have a microchip. These are the places the family will probably call first!
Sadly there are people out there that still believe in finders keepers, losers weepers. Sometimes they don’t know how to start searching, or they just want to keep the animal but that animals may have a family. If you notice someone has suddenly gained a new dog or pet, perhaps ask them about it. Of course people adopt pets all the time, but if you sense something odd in the way the pet enters the family you could politely enquire. Don’t accuse though!
Even if you haven’t found a pet, please keep an eye on lost and found posts as you may see a found pet somewhere – and the poster for the same lost pet somewhere else. You could still help reunite them!
Don’t forget there are pages and websites which you can list lost or found pets on too. Try All Creatures Lost and Found, Vets, local Ranger Services, Rescues, and there are loads of Facebook pages which offer posting of lost and found pets. If you know of any other organisations that deal with lost and found pets, post notices or can help search, please let us know.
You might just have saved someone’s baby.
What do you do if you find a pet? Check out our article.
Do you have a happy lost and found story? Please tell us.