Lost Pet
PREVENTION: TIPS FOR PET SAFETY
- Take frequent photos of your pet, face forward, in case you need to post a photo. To prove
being a pet’s parent, keep pet’s medical records, other records. - Keep your cat indoors. Outside, a loud noise, a sudden movement, can trigger your cat to run and get lost. Think of your cat as a toddler, alone outside.
- Have your pet microchipped. Register your microchip number at that microchip company.
Click https://www.found.org/owners/ for a list. File your pet’s microchip number.
- License Your Dog, leash your dog, avoid tying the dog’s leash outside as you shop.
- If you cat tolerates it, have a collar and ID tag. Adjust the size of the collar, as needed. Upload your lost pet’s photo to Petco Love Lost. Petco Love Lost is a partner of KittyKind. Petco Love Lost uses a free, facial-recognition software to scan your pet’s photo.
TIPS FOR FINDING YOUR LOST PET
IMMEDIATELY
Check your house
Especially for cats — is the cat in the house, behind the stove, in a cabinet, in a closet? Was there a loud
noise that triggered the cat to hide? In an apartment building, especially in a walk-up apartment
building, climb each flight, call the cat’s name in a soft voice
Make a Lost Pet Flyer
Click Pet FBI, or Pawburst for free assistance. Mention details of the pet, mention when the pet was last seen and where. Make copies of the flyer.
Alert your immediate neighbors
Tape a Lost Pet flyer by the mailboxes in your apartment building and in adjacent buildings (get permission, if needed, on any private property). Connect to a neighborhood social media site, e.g.,
Nextdoor, ,to your Facebook group, to KittyKind’s Facebook group, etc. Have a complete description with the photo. Include place and time last seen.
Contact your microchip company
If your pet has a microchip, contact the microchip company right away to report the pet as lost, and
update your contact information if needed. Contact the website AAHA if you don’t know the company of your pet’s microchip number. You can enter your pet’s microchip number and get information on the
company manufacturer. Also contact https://www.found.org/owners/ for a list of microchip manufacturers. If you don’t know your pet’s microchip number, contact the facility/vet that
microchipped your pet and they can provide information.
THE NEXT FEW HOURS
Start searching Petco Love Lost
If you haven’t already, upload your lost pet’s photo to Petco Love Lost. Report the pet as LOST. The software uses artificial intelligence to scan your pets photo against thousands of other pet photos in shelters and that other people have reported as FOUND. Check every few hours, daily.
Walk through the neighborhood (about 1 mile for cats, 3 miles for dogs) and post flyers.
Use duct tape to post flyers by your local post office so letter carriers who are in the neighborhood are alerted.
Post flyers by Amazon delivery “hubs” in your neighborhood (if applicable), locations where workers sort packages before delivery. The workers deliver in your neighborhood and might see your pet.
Post flyers at local pet food stores (get permission on private property, if needed), at local veterinarian offices, neighborhood parks. If you live by restaurants, ask the manager if the staff who use the basement, garbage cans, etc., can be on the lookout for you lost cat, perhaps hiding in an alley.
Walk the neighborhood, with a carrier and treats for your cat, with a collar and leash for your dog. Speak with neighbors, postal carriers, UPS/Amazon drivers, door attendants, park workers, people who work in your neighborhood, and request help to find your missing pet.
For cats, walk the neighborhood at night, as safety allows, with a friend, checking by trash cans, between cars, shrubbery, places the cat may hide. Have a carrier and treats.
SAME DAY AND SUBSEQUENT DAYS
Visit your local New York City Animal Shelter to look for your pet, Animal Care Center, Manhattan, Brooklyn, Bronx, Staten Island. Bring proof of pet ownership, e.g., medical records, photo of you and your pet.
Visit every 2-3 days, minimum. Shelters are busy and may not always answer the phone.
Manhattan Animal Care Center
326 East 110th Street (between 1st and 2nd Aves.)
New York, NY 10029
Hours of Operation: Open for adoptions every day, 12pm – 5pm.
Brooklyn Animal Care Center
2336 Linden Boulevard
Brooklyn, NY 11208
Hours of Operation: Open for adoptions every day, 12pm – 5pm.
Hang lost pet posters
Hang posters with duct tape at cross streets, major intersections, within a 3-mile radius of where your dog was lost or a 1-mile radius of where your cat was lost.
Look for your pet frequently on the websites where you have posted.
If you see your pet’s photo as FOUND, call immediately. If a person calls you to say he/she has found your pet, have the person describe the pet and send a picture. Avoid requests for sharing text codes, anything suspicious.
IF YOU’VE FOUND A PET
Use the above resources to post a photo of the pet as FOUND. However, it is recommended to withhold a piece of information such as eye color, a distinctive marking, to distinguish between legitimate and questionable inquiries. Have the person give a description and send a photo of the pet he/she lost. A useful resource on this topic can be found here: Mayor’s Alliance for NYC’s Pets