My dog is lost

[sparkle&shine]

I am so upset right now. My Yorkie got out yesterday and we can't find him we think that he got out from under the gate. We put up fliers and I put him on lost dog websites but we haven't heard anything. DH went to the pound this morning but my doggie wasn't there. Some kids said that they saw him around the neighborhood yesterday but none of them had any details. We are going to hang up more signs tonight and hopefully someone will give us a call. I am so worried that someone will just keep him because he is just such a cute little guy. :(

Here's a picture of my Jackson
http://images.snapfish.com/34679%3C44%3A%7Ffp45%3Dot%3E2326%3D%3C5%3A%3D537%3 DXROQDF%3E2323467978363ot1lsi

I guess we are just keeping our fingers crossed now.

[nolagirl]

I am so, so sorry. I have two dogs and would be hysterical if either of them got lost. I'll bet you will find him soon though - someone will definitely notice him, or he will figure out how to get home. Did you call the local police and notify them?

I'll be saying a little doggie prayer for you.....keep us posted!

[kam]

I'm so sorry! I find dogs all the time, one of which didn't get claimed for 7 days. As a "finder", I contacted the following in case the owner looked with them:

SPCA
Dog breed rescues (local, this dog was a beagle)
Local vets (I contacted about 5 local ones)
Dog warden

When I was a girl, our dog got out and was lost for 4 days (even with tags). My parents actually paid money into the local advertising section of our local radio station. She was found about 5 miles from our house by my mom's co-worker! Maybe try the local radio advertising of our day - craigslist.com?

Good luck and hope you find him soon!

[fuzzy]

When my cat got out and was missing (for five days), we put up posters and specifically offered a reward. We weren't in a financial position to offer hundreds of dollars, so we just said "reward." But, it was enough to motivate dozens of neighborhood kids to start searching -- I think they were convinced they'd hit the jackpot it they found him.

McGee came back on his own, so they never got their stash, but I really appreciated their efforts. They put a lot of time into it.

Just a thought!

[jesvet]

I'm so sorry. I will keep you guys in my thoughts. It sounds like you are doing all the right things and you got some great advice. Definitely keep checking the pound in person, it isn't uncommon for them to say over the phone "Nope, not here" when in fact they are.

Out of curiosity, not trying to make you feel bad if he wasn't, but was he wearing tags or microchipped?

[Rose]

I am so sorry. I will keep you and your dog in my thoughts. I hope he comes home soon!

[Phen]

Hoping someone sees him soon! We had a terrier who loved to run away and 9 times out of 10 (yes, she was a frequent escaper), one of our neighbors would catch her within a day or two and bring her back to us.

~ Phen

[sparkle&shine]

Well we just got back from putting up more signs around the neighborhoods.

Jesvet - Nope, he didn't have tags because we don't keep a collar on him. We walk him on a harness but don't keep it on him. Unfortunately he isn't microchipped either. If we get him back I will definitely put a collar on him just so he can have ID at all times.

I already dropped off a sign at the closest vet but will find out any other ones around and drop off a sign there also. I am really worried that someone has decided to keep him as their pet. He is such a cutie and everyone loves 'purse' dogs he barely weighs 5 pounds.

[Rose]

If you are worried about someone keeping him, you could go door to door with his flier and if he was at someone's home he would hear your voice.

[ejs]

Well we just got back from putting up more signs around the neighborhoods.

Jesvet - Nope, he didn't have tags because we don't keep a collar on him. We walk him on a harness but don't keep it on him. Unfortunately he isn't microchipped either. If we get him back I will definitely put a collar on him just so he can have ID at all times.

Please also microchip your dog when you get him back. Collars can easily be removed or slipped out of, so the microchip is a great backup.

[Rose]

so the microchip is a great backup.

It's so tiny, and only takes like 5 seconds too. The good thing about it is that you can give them emergency numbers like your Mom or a friend so you have piece of mind that they will be able to track you down no matter what.

[katiadarling]

I'm a little bit hurt by this comment, Definitely keep checking the pound in person, it isn't uncommon for them to say over the phone "Nope, not here" when in fact they are. As a humane society employee, I have to say we make every effort to reunite lost animals with their guardians. What helps us the most is to have a detailed description of your pet including: breed, gender, age, collar color, microchip #, etc. I can't tell you how many people call looking for their dogs and can only tell me that it's a "small, tan dog" Um.... ok...

I would encourage you to stop by the pound, if for nothing else than peace of mind, but really, humane society employees try to match animals up to the best of their abilities (it's harder to match up mixed breeds because different people describe them as different breeds). Also, please, please, please get your dog microchipped and make sure to keep the information up-to-date with the company! We love it when dogs come in with chips, they're usually back home within the day!

Best of luck finding your little guy, I can only imagine how frantic I'd be if I lost one of my pooches!

[Tonysweetie]

I'm so sorry I couldn't even imagine. I"ll keep Jackson in my prayers. God BLess!!!

[Rose]

One other thing to try is the newspaper lost & found ads. Our local paper does FREE lost & found ads for pets.

I hope he is just peeing on every tree possible before finding his way home.

[sparkle&shine]

Rose ~ You know we have thought about going door to door but our neighborhood is a mile square so I wouldn't even know where to start.

ejs ~ Oh I should have put that if we are lucky and get him back he is for sure going to be microchipped but I am also going to keep a collar on him with a quick and easy way to get a hold of us!

katiadarling ~ Our humane society and local pound/animal control places have been nothing but helpful! I am just amazed at how many animals go through there. We have done everything that they recommend so far. They have websites even where they post the dogs pictures!

So still no word. DH is at the Human society right now even though its a good 40 miles from our house. We have put up 40 signs in our neighborhood and the surrounding neighborhood. Someone keeps taking down our signs by the school though. I am not sure if it's kids or what. All the other signs are up just 3 in particular keep being taken down. There is no rule about posting the signs so I am not sure what is going on there. We are still somewhat hopeful - my DH much more so than me. :(

E.T.A - Well he wasn't at the humane society but the dog that we though might of been him was reunited with his owners which is really a nice thing to hear. My DH is very resolved to getting him back and said that he would walk fences to look in back yards if he has to ;) I told him that would be a good way to get the cops called on him but he said that he doesn't care :rolleyes:

[jesvet]

I'm a little bit hurt by this comment

I apologize for hurting your feelings, I didn't mean to malign the hard work so many people put in. I only speak from personal experience that many shelter workers are way too overburdened and don't always KNOW that the pet is there.

[sparkle&shine]

Our pounds and shelters won't even take questions over the phone just because they are so overworked. Plus it is really hard to describe some dogs especially those of mixed breeds - like someone said one person's tan is anothers brown and some small are anothers medium.

What really sucks is that my son keeps calling and looking for Jackson. He is not old enough to really know what is going on but he has noticed that he isn't there.

[~queen~]

I'm so incredibly sorry this happened to you. I know how you feel because I lost my dog when he was only 5 months old, but luckily, after 10 days I got him back. Hopefully my experience can help you find your baby!

1. Know that they don't tend to roam too far, especially if you have never moved from the neighborhood where he lived. He will tend to stay close to what he knows so have faith that he is in the general area.

2. Don't just place flyers around the neighborhood, put them directly in people's mailbox. Also, directly walk up to businesses and hand them the flyer as well. Make sure you put a picture of your pup on it.

3. Walk the neighborhood as much as you can. He can pick up your scent.

4. If he had any favorite spots, leave some of his dry food. Sure, other animals may get it, but there is a chance he will get it too!

I hope these suggestions help. As I said, I got my dog back after 10 days and he was right across the street hiding in the woods! He had to cross a major intersection and was too scared of the cars to come back across. A flyer I left with a business actually called me and told me they saw him and I had to sit in the area until he came out looking for food. When they told me the general area, I put some of my clothes and food down around the areas so he could pick up my smell and knew I was close by.

Of course, someone else tried to nab him though. :mad: But luckily, he wasn't starved enough to go to any stranger (stubborn doggie!)

Good luck!

[sparkle&shine]

Thanks for the tips Queen! I think that is what we will do tonight. We have community mailboxes so I think that I will put a flyer on each one. We have been riding our bikes around hoping that someone may have been asking their neighbors if it was their dog or something. He has never really left our yard except for the occasional walk. He doesn't know the neighborhood and he is a tiny little thing. There is a field across the neighborhood from us maybe I will go out there tonight. He would of had to cross a very busy road though and he is terrified of cars. We did drive along all the roads there looking to see if he may have been hit but didn't see any animals (thankfully).

[sparkle&shine]

OMG I think we found him!!!!!

DH just got a call and we are positive that it's him!!!! He made it across a VERY BUSY road into the neighborhood across the stree. A lady saw a sign posted in the neighborhood saying FOUND Yorkie and saw our sign saying LOST yorkie and put 2 & 2 together and called DH with the found signs info. DH described him and told her his name and when she called him he went right to her! Dh is picking him up at 3 - the lady wanted to give her daughter a chance to say good-bye. I am so freaking excited right now! I think I might cry.

For some reason he didn't feel 'lost' - DH kept calling him misplaced - until this morning. Right now I was searching sites when he called and I was so sad looking at the pictures of all the other lost dogs.

[katiadarling]

Yay!!!!!! That's sooooo awesome! I'm so glad that you found him! Yay!

[MrsD108]

Was it your baby? I sure hope he made it home ok:)

[katmg]

I'm hoping it is him for you!! I've been following along without any good suggestions. I'll be waiting to hear that it is him!

[Mellow_Water1]

I'm so glad! :D :cool:

[sparkle&shine]

We are going to the vet tomorrow to get him chipped. We would go tonight but the was just a death in the family - talk about a crappy week.

Thank you everyone for your support and tips!!

I can't wait to get home - 3 isn't going to come fast enough!

[~queen~]

:D :D :D

I'm so glad you found him!!!! It's good to know that he was being well taken care of too!

Give him extra treats too!

[Tanya]

That's wonderful. We lost our dog once when he had just lost his tag with our address/phone number on it.:o I stayed up all night calling the vets, posting flyers, and trolling the road (busy one close to our house) for injured animals. The next morning at 8am the lady 2 doors down called us to tell her she had her! Jeez, talk about frustrating! We were screaming for her for hours, and these were townhomes.

Three lessons we learned: always collar/chip your dog, report a dog you find to the local 24-hour numbers so the owners don't have to panic all night, and get to know your neighbors!

[sparkle&shine]

MrsD108 ~ Yup he is my baby! He sleeps with me and sits on my lap. Of course he really like Andrew too now that he can feed him ;)

Queen ~ He was definitely being taken care of. He did have to get a haircut though because when he was trying to get away from the people trying to catch him he ran into a cactus. He was going to be getting a haircut on Monday anyway since it is so hot out now (it is supposed to be 90 degrees today).

I think that I am going to give him a nice soup bone tonight!

[sparkle&shine]

Our little dog is safe at home with us!! :)

He seems pretty tired but happy to be home. He has a funny haircut but he was going to get a shorter 'do anyway. He had quite the adventure but he isn't hurt and we are so thankful to the people that found him. We gave them a small reward and I am going to send them a nice thank you note.

[ejs]

Yay! Run to your closest Petco/Petsmart and get an ID tag made right now! And good news about getting him microchipped tomorrow.

[jesvet]

Fantastic news!!! And yaay for honest people who did the right thing, both the folks who found him and the nice lady who helped you out!

[Rose]

Yay!!!!!!!!!!! I am so happy for you!!! My dog has never been gone for more than an hour or so but it's still the worst feeling. Give him an extra treat and hug.

[tirams]

That's fantastic news! Glad to hear it.:)

[Lizzy]

I'm so glad you found him! That's awesome.

[Tonysweetie]

YAYAYAYAY!!!! I'm so glad!

[artist]

I am so glad you found him!

Our dog has gotten loose a couple of times. It's so frustrating! The first time he somehow got out of his collar (though he is chipped) and he was gone overnight. I was just sick. DH due to his job knows a lot of cops and had the police department from the suburb near us (it's only about 4 blocks from us) looking for him! (The guy DH spoke to after finding out we have a chocolate lab said he just loves labs and would definitely make sure all the cops would keep an eye out for him.) I called animal control early the next morning and sure enough our Parker was in there! I was so mad at my dog and mad I had to pay all this money to bail him out of doggy jail, but he looked relieved to see me and I was so happy he was okay.

Once he got lost when I was out of town and DH was visiting a friend. The friend lives in a small town. DH did not want to tell me what happened because he knew I would freak out. So, DH and his friend just kept looking and looking for a couple of days. It wasn't until I got home, noticed no DH home, noticed our voicemail was full, checked the voicemail and heard a couple of nice messages from people saying they had our dog. So, I called DH really annoyed and confused, but DH was so relieved that someone had Parker. DH went to get Parker who had been in air conditioning (it was so hot at the time and neither DH nor I had been in air conditioning), he had 2 pretty girl yellow labs to play with, 4 young kids to play with, lots of treats and attention, and it was obvious he had been brushed! I think Parker had a really nice time! (Ironically, Parker was only 2 houses away from where DH had been!)

The other time he got loose DH, myself, and our renter drove and walked around for hours, all with cell phones until it was just pointless and getting dark out. I again was frantic, but figured he'd end up at animal control (dog jail) again. At about 10:30 p.m. we got a phone call from a really sweet couple who had him in their car at the gas station, which although in our neighborhood, was pretty far from our house on foot. The couple said they saw some kids giving Parker attention at the bus stop, but obviously when the kids got on the bus, Parker didn't! They said Parker looked really frantic and lost, so they grabbed him, gave him some doggy treats, and called us from their cell phone.

Anyway, it happens. It's awful. But so far anytime our dog has gotten loose, we've been fortunate to get him back. I am so glad you did too!