How to make a bilingual lost dog flyer in English and Spanish
Put the key lines in both languages at the same size, keep it short, and use tested Spanish wording. Here is the text to copy.
How to do it
If your area has many Spanish speakers, make your lost pet flyer bilingual by repeating only the key lines: the headline, the description, the last-seen area and the instruction to call. Do not translate a whole paragraph. PERRO PERDIDO under LOST DOG is enough to catch attention, and your photo and phone number are understood in any language. A good bilingual flyer has about ten more words than an English one, not twice as many. Keep the phone number large and shared between the two languages, since it does not need translating.
Why it can matter
A flyer works only if the person who saw your dog can read it. Landscapers, cleaning crews, construction workers and delivery drivers are often outdoors at the hours a lost dog moves, and in many US towns some of them speak Spanish first. A short bilingual flyer can reach them. This is especially useful in neighborhoods where you know many families speak Spanish at home. If another language is more common where you live, the same approach applies. Ask a neighbor who speaks that language to check your wording.
The wording to copy for a dog
Use these lines. LOST DOG / PERRO PERDIDO. If your dog is female, use PERRA PERDIDA. PLEASE DO NOT CHASE / POR FAVOR NO LO PERSIGA, or NO LA PERSIGA for a female. CALL OR TEXT / LLAME O ENVÍE UN MENSAJE. REWARD / RECOMPENSA. LAST SEEN / VISTO POR ÚLTIMA VEZ EN, or VISTA for a female. Spanish words change with gender, so check whether you are using the male or female form. In a hurry, PERRO PERDIDO, RECOMPENSA, NO LO PERSIGA and LLAME covers nearly everything.
The wording to copy for a cat
For a cat, use LOST CAT / GATO PERDIDO, or GATA PERDIDA for a female. Add PLEASE CHECK YOUR GARAGE AND SHED / POR FAVOR REVISE SU GARAJE Y COBERTIZO. Some people say bodega or galpón for shed, so a simple option is REVISE SU GARAJE Y PATIO, meaning garage and yard. Add MICROCHIPPED / TIENE MICROCHIP if it applies. For found pets, use FOUND DOG / PERRO ENCONTRADO and FOUND CAT / GATO ENCONTRADO.
Words to describe your pet
Colors are adjectives in Spanish and change with gender too. Brown is café. Black is negro or negra. White is blanco or blanca. Gray is gris. Tan is canela or color canela. Yellow or golden is dorado or dorada. Small is pequeño or pequeña, medium is mediano or mediana, and large is grande. Collar is collar. A red collar is collar rojo. A white chest is pecho blanco. Shy, may run away is tímido, puede huir, or tímida for a female. Regional differences exist, so ask a Spanish speaker near you to read it through.
Lay it out so it stays readable
Two languages can quickly crowd a page, so keep the structure the same as a one-language poster: headline, big photo, details, phone number. Put LOST DOG on one line and PERRO PERDIDO on the next at about the same size. Keep the details short, and use a slash or a smaller line for the Spanish. If space is tight, print two flyers instead, one in each language, and put them side by side or use the English one on one side of the sheet and the Spanish one on the other. Do not shrink the phone number to make room.
Have a human check it
Do not rely on a machine translation with no review. Ask a Spanish-speaking neighbor, coworker or vet clinic staff member to check your flyer before you print, especially the gender of each word and anything you wrote yourself. A small error will not stop someone from helping, but a clear flyer earns more trust. Remember also that your phone has to work for those who call. If you do not speak Spanish, ask a friend who does to be a backup contact. You can ask people to text a photo, which needs few words in any language.
Spread it where it will be read
Give copies to the crews who work in the area. Ask at Spanish-speaking churches, groceries and laundromats, and at community centers. Local Facebook groups in Spanish can also help, and you can paste the same short text there: Se perdió mi perro cerca de Elm St y 5th Ave el 28 de octubre. Es pequeño, café, con collar rojo. Por favor no lo persiga. Llame o envíe un mensaje al 555-010-2345. Keep the wording identical on paper and online, and change it everywhere when the details change.