Dog missing for a week: what to change in your search
Re-check every shelter in person, renew your reports, refresh your posters, widen your area and move to quieter methods.
What to do now
If your dog has been missing for a week, go back through the basics, because this is the point when things start to slip. Visit every shelter in person again, renew any reports, re-post in local groups, replace your worn posters and widen your search area beyond your first circle. Then move from a rushed search to a steady one, with a map, a schedule and fewer people. A week is not the end of anything. In a national ASPCA survey, about 93 percent of lost dogs were recovered, and many searches continue well past this point.
Check the shelters again
The first week is when a stray hold on an unidentified dog can run out in many places, so this is urgent. In Oakland, California, a dog with no ID is held for four business days, and in Lee County, Florida, three days. After that, a dog may be adopted out, transferred or worse, depending on the place. Go in person, and walk through all the kennels, including any in quarantine or medical areas. Ask if any dogs have been transferred to rescues. Take a photo with you, and check other shelters within a wider radius, including the next county.
Update your reports and records
Reports expire or get buried. Call each shelter and vet to confirm your report is on file. Check that your microchip record is marked lost and shows your current number. Check any free lost pet sites you used. If you made an early mistake in your description, such as the wrong color or wrong date, fix it now in all places. Make sure you have reported to all the agencies that cover the places your dog could be, since city and county services can be separate.
Replace and retarget your posters
Paper fades within days in bad weather. Check each location, replace the damaged ones and put fresh copies at the top ten busiest spots. Change the date line, so people know the search is ongoing: Still missing, since Oct 21. Now use your sightings to shift the poster area. If you have no sightings, try the roads leading out of your first circle, since your dog may have moved on or simply not been seen. Put flyers at gas stations, feed stores and businesses a few miles out.
Shift your methods
By now, a shy dog may have settled into a routine. It may be hiding by day and moving around at dawn and dusk. Fewer people, quieter searches and cameras are better than big groups. If you have repeated sightings, try a food station and a camera, and talk to a local lost dog group or your shelter about humane trapping. If you do not have sightings, go back to spreading the word, since you need new information more than you need more walking.
Talk to people who may have taken your dog in
Some dogs are not lost anymore. They are in someone’s house. A kind person may have taken in your dog and may not know how to find you, or they may have assumed it was a stray. Ask vets whether anyone has brought in a new dog lately. Look through found dog posts, Nextdoor and Craigslist, including the listings for free or rehomed dogs. Check for posts under the wrong description. Ask your neighbors again, as somebody may have heard about a dog that was picked up by a passing driver.
Ask for a second look at the first days
Go back to the first camera footage and the first calls with a fresh eye. Ask neighbors again if they have checked their cameras, since some systems delete old clips quickly. Revisit the last-seen location at the same time of day as the escape. Ask again in the places your dog loved, such as favorite parks, relatives’ houses, or an old home if you recently moved. A week in, people have seen your posters several times, and they may have something new to tell you that they did not think of before.
Look after the search and yourself
By this time, you may be tired and helpers may be drifting away. Make a schedule you can keep up: daily shelter website checks, shelter visits as often as your local shelter suggests, a loop to refresh your posters twice a week and reposts once a week. Ask one friend to help with the calls. Watch your spending, and be wary of anyone offering paid services without proof, or anyone asking for money up front. Our post on lost pet scams covers what to watch for.
Sources
Weiss, Slater and Lord, Animals, 2012: pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC4494319. Oakland Animal Services: oaklandca.gov/Community/Pets-Animals/Lost-and-Found. Lee County Animal Services: leefl.gov/animalservices/lostpet/foundpet.