Call animal control and shelters first, then vets, the microchip registry and the police non-emergency line. Here is what to say to each.
The short answer
If your dog is lost, call your local animal control first, then every shelter within driving distance, the nearby vet clinics and emergency vets, your microchip registry and the police non-emergency line. Give each of them the same details: your dog’s description, a photo, where and when it went missing and your phone number. Then visit the shelters in person, because a phone description rarely matches what staff see. Do this on day one, and repeat it. In a study in Ohio, 35 percent of recovered dogs were found at a shelter, more than one in three.
Animal control or animal services
This is the office that picks up strays. Find it by searching your city or county name with animal control, or call your city’s non-emergency line and ask who handles it. Ask them to log a lost report and ask whether their officers can be told. Ask how long strays are held and when the shelter is open to the public. Rules vary a lot from place to place, so do not guess. In Oakland, California, for example, a stray with no identification is held for four business days, including a Saturday, while one with ID is held for 10 days. Lee County, Florida lists three days without ID and five days with it. Ask about your own area today.
Shelters and humane societies
List every shelter within a reasonable drive, not only the closest. Private rescues and humane societies count, and so does the shelter in the next county if you live near a line. Call, then go in person. Salt Lake County says the only way to be sure your pet is not there is to come in as soon as possible, and suggests asking to see isolation and quarantine kennels too. Montgomery County, Maryland recommends visiting at least every other day, even after filing an online report. Sacramento County suggests visiting shelters and checking their websites every three days. Take a photo. Ask if lost reports expire, because some do; Paradise, California requires them to be renewed in person every two weeks.
Vets and emergency clinics
A person who finds an injured dog may go straight to a vet rather than a shelter. Fairfax County, Virginia advises calling or leaving flyers at veterinary clinics for that reason. Call clinics near where your dog went missing, and always include 24-hour emergency hospitals. Ask them to note your number and to scan any dog that comes in. Your own vet is also a good first call, since they may have your microchip number on file and can tell you which local clinics to contact.
The microchip registry
If your dog is chipped, call the registry and report it lost, then check your phone number. If you do not know which company it is, your vet may know, and the AAHA lookup tool will show the registry if you have the number. A correct phone number on that record is what connects a scan to you. Do it now, before you need it. If the tag on your dog’s collar has an old number, tell whoever answers your old line as well.
Police, highway crews and transit
Call the police non-emergency number and ask whether they log lost pets, particularly if your dog is near a road or may have been stolen. Do not use 911 for a lost pet unless there is an emergency such as a dog on a highway causing danger. If your dog went missing near a highway or rail line, ask whether the road department, highway patrol or rail operator should be told. If you think your dog was taken, the BBB suggests contacting your local police.
People in your neighborhood
Next come those who see the streets every day: neighbors, mail carriers, garbage crews, school bus drivers and delivery drivers. Hand them a flyer. Ask nearby neighbors to look at their doorbell and yard cameras for the time your dog went missing. Your neighborhood group and local lost pet pages come next. In a national ASPCA survey, 49 percent of recovered dogs were found by searching the neighborhood, so these people are as important as any agency.
Keep a call log
Make one page with each name, number, date called, the person you spoke to and when to call back. If two people are helping, share it. Repeat calls every two or three days, as staff change and new animals come in. Keep your voice friendly, because these are busy people who will remember you. Keep your details the same across every call, and tell everyone once your dog is home, so they can close the report and stop looking.
Sources
Oakland Animal Services: oaklandca.gov/Community/Pets-Animals/Lost-and-Found. Lee County Animal Services: leefl.gov/animalservices/lostpet/foundpet. Salt Lake County: saltlakecounty.gov/animal-services/lost-found. Montgomery County, MD: montgomerycountymd.gov/animalservices/oas/lostandfound.html. Sacramento County: animalcare.saccounty.gov/lostfoundpets. Paradise, CA: paradiseca.gov/node/38531. Fairfax County: fairfaxcounty.gov/animalshelter/node/167. Dayton, Ohio study: news.osu.edu/lost-dogs-found-more-often-than-lost-cats-study-suggests. Weiss et al., 2012: pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC4494319.