PetDoctor.com.au

Heres some handy hints to help you locate your animal.

Step 1. Ring your local Council or the Council the animal went missing in and inform them (ensure your registration details are correct, leave your details if they have a log)

Step 2. Ring the local vets and and emergency centres and inform them (leave your name and details if possible)

Step 3. Ring the local shelter (find out opening an dclosing hours)

Step 4. If your animal is micro-chipped ensure your phone numbers and contact details are all up to date.
(For National Pet Register call 1300 734 738 - for further details on joiningg NPR go to petregister.com.au)

Step 5. Print up a flier with a coloured (preferably) picture of your lost animal, with lots of details including the date and street he was lost, gender, desexed, micro-chipped, colours (all colours not just the main colour) what colour the collar was, your phone numbers and anything else that may be useful (old scar, bi-coloured eyes etc)

Step 6. Door knock the area, many people will be at work during the day so the best time for a door knock is around dinner time, for those that are out or not home the flier will come in handy. Even if people are home ask them to put the flier up on their fridge – they may come across the dog at the local park or the following day. If it’s a cat ask the neighbours to check their sheds or any cupboards that he may have access to.

Step 7. Go to the local park, some dogs head off to their local park, walk around handing out fliers.

Step 8. Go to the local shelter. You should go yourself if possible, only you know exactly what your animal looks like – especially if it lost its collar and tag. Check to see if there is a lost and found book that you can put your details in.

Step 9. If it has been a few days take out an ad in your local paper or find websites with lost and found sections i.e. lostdogs.com.au

Step 10. Don’t give up hope, even if you haven’t found your animal after a couple of weeks you shouldn’t give up. Make sure you visit the local shelter twice a week, check the found section in the book regularly, keep visiting vets, and send out the flier to surrounding pounds and vets and councils. Shelters constantly receive dogs and cats that well intentioned people have had in their back yard for a week, a month or even 3 or 4 months.

I found a dog / cat, he fits in perfectly with the family & the kids love him, can I keep him?
It is against the law for you to keep an animal that does not belong to you. Legislation states that you must deliver the animal within 24 hours of finding him to the local shelter or have the Council collect the animal and they will deliver him to the pound, this legislation is located in the Domestic (Feral & Nuisance) Animals Act 1994 . When an owner calls their local Council they are advised to visit the pound ASAP, especially if the dog or cat has lost his collar or wasn’t wearing his collar. This means that the owner will go to the pound as soon as they’re able. If the animal is not there in the first few days they may give up looking for him assuming he may have been stolen.

But why can’t I hold on to him and try and find the owner?
Because the Council, the vets and the pound will tell the owner to go to the local pound to look for the animal, a lot of owners don’t think to do door knocks or put up fliers, the best chance an animal without identification has of finding his home is to go in to the local shelter.

But it will be put to sleep, don’t shelters euthanaise all their animals?
Definitely not, shelters do the best job they can reuniting animals with their owners and finding suitable dogs new homes, unfortunately not all dogs and cats are rehousable. If you find a cat or dog that you would like to give a home to you can be an Interested Finder. This means that if the animal’s owner does not come for him in the 8 days then you can adopt him once he has had his health, age and temperament test which is conducted by a vet. This test ensures the animal is a happy, healthy, well socialized animal that is fit for a family. The animal may have an internal problem or may need an expensive operation and this assessment will determine these health problems. You should contact the pound on the eighth day and find out how the animals assessment went. If there are problems the vet or shelter manager will discuss these with you. All dogs and cats solf from shelters will be desexed, micro-chipped and vaccinated, many shelters including The Lost Dogs´ Home provide heart worm testing, di-fleaing and worming in their costs and will the animal will generally be available in the next couple days to be adopted.

But he is not wearing a collar, surely he has been dumped?
Unfortunately many dogs and cats don’t wear collars or identification and this can be for many different reasons. Some include medical conditions; there may be an injury where the collar would be worn and some times the animal has had a bath and the owner has fogotten to put the collar back on. Dogs accidently get out of their property for many reasons from not being desexed, a trades person or visitor leaving the gate open, thunder storms, fireworks and many many other reasons, often the animal loses his collar jumping, digging or running away. Many owners don’t like to put a collar on their cat, particularly if they’re inside cats and never get out. (The only way to ensure your animal is wearing permanent identification is to have it microchipped) Even animals that look unwell have probably not been dumped, they may be on medication and require the medication at regular intervals, he may be very old and just appear unwell.

So in the 24 hours that I’m allowed to hold on to him what should I do?
You should do a door knock; if he is friendly you could walk him around the block (preferably with an adult), call your local shelter and council and inform the local vets.

Do I have to hold on to him for 24 hours?
No. Many vet clinics will take the dog for you if you can get it to them and they will call the council for collection, your local vet clinic may even know the dog if it is a patient of theirs. They can scan the animal for a microchip and may even be able to return the animal without getting the council involved.