Visit every shelter

It’s important that you visit all the metro animal shelters to look for your pet, because animals can wander far from home. It’s also necessary for you to visit the Dumb Friends League shelters in person, as we do not take lost pet reports over the phone. If you don’t find your pet at a particular shelter, leave a lost pet report and current photo with the staff.

Act fast

• Check each shelter daily. Don’t assume that a shelter will house your animal any longer than a few days.
• Notify friends and neighbors that your pet is lost.
• Contact veterinary practices in your area. They may have a Lost and Found bulletin board in their offices.
• Read the “found” ads, and take out a “lost” ad in the newspapers.
• If your neighborhood permits, post fliers in the area where you lost your pet.
• Don’t give up!

Why pets stray

A common reason a pet will stray from home is that it isn’t spayed or neutered and is looking for a mate. Spaying or neutering eliminates an animal’s reproductive instincts and decreases the desire to roam.

Make sure:

• Your cat or dog wears a current rabies tag, license tag and an ID tag with your present address and phone numbers
• Your address and phone numbers are on file with the veterinarian who provided your pet’s most recent vaccinations
• Your contact information is current with the registry for your pet’s microchip identification implant

A microchip identification implant is the size of a grain of rice and is inserted under an animal’s skin. It contains a number that is filed with a national registry. The registry keeps owner contact information. When a shelter or veterinary practice finds an implant on a lost pet, they contact the registry. To get a microchip ID for your pet, consult your veterinarian.

Every dog and cat adopted since 1998 from the Dumb Friends League has a microchip ID implant. If you have a League pet and haven’t kept your contact information current with the national registry, please call us at (303) 751-5772.