What to do??
HOW TO FIND A LOST SHELTIE
Hi guys,
I have had experience in looking for lost shelties. These suggestions that follow are actually alot of different people's thoughts.
Most important is to "get the word out". On foot to every household in the area. Not everyone gets a newspaper, nor do they read the LOST ads. If there are signs out, attention is drawn to the fact that there is a lost sheltie. Then if somebody happens to see a dog they "will" pay attention, and almost always will try to help a lost "sheltie"...say "sheltie" on your advertising mode, but also in smaller print say "miniature collie"...because some people are NOT smart enough to know what a sheltie is. We care not about semantics at this point in time, call it a miniature collie!
If this dog was a timid dog to begin with...he will be hiding, petrified.
When hunger finally overtakes fear, he will venture out of his hiding place.
That is when the mass notification of the whole area will pay off. Then somebody will see him and call a phone number from a sign or one of those business cards. At that point somebody needs to GO, right then... because the dog is going have fear overtake hunger and go back to hiding somewhere.
Do large posters 14X21 in very bold print, that could be seen by a passing vehicle, with a telephone number of someone immediately available to check out a sighting.
No small size signs. You want someone driving by to be able to see the phone number easily, so that if they spot the dog they could call from a cell phone.
This day in the age of computers it is easy to do your own business cards...
I make up cards with the dogs picture, the date lost, where lost phone numbers...and hand those out to children, people out walking their dogs, running, riding bikes etc. Sometimes they throw away flyers, where they'll keep a business card.
Always put a phone number where someone is there all the time. When someone calls with a sighting, you must go NOW, not hours later...Dogs especially shelties do not meander around the same place usually, they seem to be "going" somewhere. Either back to their hideout or a new hideout.
Lost shelties are in "flight" mode. If you think they will come to you when you call them, that has not been my experience. They see a human or a dog and they are gone....They don't wait to see who it is.
Most times a humane trap is a very good idea. If you have a decent Animal Control they may loan you one if you have a sighting. Some of us have purchased our own traps. Place clothing, toys, and food in the trap and give it time. Go frequently to release any captured critters that you didn't want to capture....like cats, racoons etc.
Be diligent in your search... Don't think he will come home on his own. Sometimes they do, but you cannot take a chance. Make sure everyone knows this dog is being searched for and continually be seen "searching"
so if anyone does have the dog, they know you are not going to give up and go away !
Words of advice from a dog officer - make sure you keep calling dog officers ( I believe you MUST physically check the Animal Control facility and Humane Society yourself. Do not leave the decision as to whether a dog in the 'jail' is a border collie, aussie or a sheltie up to an inexperienced $1.95 shelter worker, JMHO)
and vets to check - yes you'll drive them crazy, but better safe than sorry.
Talk to the local delivery people, mail men, oil companies, electric
companies and ask them to keep an eye out for the dog, give them one of those business cards with the dogs picture on it. Seek out every child in the neighborhood (kids always know where the dogs are on the street) and give them a flyer or business card with your number. Post one at the school and play grounds.
Most importantly - lost dogs do not usually range. They usually stick to one
particular area. Now, she might have travelled a couple miles before she got
to that area, or she might be around the corner, but odds are if she's loose
(and not stolen) that she's either with someone, or she's staked out an area.
Make sure to look for her at her regular meal times. This seems to bring
frightened/lost dogs out of hiding, being the creatures of habit
that they are. Rule of thumb, though - expand by one mile in each direction
for every day she's been missing, and call all ACOs, shelters and vets in
those areas. Mail flyers to all local vets (within 30 minutes driving
distance)
***Create "drop zones" where you can leave food and an article of your
clothing so that if she runs across it, she will stay with your scent. We
successfully found one of my own dogs that I had recently placed when she
escaped her new owners and couldn't be caught. We had reports of her in an area, left a shirt there, and there she stayed until caught (she was
terrified and wouldn't go near her new owners). If possible (and she's used
to it) leave her crate outside, too.
Since I spend a good part of my day looking for lost dogs, I can tell you,
they are really easy to miss. They can be five feet away and you'lll miss
them, but they are creatures of habit, and even when lost, they stick to a
routine..
You need to think like a dog. What does she like? Where would she be most
likely to head? Is there another house/yard in the neighborhood similar to
yours? She might be there. If she's crossed a street, she might have a
visual barrier preventing her (in her mind) from returning. Follow the lay
of the land - which way would you be most likely to go if you were she? Put
one of your other dogs on a leash and see which way it's inclined to head for
a general idea.
One last thing - try a whistle (like a gym whistle) which carries a lot
further than a voice and instantly catches a dogs attention.>>
Also, if you suspect the dog may have been stolen, state that the dog is
chipped (as previously mentioned..also, if its a bitch, that she is spayed. I
put NEEDS MEDICATION in large print on my flyers and posters. And if at all
possible, offer as large a reward as you can afford.
On any posters/notices/ads place the information that the dog is
microchipped or tattooed (hopefully they are). I had one returned almost immediately after I added that. The dog we believe had been "removed" from its yard unwillingly and when it was know that the dog could be positively identified even at a later date, it was returned. Could help.
If you are thinking someone "has" the dog, because there have been no sightings...Two things. As you are driving around looking...Tape one of those large posters to the back of your vehicle, so everywhere you go, "people"
know "somebody" is still looking for this dog, as is not goining"to just go away !"
Second: Try writing big red letters on poster "BELOVED Child's PET " Maybe you'll tug at someones heartstrings if they think the dog belongs to a child.
Provided By
Darla Duffey, Thank you Darla !
The following info
Provided by
Rhonda Davis Thank you Rhonda !
This is a site that shows how to make a trap out of a crate, I have not yet mastered web page making so I am not quite up to doing links yet. I know its probably very easy but I will find out soon enough. So here is the web site address for now.
John and Mary Rueckert's Heart O'Gold Shetland Sheepdogs - Rescue http://www.mindspring.com/~heartogold/crate01.htm
Post signs, call/visit the animal shelter, call the vets', go door to door, ask neighborhood kids, ask the postman/woman, bring your other dog along on the search to "sniff" and listen, put an ad in the paper, call the local radio/TV stations that might advertise lost pets, post pics on the grocery stores, pet stores', vets' bulletin boards, contact your local sheltie club to alert their members about your
missing one
(PS - Personally visit the shelter daily as they may not know their breeds/colors well or your pet may be just another number lost in the crowd...taking a picture of your pet along should help also - I'd visited the shelter every other day, but they didn't realize who he was until I showed them a recent picture).
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