What to do if you lose your dog (or cat) in Harford Park
First, don’t delay in getting the word out that your pet is missing by checking with neighbors and getting signs posted. There are some great tips and advice available through the Baltimore County Animal Shelter and other resources like HSUS, which are provided below.
Tips from Denise Naylor
1. Be sure to take a current photo of your pet(s) in case they get out or lost so it can be posted right away on Nextdoor and on flyers.
2. Make sure your pets are collared with ID tags. Just having a vet tag doesn’t help at night or on the weekends since no one is there to answer the phone and look up their ID number. Please get a tag made with your pet’s name and a contact phone number so when they are found you can be contacted right away. (We found 2 dogs with only a vet tag and had to keep them in our backyard until someone came looking for them or until the vet opened up the next day.)
3. If you have a Facebook page, please join the groups that are located in Parkville so the word can spread fast that your pet is missing. Pet lovers will always help!!
Tips from Amy L.
If you find or have lost a pet, here are some extra tips about what to do
on top of posting notices to the Nogli list, the local Nextdoor groups and
the neighborhood Facebook groups, and posting flyers.
1. Post a notice at local vet offices or call local vets to see if they
have a lost pet notice that matches the animal
2. Take a found animal to a local vets office to be scanned for a
microchip. Academy Animal Hospital on Belair Rd will do this for free, as
should any other vet. If you have a pet, make sure it is microchipped and
the info is kept up to date. True story: friends of mine in Timonium had a
cat go missing for several months. . He was found in Sparks when a family
that had been feeding him took him to a vet to get scanned for his chip,
which they had kept current.
3. Create a lost or found ad on Craiglist. If the pet is lost, include
pictures. If the pet is found you might want to leave some identifying info
out (say, collar color or something similar) so that someone claiming to
own the pet has to identify that detail. Make sure to give details about
when and where the pet was lost or found.
4. Post to the lost pet groups on Facebook about the animal, and link to
the Craigslist ad. Those groups are: Lost and Found Animals of Maryland,
Lost and Found Cats of Baltimore, For the Love of Louis – Baltimore’s Lost
Dogs
5. Contact Dogs Finding Dogs (https://dogsfindingdogs.com), they are on
Facebook too. They also help track other animals.
6. Pretty obvious, but check in with and keep checking in with the city and
county shelters.
Hope these tips help! When we found a dog in our yard I posted about it on
the Nogli list and on the Hamilton and Waltherson FB groups, then took the
pup to be scanned. She had a chip but the info wasn’t current. Luckily
someone saw the posts and recognized the dog as their neighbors’ and told
them. Spread the word as wide as possible!
Dogs Finding Dogs
One option to consider is contacting a local group, Dogs Finding Dogs, a 501(c)3 nonprofit organization of highly trained handlers and dogs that can track and find a lost pet. They ask for a nominal donation to show up for a track, to cover the team’s expenses for transportation. Their goal is to reunite you with your pet as soon as possible. They will advise you on what steps to take and when. Dogs Finding Dogs offers more than just tracking teams and can be instrumental in reuniting you with your pet using a variety of methods. Their contact information is as follows:
Website: www.dogsfindingdogs.com
Phone: 410-908-6374
Email: [email protected]
Tips for Finding Your Pet (from the Dogs Finding Dogs website)
- Be sure that your pet wears some sort of identification at all times. Have your pet micro-chipped. It is virtually pain free and any vet can insert it for you.
- Check with people in your neighborhood.
Talk to your neighbors, mail carriers and newspaper delivery people, anyone who spends time in your neighborhood who might have seen your pet. - Make a poster. Include a description and photo of your pet. Offer a reward. It doesn’t have to be large, but any reward may motivate people to help the search. Decide what you think is a fair amount. Include your telephone number
- Put your poster up around town. Post it on street corners and in area shops. Many places like libraries and supermarkets have bulletin boards that you can post it on.
- Flyers! Flyers and More Flyers! Put them up everywhere! Hand them out to everyone!
- You can post a report on the internet with many different sites.
- Call local animal shelters to check if they have your animal. If not, ask if you can leave a description along with your telephone number in case your pet turns up there. Even better, go to the shelter and look for your pet.
Baltimore County Animal Shelter
Baltimore County Animal Shelter
13800 Manor Road
Baldwin, MD 21013
Website: https://baltimorecountymd.gov/Agencies/health/animalcontrol/index.html#lost
E-mail: [email protected]
Phone: 410-887-5961
Lost Pet Hours
Monday, Tuesday, Thursday, Friday from 8 a.m. to 3:30 p.m.
Wednesdays from 10 a.m. to 7 p.m.
Saturdays from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m.
View lost cats and dogs that were turned into the Baltimore County Animal Shelter or picked up as a stray animal. Remember, licensing, tagging, and micro-chipping your pets increases the chances of them being returned to you should they become lost.
If you lose your pet or find one, the Lost Pet Brochure (PDF) provides steps on what to do and how to protect your pet from becoming lost. Here is the information from the brochure:
Search Shelters
Visit the Baltimore County Animal Shelter and other local animal shelters in person to look for your pet. Be sure to take proof of ownership (rabies vaccination or licensing record) with you to the shelters to claim your pet, should you find it. Unless your pet is wearing its required license or other form of identification, shelter staff may not be able to assist you over the phone. File a lost pet report and attach a clear photograph. If your pet is a purebred, ask for a referral to the area breed rescue group.
Make Follow-up Visits and Calls
Visit the shelter every few days, but call daily to see if your pet is at our Shelter, as we receive a large number of pets from day-to-day. Remember, calling the shelter only, may not help staff identify your pet if it is not wearing identification. The Baltimore County Animal Shelter is equipped to hold lost animals only for the mandated four-day “stray hold period” as cited in the Baltimore County Code. After the four days, the animal is considered abandoned, and becomes the property of Baltimore County. The animal may be adopted to a new home, sent to a rescue group, legally claimed by the person who rescued it or euthanized.
Check Your Pet’s Favorite Places
Search your own property thoroughly. Have a flashlight handy so that you can look into dark places. For cats, don’t forget to look up into trees and down into stormwater drains. Consider renting a humane cat trap from a rental center. When searching for your pet, take your pet’s favorite squeaky toy and a box of treats. Squeak the toy and rattle the box while calling your pet. Then pause, be quiet, and listen for a response from your pet. Talk with everyone who lives or works in the area. Ask them to keep an eye out for your pet.
Post “LOST PET” Flyers
Post “lost pet” flyers with a photo and description of your pet at the following locations: Animal Shelters Groomers Vet Clinics Pet Stores Use big, bold lettering. Include your phone number and neighborhood. Do not include your name or address.
Place Ads on the Internet
Place a notice in Craigslist under the “lost and found” column. Consider offering a reward, but do not specify the amount. Withhold one or two features about your pet, so if someone calls you, there will be a way to be sure that it is your pet that they have. Beware of scam artists who take advantage of worried pet owners.
Lost Pet Prevention Tips
- Have your pet micro-chipped as a permanent form of identification. This painless procedure does not substitute for a pet license, but it can help to return your pet. The Baltimore County Animal Shelter offers micro-chipping for $25, by appointment only.
- Attach an identification tag, rabies tag, and license to your dog or cat’s collar. Check the tags often to be sure that they are clear and easy to read.
- Keep your cat safe indoors and keep your dog leashed or inside a secure, fenced yard. It is a violation of County law to allow animals to run at large.
- Get your pet spayed or neutered. Pets that are “fixed” are less likely to roam away from home and they tend to live longer, healthier lives.
HSUS Tips and Advice
HSUS Tips and Advice can be found at www.thecenterforlostpets.com/advice.aspx
Other Online Resources
www.findtoto.com (paid service)
www.catsinthebag.org (General pet search tips)
www.lostapet.org (Search and rescue)
www.fidofinder.com (Lost dog database)
www.tabbytracker.com (Lost cat database)