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Report a Lost Pet

Report a lost pet to your local shelter. In Dearborn, phone 313.943.2697 or E-mail us at friends@DearbornAnimals.org with a complete description. You can also view the lost and found page and/or submit your pet.

What To Do If You Lose a Pet

  1. Immediately put a dish of your pet’s food on your porch, as well as a favorite blanket or toy so they can follow the scent home. This should also keep them from straying very far. Refill the dish if the food disappears to keep your pet near.
  2. Search immediately! Most animals do not stray far during the first hours of getting lost. Call your pet’s name often and loudly. Ask people on the street if they have seen your pet. Give them your number in case they do. Most animals become very frightened, and will hide. Actively search your property and the surrounding area; don’t assume they will come to you immediately.
  3. Make fliers with “LOST CAT / DOG” in big bold letters so it can be read by a driver from a lamp pole. Include a brief description, a picture if you have one, and your phone number. Consider offering a reward. Include “Reward” on the flier, but do not specify an amount. Ask to be called even if people just see your pet. Post the fliers in the surrounding area, at local vet offices, and pet stores (and anyplace else that will let you). For outdoor fliers, enclose them in plastic sheet protectors (about $5 for 50 at most office-supply stores).
  4. Use the Web to find a lost pet through the HSUS Center for Lost Pets.
  5. It is important for you visit the shelter to see if your pet has been brought in, and also check to see if someone left a found report of a pet who matches the description of yours. We recommend visiting the shelter frequently—at least every 3 to 4 days. Also visit other local animal shelters. If the shelter is closed, contact the local police to inform them of your loss. The number for the Dearborn police is 313.943.2240.
  6. Set a humane trap if your lost pet is small enough to go into a trap. They are available online or you can rent one from your local shelter. Bait the trap with your pet’s favorite food. Put a favorite towel or blanket on or in the trap. Your pet will be comforted by their own scent. Check the trap often. Some animals panic in the trap and you don’t want your pet to hurt themselves. If you catch your pet, take the entire trap inside and then free your pet, otherwise your frightened pet may escape again. If you catch a cat or dog that is not yours, please take them in the trap to your local shelter. If you catch wildlife, please just carefully open the trap and release them.
  7. Contact the newspapers to run a “lost ad.” Most papers will run at least one ad for free. Watch the “found ads” as well.
  8. Don’t give up hope! Keep checking local shelters and looking around the neighborhood. Sometimes it takes awhile. We’ve reunited dogs with owners after weeks and cats with owners after months.

Prevention Tips

To help prevent the loss of your pet:

  • Spay or neuter your pet. It reduces or eliminates the roaming instinct.
  • Consider having your pet microchipped.  This is a technique for permanently identifying both cats and dogs by the implantation of a small microchip. It is relatively painless and inexpensive. Each implant is registered. The shelter and most veterinarians have scanners to check for these chips. Contact your veterinarian or the shelter for more information. Also, the Friends offer low cost microchip programs. Call 313.943.2697 or E-mail us for more information.

Cats

  • Cats should be kept indoors at all times. They live longer, happier lives. If there is any risk that your cat might get outside, have them wear a break-away collar with an ID tag that includes your address and phone number.

Dogs

  • Dogs should always wear a collar with an ID tag that includes your address and phone number. In most communities, dogs are required to also wear a license on their collar.
  • Dogs should never be left outside unconfined. They should always be on a leash, in a secure fenced yard, or on a tether. If you are in an area that does not permit fencing, you may consider an invisible fence—electronic sensors at the perimeter of your property that send a small electrical signal to a special collar worn by your dog if he attempts to pass the perimeter.
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