A Missing Pet Can Be Found
By Maryann Mott
On a sunny October morning, Philip Ferranti and his brother drove into the small mountain community of Big Bear, California, for breakfast. Outside, waiting patiently in Ferranti's van in the restaurant's parking lot, was the love of his life: Skitts, a female Dachshund mix.
"I went through this whole process of being a dad," Ferranti says, of the adjustment period after he adopted the small, jet-black pooch. "I never married and I don't have kids, but this dog became my child."
Shortly after the brothers sat down at a table, someone in the restaurant announced that a dog was loose in the street. Ferranti ran outside immediately. "I heard all sorts of commotion and saw Skitts running helter-skelter in the traffic, scared to death," he recalled. He didn't know how she escaped, but suspected that someone had opened the door to his van.
All he could do was watch as two teenage boys on bikes chased her into a nearby forest of pine trees. "I stayed there all morning and afternoon, walking around and yelling her name, but she never appeared," he says. Brokenhearted, he drove home without Skitts.
Think locally
An estimated 10 million pets are lost each year, and sadly, the majority of those pets are not reunited with their owners. One expert on finding lost pets says that part of the reason is that in the initial shock of losing a pet, many frantic owners simply don't take advantage of the most effective pet-finding methods.
"The way a pet is found is by leveraging yourself through the eyes and ears of other people," explains real-life pet detective John Keane, founder of Sherlock Bones, a pet-finding service headquartered in Walnut Creek, California. "Successful pet finding is advertising."
For more than two decades, Keanea.k.a. Sherlock Boneshas helped thousands of owners around the country recover lost pets, using a combination of eye-catching posters, direct mail, and common sense.
About 90 percent of pets are found within a 2-mile radius of the point where they were lost, so that's where owners should concentrate their search, Keane says. Posters designed to grab people's attention should be put up within this target zone. The word "reward" should appear in red capital letters across the top, followed by a dollar amount and the words: "for information leading to the return of this lost pet."
The posters should also include a photograph of your dog or an image of a dog of the same breed. This way, if you've lost a Great Dane, people will know you're not looking for a Chihuahua.
The next step in Sherlock Bones' plan is to send out postcards to homes within a 2-, 5-, or 10-mile radius from the point where your pet was lost. People always look at postcards, Keane says, because they don't require a major time commitment. A mailing to 500 homes costs $199, and a mailing to 1,000 homes costs $349 (including printing, addressing, and postage).
As far as placing a classified ad in the newspaperforget it. It's usually a waste of time, Keane says, because few people read the lost and found section.
Owners of lost pets should, however, visit city and private animal shelters every two or three days, and be sure to inspect the area where quarantined strays are kept. If your pet is sick, injured, or has bitten someone, he or she would be housed in this section. Also keep in mind that you may not recognize your pet immediately, as he may be thinner or dirtier than usual.
ID tags are crucial
Keane boasts a 35 percent success rate, which is high considering that most clients come to him after their pet has been missing for two and a half weeks. The best thing owners can do to protect their pets, Keane stresses, is to keep ID tags on them at all times. And though searching for a missing pet is a frustrating process, owners of lost pets need to stay positive.
Ferranti, for one, didn't give up. After Skitts' disappearance, he drove to Big Bear each weekend, rented a hotel room, and walked the streets calling out her name. He also checked the local animal shelter, put up posters, and contacted a local radio station that asked listeners to call in if they spotted the small dog.
The last weekend of October came quickly and brought with it the threat of snow. As much as a foot of snow was predicted. Ferranti feared if Skitts wasn't found before then, she would be lost forever.
Ferranti and a friend made one last push, scouring the streets of Big Bear. After several hours, they had found no sign of the 10-year-old dog. Hope was fading fast. Then, while walking through a parking lot filled with trash, Ferranti's friend noticed a small, trembling creature lying, almost hidden, in a far corner. It was Skitts.
"I bought the biggest filet mignon I could find," Ferranti recalled with a smile, "and had a big welcome-home barbecue for her."
Searching for a missing pet?
You'll greatly improve your chances of finding a lost pet if you take these steps:
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As soon as you realize your pet is missing, walk around the area calling his name. Most pets are found within a 2-mile radius of the point where they were lost.
§Distribute posters that will grab people's attention. The word "reward" in red capital letters should be across the top, along with a clear photo of your pet.
§Visit city and private animal shelters every two or three days. Make sure to inspect the areas where injured or quarantined strays are kept.
§Call local radio stations. Many will broadcast lost and found pet reports as a public service.
§Call local veterinary hospitals. Your pet may have been injured and transported to one of them.
