You love your pup and he loves you, there’s no doubt about that. And both of you might end up heartbroken if you get separated. Don’t let it happen! If your dog gets lost, you need to do all in your power to find him ASAP!
But, when it comes to finding a lost dog, it’s not about working hard, but working smart. Every dog is a little adventurer who likes exploring new things, so his curiosity might lead him to a whole different part of the city. If you tried looking for him on foot, you would just lose your precious time.
Instead of going over tens of miles looking for your lost pup, there’s a much more sensible solution – printing flyers.
Why Flyers are Your Best Choice?
A great thing about flyers is that they usually circulate very quickly. How it works is that you give one flyer to a person, who will give it to someone else, who will repeat the same process again. The best thing is that passing the flyer to someone else doesn’t mean that the person will miraculously forget about it. The photo of your lost pup will get stuck in their memory, so if they spot him, they’ll know what to do.
Another reason why giving away flyers is a great way to look for a lost dog is that people will actually take a look at it out of politeness. When you hand them a flyer, they’ll probably gonna be polite enough to take a look at the photo and read what’s written on it. And that’s often enough to engrave the lost dog info in their mind.
The final reason why flyers are an excellent method for finding a lost dog is that this way, you can reach a really large number of people. The thing is that you can pass them around, but also leave them in shops and restaurants, as well as put them on information boards all over the city.
What Kind of Flyers to Print?
When a dog gets lost, his owners start panicking, which is why they often forget about some important things when creating lost dog flyers.
Here are some tips on how to create a flyer that will bring your dog back home quickly.
Tip 1 – Put a Large Photo of Your Entire Dog (Not Just His Face)
You would think that it’s easier for people to recognize your dog if put a photo with his head in the focus. The problem here is that if they had passed him by, they probably didn’t get a clear look of his face. Instead, they just noticed his coat color and its size.
Tip 2 – Let People Know What’s Going On
Write the words ‘LOST DOG’ with big letters, preferably in caps and put them on the top of the flyer. The reason is that this way, it will be clear that you need people’s help. Otherwise, they might think that you’re giving away flyers in order to invite them to a dog show or something like that.
People who don’t care about those things might ignore you, but even those people will pay attention if they see the words ‘LOST DOG’. People just love to help other people when they’re in trouble. And losing your dog is definitely big trouble.
Tip 3 – The More Flyers, the Merrier
The more flyers you make, the more people will learn that your dog is missing. Unfortunately, making millions of copies is just impossible, because it costs money. But, this doesn’t mean you should give up. On the contrary, you just need to look for cheap brochure printing in your area, something Google can help you with.
Tip 4 – Don’t Forget Your Contact Info
Make sure to write your phone number and perhaps a few other contact details, such as your address, email, etc. Sure, even if you forget about this, the people who find your dog will know he’s lost and will probably take him to a pet center or a veterinary clinic.
Tip 5 – Add Additional Info About Your Pup
If your dog answers to his name, don’t forget to write it on the flyer. Also, don’t forget to write how big he is, because the photograph is often not enough for the people to realize his actual size. You also need to point out that he’s not dangerous (if he really isn’t) because many people are afraid of approaching dogs that could bite them.
Other Methods for Finding a Lost Dog
Put yourself in the position of a person who’s found your dog. Where would you take him? The first thing that comes to find is the vet. So, call your local veterinary clinics or pet centers, because those are the place where people usually bring dogs that appear to be lost. You also need to give a call to some dog shelters in your area, because that’s where lost dogs are often taken.
Another good method of finding your lost dog is putting an ad in your local newspapers. You can do the same with online classifieds, as well as using social media for this purpose. Actually, sites like Facebook and Twitter have proved themselves really useful for these kinds of purposes.
Making Sure Your Pup Doesn’t Get Lost
The key to dealing this problem is in preventing it. Chipping your dog is a must. By putting a microchip under his skin, you will have a peace of mind, knowing that when the chip is scanned, it will be revealed that the dog is yours.
A common misconception about dog microchips is that they let you track the exact location of your pup. That’s not the case. How these things work is that the vet (or a person from dog shelter) scans the microchip in order to find its unique ID number. They then look for that number if the database, which will reveal the name of the dog’s owner, their contact information, etc.