Some tips to help you find your lost dog

1. Ask your neighbors if they have seen the dog.

2. Always keep a current picture of your pet or have a flyer already made for quick distribution. Put in vets, groomers, shelters, stores, bulletin boards, etc.

3. Search at any "dog attractive" places such as schools, parks, and garbage dumps. Post flyers in all of those areas.

4. Contact all of the shelters in your immediate area every day. Your dog may not be picked up on the first day he is lost. Check everyday, even for months. It is possible your pet may have been picked up by someone and later let go.

5. Contact the shelters within a 2-hour drive of your home. Pets can travel long distances. In addition someone who was trying to help your pet could have picked it up in one place and driven somewhere else to turn it in.

6. Be sure to review the deceased animal pick up log at each shelter, to rule out the death of your pet.

7. Place a "lost dog" ad in your local newspaper. Offer a reward if possible.

8. Contact the breed specific rescue organizations that service your area. For example: If you have a German Shepherd contact the German Shepherd Rescue. If your pet has been rescued it will be taken to a veterinarian to be spayed/neutered, updated on shots, and placed in foster care until adopted.

9. Contact the all breed rescues in your area. If your dog could possibly be confused as a mixed breed the all breed rescues may have rescued it. EX: If your German Shepherd has a bit of cream or white color in it and doesn't exactly look like the classic GSD someone may feel it is a mixed breed.

10. Contact all the veterinarians, dog groomers, and dog trainers, in your area. Some people may take the dog to a veterinarian to be held until animal control may be called. In addition if someone wants to keep your pet they may try to establish services for the pet under their name.

11. When contacting rescues, shelters, and veterinarians, check out ANY dog that might be a possible match. Remember, even if your dog had a collar and tags when it disappeared, it may not have that collar any more. If someone had your dog and tried to get the phone number off of the tags and took the collar off, the dog could have run off again.  Also the collar could have slipped off during the dogs travel .

12. Most importantly when you get a pet, have it spayed/neutered. Altering your pet can reduce the desire to roam and thus add to your pet's safety.

13. Have the proper identification on your pet's id tag. Only put "If found call (then your phone number)" or put "Reward if Found" call (your phone number).  Do not put your pets name on the tag, as knowing your dog's name would make it easier for someone to keep your pet.

14. Consider micro-chipping your animal for identification purposes. (Information available at your veterinarians office)

Contributed by a SF Bay Area German Shepherd Rescue volunteer