Losing your pet can be devastating. The thought that they are battling the elements of weather, wondering if they have been stolen or are just lost and might make their way back home, can be traumatic.
What do you do in case you lose your pet?
Act immediately, don’t waste time hoping the pet will find its way home. The first hours after your pet is lost are the most crucial and are the likeliest time to find your lost cat or dog.
In most instances, when your pet realises it is lost, a confident one will make friends with strangers, whereas a shy one will be hiding somewhere.
So walk around where you suspect the pet was last seen and ask people around, shopkeepers, grocery vendors if they have seen them.
Call out their name as you walk around searching. Please do this as you focus your search on bushes, forsaken mama mboga sheds or kiosks or any dark places around the place they last were.
Retrieve their clearest photo and print it, then post it on the local shops, barbershops, butchery and anywhere else with high human traffic.
Post on online pets’ groups or lost and found Facebook pets’ groups giving clear details of how your pet looks, from their colour, temperament, where they were last seen and offer a reward to anyone who brings them home.
Also, post on your social media accounts, Facebook, Instagram as well as WhatsApp.
After posting online, be wary of recovery scams. When someone tells you they have sighted your pet, ask them to describe the animal thoroughly, they must give further details from what you have posted.
Or even ask them to send you a photo of the pet they say they have found. If they refuse to send a picture, they could be scamming you to get the reward, especially if they insist on you sending the money before returning the pet.
Don’t give up on the search. There are numerous cases of pets that have been lost for months, and they have been reunited with their owners. So keep re-sharing on your social media platforms and any online platforms.
Much as losing a pet is primarily unavoidable and accidental, some of the precautionary measures you take to have the pet tagged with your contact details and the name of the collar.
If they are dogs, keep them on a leash if you are not in a position to have them on your eyesight when you are out for walks.
