March comes in like a lion and out like a lamb; ID YOUR PET! www.lostandfoundhound.com

I remember the saying, March comes in like a lion and goes out like a lamb. I remember all the pictures we drew in grade-school and hung up on the walls in my old classroom in Buffalo, NY. I also remember thinking that it was always a Lion in Buffalo in March…wind and snow. In several parts of the US the weather has been unstable with warm and cold air prompting storms. When these storms happen, we see an uptick in lost and found dogs and cats. Some of these animals have traveled far in their fear. What can be done if this is your pet? ID them via a microchip as well as a tag with current name, number and contact information on the tags. Also, something as simple as changing the battery in the electric fence collar can keep the dog in-bounds. If your pet indeed does go missing during a storm, post the ad everywhere and everywhere and use the good old fashioned newspaper. Signs posted outside are always important and post online where people in your area and others may see. Use http://www.lostandfoundhound.com as a resource too. Just keep in mind that you should keep your pet in during a storm to keep your pet protected. Last year, a tornado struck Raleigh where we live and flying debris was a culprit in a lot of injured pets, don’t let this happen to you!! Keep your lionshare inside! 🙂

lostandfoundhound.com helping lost pets find their way home

As the holidays are here, there are a lot of people who will be travelling with their pets. Be sure if you are taking your pet to an unknown place, that you have correct and up to date identification on your pet. Also be sure that they are microchipped and that the microchip is registered and up to date. You can confirm your chip is up to date by going to the site http://www.microchiplookup.org On this site you enter the chip id and it will tell you if it is registered. Again, be sure your chip is registered.

I found a dog, what do I do? www.lostandfoundhound.com

We have a number of non dog or cat people who find pets and will house them while looking for their owners. Some don’t post ads or call vets, they wait for a poster or a sign. Be sure if you find a dog, to post to sites like http://www.lostandfoundhound.com because they will cross post to Face Book and sometimes to Twitter. Take the pet to a local vet (any vet) and have them check for a micro-chip because a chip will have the owners information for contacting them. Also look on Craigslist under both pets and lost and found. Call local rescues as they may have a tip on the pet. Rescues can be a lot of help. Also call area veterinarians. Put out flyers, hand out business cards with the animals info…Use animal control as a last resort. They take the animals to the local shelter where there is a hold time of 72 hours and then they are able to euthanize a pet. Exhaust all possibilities of finding the owner before you do that and try if at all possible, to not do that.