TIPS FOR FINDING A LOST PET

When a beloved pet strays from home, it can be a traumatic experience for owner and animal alike. These tips will help you find your pet in the unfortunate event that it becomes lost:

Post Signs

This is the most effective method for finding your pet, so do it first! Make signs and post them in your neighborhood as well as on the bigger streets and intersections around your area. The higher the speed limit, the simpler the sign needs to be - in large, bold lettering so it can be read at a glance. Make flyers and pass them around your neighborhood. If you have a recent photograph of your pet, copy this onto your signs and flyers. Let all the neighborhood kids know to be on the lookout.

Advertise

 Advertise your missing pet in the Valley Morning Star or Brownsville Herald LOST column of the classifieds. Also check the FOUND column daily. Check the paper every day. People can place found ads for free for 3 days.

Check Animal Shelters

 Animals can end up at shelters by being picked up by animal control officers or by someone finding your pet and taking him to the shelter. There are several shelters and pet rescue organizations in our area:

San Benito Animal Control

City / 956-361-3800 –

Ask for ACO or Joe Avila, Manager (Pager: 956-456-1843)

You can also go to the police station and request to view dogs. They will have an ACO meet you there and show you the dogs they have. The holding pound is on the same street as the police station and the same side down a mile or two behind the water filtration plant.

Cameron County Animal Control:

    427-8037 - Ask for Animal Control Officer or leave message the Pound is on FM 510 in San Benito but is locked so you must call for assistance

Willacy County –

Raymondville Animal Shelter at 956-689-3534 and leave a message

ACO is Sam Baker, Call the Raymondville Police Department at 956-689-2441 and ask for Sam Baker or leave a message for him. 

For Lost Pets –

You should always file a lost report with Harlingen Humane, San Benito ACO, County ACO, and it doesn't hurt to let Laguna Madre shelter know also since they accept dogs from Cameron County also. 

Laguna Madre shelter number is 956-943-3888.

For emergencies call Director - Kimberly Espinosa 956-434-9835

Contact these organizations immediately with your lost pet's information. Some City Shelters or Quarantine Facilities euthanize on a fairly regular basis and the other organizations may adopt your pet to another family, so you need to check back with them at least every other day - don't wait for them to call you. Most of these organizations are understaffed, overworked, and your black dog may look like every other black dog they see that day.

Check Online

There are many Lost and Found resources on the Internet. Visit the Pet Recovery Reference section of our web site to help guide you.

Search the Neighborhood

Walk and/or drive through your neighborhood several times every day. The early morning hours and sunset are prime times for finding lost pets. Question everyone you see (neighbors, kids, joggers, postal carriers, garbage collectors, newspaper carriers, etc.) and give them flyers.

ID Tags

If your pet's ID tags have an old address and phone, contact the people who now live at that address and now have that phone number - even if they are out-of-town numbers. Let them know your pet is missing and give them your current information. Check back with them occasionally, in case they lose your information. If your pet has current information on his ID tags, follow all these tips anyway. Collars come off very easily and he may no longer have ID on him.

Notify Veterinary Clinics

If your pet has his rabies tag on his collar, call the vet who gave him the rabies shot. Make sure they know that he is missing and verify that they have your correct address and phone number. If a car hit your lost pet, someone may have taken him to a vet clinic. People who find animals also call vet clinics to see if any of their clients are missing that pet. Call all the vet clinics within about a 10-mile radius of your neighborhood, and then take your flyers by each clinic to post in their lobby. There are some emergency vet clinics that are only open at night and on weekends. Be sure to check with them also.

Use the Power of Scent

Place a recently worn article of clothing belonging to a family member or the lost pet's unwashed bedding in your yard where the breeze can carry the scent. Familiar scents can bring them home. Cats will respond to an open can of tuna fish also.

Don't Give Up!

Keep searching even when you have little hope left. Animals who have been lost for months have been reunited with their owners. Shy animals may take longer to find because someone has to be able to catch them first.

And Next Time...

Protect your pet from getting lost again. Always keep a collar and ID tag on your pet - even if he is an indoor only pet! Some vet clinics can tattoo and insert identifying microchips under your pet's skin. Have your pet spayed or neutered. This keeps them from wanting to stray. Bring your pets indoors during thunderstorms and on July 4th. Animals are very afraid of thunder, lightning, and fireworks and often run out of fear.