What to do and who to notify if your pet goes missing
Call ALL the vets in your area to report your missing pet, do not just call the vet that is nearest to you because people will generally take the animal to their own vet.
You need to actually physically visit all SPCA’s as well as the Animal Anti Cruelty League that may have the animal (e.g – in Durban they could be sent to: Durban and Coast SPCA (most likely), but also Amanzimtoti SPCA and Highway & Kloof SPCA) and around DBN, and keep visiting every 4-5 days (do not wait longer) – it is NOT enough to just phone them, even daily, or even to send them pictures. We have heard too many horror stories about the SPCA enthanasing people’s pets, even though they were advised that a pet was lost, they are extremely busy and are also human - mistakes can be made, and your description of your pet may not be the same as their description.
Also, put up posters at all vets and place ads in your local paper and on all of the lost and found websites – including Gumtree, Kittycat, Home4ever, BarkingMad etc. There are also many Facebook sites that can help with distributing your lost pets’ details.
One other thing – spend some time on the website www.missingpetpartnership.org. There is some very useful information on the site (check the LOST CAT BEHAVIOUR link under the RECOVERY TIPS tab – in fact, go through the whole RECOVERY TIPS section) about how to go about looking for a missing cat, and what not to do.
And please remember, your description of your animal is not necessarily the way another person would describe the animal or even breed, follow up on all leads.
Please ensure that your animal always has some sort of identification, collar WITH a tag or the telephone number written on the tag – many animals are found with a collar only – which does not help at all. Microchips are also handy because the chip is inserted under the skin of the animal and stays there for life – the SPCA and vets are required by law to scan each animal that comes through their doors. If your pet is micro chipped, please ensure that all your details are updated with the company. For more information on Micro-chipping, please contact your vet.
Other sites to advertise/check on:
www.ecr.co.za
www.gumtree.co.za
www.barkingmad.co.za
http://www.facebook.com/pages/Second-Chance-Sanctuary/128888183851970
http://www.facebook.com/TraceyH912
http://www.facebook.com/dink16
http://www.facebook.com/pages/4126-Animal-Care/202263169796599
http://www.facebook.com/DurbanAnimalNoticeboardBluff