You’ve lost your dog?
Don’t panic!
Here are the steps you should take to get your furry friend back home safely!
FIRST: Walk your neighborhood to look for your dog, and knock on your neighbor’s doors to see if anyone has spotted your dog.
THEN:
Call Animal Control in the county where you’ve lost your dog in order to file a report. Your lost dog may already have been picked up and brought to Animal Control.
Stafford Animal Control: 540-658-7387
If it is after hours, call the non-emergency number for Stafford County Sheriff’s Office: 540-658-4400. But follow up with a call directly to Animal Control the next morning.
We at the Stafford SPCA are rarely able to take in strays because we usually operate at capacity.
Call us to file a lost animal report, and to see if we have a found report that may match. Or fill out the form below:
Stafford SPCA: 540-657-7387
Click here for Lost Animal Report
NEXT:
Visit our Facebook page and “like” us. Once you’ve become a fan of our page, you can post to the page. Post a photo of your lost pet, a description of the last location seen, and your contact phone number or email address.
We will share the lost report to our page in order to reach our entire audience of 10,000+ in the Stafford community. Many pets ARE reunited this way!
THEN:
Create a flyer to post around your neighborhood, or the area where your pet was last seen. Be sure the flyer includes a good picture, pertinent information about your pet’s temperament, and your contact information.
Don’t lose hope! Most dogs are reunited with their families quickly, but there are many success stories about dogs being reunited after weeks (or longer) of running loose.
FOLLOW UP:
- Call Animal Control each day to be sure they haven’t received your lost dog. If possible, visit Animal Control in person to look through their stray dogs, and to provide them with a copy of your Lost Dog poster.
- Place a Free Lost/Found Pet Ad in the Free Lance Star.
Call them at 540-374-5001, since they take free ad requests only over the phone. The ad will run for 3 days in the paper and one day online. - Search Facebook for the many pages dedicated to reuniting lost and found pets, and post your lost dog there. Also look for found dog reports on these sites when you’re there.
- Utilize other internet pet finding organizations, such as pets911.com, petamberalert.com, helpinglostpets.com, and many others!
- Post an ad on Craiglist with a good picture of your lost dog and the general location lost.