Losing a pet can be a traumatic experience. But remember, this does not mean that your pet is gone forever.

Taking the right steps, in order, can go a long way in helping you reunite with your pet. The first thing you must do is get a good idea of what happened. Did your pet sneak out the back door? Did you leave it outside and now it's gone? This information may not sound important, but it can help you to start your search.

Once you have collected all the basic information as quickly as possible, you should then begin a local search for your pet. Check all the streets and any other areas close to home. Obviously, you should do this as quickly after your pet goes missing as possible. The longer you wait the better chance there is that your pet will wander further away, get hurt, or get picked up by somebody who will not return it.

If your initial search is unsuccessful, it is time to call you local animal control shelter to report your pet as being lost,if you cant't find a Animal Control shelter in your town call the local police, non-emergency for the animal control shelter phone number ( most animal control shelters are under the local police) after calling your local animal control shelter, you should call all the animal control shelters that surround your town, (most towns or counties have their own animal control shelters) it is a good idea to contact them all, you can leave a message ,but if noone calls you back in a few hours call back until you tlk to someone and then keep in contact with them at least once a day. Give them as much details as you can think of (write it down befor you call)

Breed,sex,spayed/nutered, colors, collar/tags ect...ask for address that you can mail or drop off a lost pet poster to, ask if they know of other places that you can call. Place a add in you main local news paper you can always cancels when you find you pet,but its important to get it in the paper as soon as posible. make up about 100 lost pet posters (check town to see if you need a permit to post on telephone poles)post at every stop sign and high traffic areas, (best to use staples). Speak with neighbors,people walking Dogs,the postman,newspaper delivery person, these people walk and are most likely to see your lost pet.(bring a poster with you.) Tape posters to the rear side windows on your car. The more people who know about your missing pet and the faster you can make them aware the better chance you have of finding it. Remember, you want to have as many people as possible on the lookout.

Never give up. Even if you do not find your pet right away you should continue to look. You never know when you will get a break which will lead you down the right path that leads to your pets return.