In my spare time, I like to help people search for their pets by looking around while I am driving, searching various sites online, shelters, etc. (I have two little pets and would go crazy with worry if I ever lost either of them! ) And I have actually been successful in reuinting a few owners and pets - I love it! BUT......here are some things that help me (and others) HELP YOU find your pet:
1. Include a PICTURE in your craigslist post so that we know what they truly look like. (This helps the people who find pets to identify them as yours. Many people who find an animal don't want to post a picture online to prevent a random stranger from being able to "claim" the pet. So your little description of "he's a white poodle with a black nose"....or "she's a black and gray cat with short hair" don't really help give us a good description.) So include at least one good picture, please! (FOR YOUR SAKE!)
2. Post the DATE your pet was lost. (It helps me personally when I am looking through shelter photos and helps "eliminate" certain animals because of the date they were found) This also prevents someone from thinking the pet they found is yours if they found it before your pet went missing.
3. Post the INTERSECTION or GENERAL AREA your pet was lost at. (This helps so that if a person happens to be driving in that area, we can keep an "extra" eye out for your pet.)
4. Post the SEX of your pet! (I am amazed at how many posts don't include the words "male or female" and/or "he or she"......I keep reading posts that say "I lost my black lab in Tempe. Call XXX-XXXX." We have NO way to identify your pet.)
There are other helpful tips I could write, but these four things will help alllllll of us find each other's lost pets! (If you can add more details, it will always help.) Like I said earlier, I do this whenever I have spare time because I can't imagine my pets being lost. I would put EVERY bit of detail I could remember in a post and include more than one picture so people could help me search for them. And I know I am not the only one who searches on the side. Plenty of kind people here in the valley want to see your pet returned home. SO help us HELP YOU find your pet!
Thanks for reading! :) For those of you who already do all of these things and more, THANK YOU. I hope you all find your lost pets!!!!!