Assess the situation at hand. Always try your best to gauge the entire situation at hand before jumping immediately into action. If your attempts to help a loose animal may put yourself in danger in any way, please leave the lifesaving up to authorities who can shut down busy streets or block off a designated area to aid in the rescue, like animal control or police officers. Also, never approach an aggressive or severely stressed animal. If you need help, call your local police department.
Capture the animal and contain it. If the circumstances permit it, capturing a stray animal and bringing it to a secured environment is the best way to ensure its safety. Always approach stray animals slowly and cautiously while speaking in a calm and gentle voice. Do not chase, yell after, or make sudden movements when attempting to subdue a nervous animal. Food (primarily stinky food like hot dogs, tuna, or canned cat food) may be used to coax a frightened animal into approaching you.
If possible, captured dogs should be secured using a leash and/or contained in a fenced yard or appropriate kennel. Captured cats do best if kept securely inside a carrier.
Check the pet for identification. If you have successfully captured the animal, check to see if the animal is wearing any sort of identification, like a collar or ID tag. If identification is found, attempt to make contact with the owner in the applicable method (calling or traveling to the address listed). If the animal’s listed owner is unavailable and contact cannot be made, contact your local police department using the non-emergency line.
Call your local authorities. Whether you are unable to capture the animal yourself, you do successfully bring them to safety, the pet has no identification, or you are unable to make contact with its listed owner – calling your local authorities is usually one of the first steps to take to find the animal’s home. Unless the circumstances are unsafe for you or others in the vicinity, usually calling your police departments non-emergency number will suffice to get the police department involved.
Please note that you cannot claim the animal as your own if you are unable to immediately find its owner. All animals, whether they are stray or lost, need to undergo a mandatory “stray hold” in accordance with the state they are found in’s impounded companion animal laws. This ensures their owner has enough time to reclaim them before the animal can technically be put up for adoption.
Minnesota State Law requires animal shelters and stray holding facilities to hold and advertise stray pets for 5 business days only. After 5 days, the pet becomes property of Precious Paws and will be placed for adoption.
Loss Pet Prevention Tips
Lost Pet Prevention for Dogs
Collar your pet and include updated ID tags. Unless your pet slips out of their collar, this is still the most effective way to have your pet returned to you safely.
Microchip your pet. Microchips are an excellent back-up plan in case your pet does slip out of their collar. Animal shelters and veterinary clinics are equipped with universal microchip scanners and routinely check every stray pet to see if they are microchipped. Keep in mind that you must always update new phone numbers with the company that your chip is registered with for this to be an effective means of returning your lost pet to you! Tri-County Humane Society ensures all its dogs and cats are microchipped before their adoptions are completed. TCHS is able to offer microchips to the public, too; call 320-252-0896 to schedule.
Secure your pet’s surroundings so that it is not easy for them to escape. Holes in screened porches or fencing may go unnoticed by you, but you can be sure they won’t go unnoticed by your pet!
Secure your pet while traveling. Some pets find traveling stressful, and will bolt as soon as the vehicle door is opened. Make it a safe ride for both you and your pet by keeping them safely confined in a carrier or restrained using pet-safe travel harnesses that connect to your car’s seat belt.
Use appropriate leashes or harnesses for your pet. Before leaving the house for a walk, make sure your pet’s leash or harness is not too loose where it will slip off your pet, and not too thin where it might snap if they tug too hard. Buckles should also be checked regularly to make sure they are working well.
Train your pet to come when called. Work with your pet regularly so that they know the word “come,” and be sure it is always used in a manner that is non-threatening. A pet who is loose outside will most likely NOT come if you yell at them!
Lost Pet Prevention for Cats
Collar your pet and include updated ID tags. Unless your pet slips out of their collar, this is still the most effective way to have your pet returned to you safely.
Microchip your pet. Microchips are an excellent back-up plan in case your pet does slip out of their collar. Animal shelters and veterinary clinics are equipped with universal microchip scanners and routinely check every stray pet to see if they are microchipped. Keep in mind that you must always update new phone numbers with the company that your chip is registered with for this to be an effective means of returning your lost pet to you! Tri-County Humane Society ensures all its dogs and cats are microchipped before their adoptions are completed. TCHS is able to offer microchips to the public, too; call 320-252-0896 to schedule.
Secure your pet’s surroundings so that it is not easy for them to escape. Holes in screened porches or a window may go unnoticed by you, but you can be sure they won’t go unnoticed by your pet!
Secure your pet while traveling. Some pets find traveling stressful, and will bolt as soon as the vehicle door is opened. Make it a safe ride for both you and your pet by keeping them safely confined in a carrier or restrained using pet-safe travel harnesses that connect to your car’s seat belt.
Steps to Take if You Lost Your Pet
Take the following steps to begin your search as soon as you notice your animal is missing:
Put food and a scent article at the place where the animal was last seen or went missing. For dogs, a scent article could be an article of your clothing (if bonded with you) or an item with its own scent embedded, like a dog bed, toy, or blanket. For cats, used litterboxes, clothes, and blankets can be effective.
Drive the immediate area and look for recent signs of the animal. Both cats and dogs are generally more active late at night or very early in the morning, when the area is quiet. If possible, go (alone) to the place they were last spotted or lost and gently call their name.
Talk to neighbors and others in the area to find out if they have recently spotted your animal. Ask them to check garages, sheds, pole barns, and other places a scared animal might hide. All sightings can help pinpoint an animal’s movements and any awareness you raise will help your cause.
Get the word out immediately. Create flyers and large, bright signs, like yard sales signs, with a photo of your animal and your phone number on it. Place the yard sale signs in appropriate areas where the animal went missing or was last seen after getting necessary permission if the area is private property. Distribute the flyers door-to-door and at local businesses to raise awareness in the area.
If your pet is microchipped, contact the microchip company to report your animal missing. If your animal is flagged as missing, many microchip companies will utilize their recovery networks by sending our lost pet alerts to nearby animal shelters, veterinary clinics, and animal rescues. Hopefully, if found, the animal will be brought to a veterinary clinic or animal control facility and have their chip scanned, instantly notifying the microchip company.
Contact your local animal shelters, rescues, veterinary clinics, police/sheriff’s departments, and animal control facilities. Send them copies of your flyer plus your animal’s colored, easily identifying photo and your contact information. If possible, visit their facilities to ensure your animal is not there at least once if not more frequently. Multiple follow-ups may be necessary as new animal enter these places every day.
Post your information on online platforms and bulletin boards to continue to raise awareness in your local area. Craigslist, Facebook groups and pages (like Lost Dogs Minnesota and Lost Cats Minnesota).
Under certain circumstances, begin a search party. Not all animals, especially those who are newly adopted, anxious, or fearful do well with humans actively searching for them. If you feel your animal will come to you or another known person, you can organize a small search party to canvas an area for sightings or signs of your animal.
Ensure that all members of your search party know NOT to call or chase your animal. This will more than likely prolong the search by pushing the animal further away. Other items to note:
If you lost your pet or found a pet in Chisholm, MN, please call the
non-emergency line at the
Chisholm Police Department at 218-254-7915.
