Harrison is missing.
- Thread starter CharlieDog
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Spent most of the day looking for him, throwing out food in areas near water where he was last seen. Drove out another tank of gas just cruising. Thank god the police know I'm just looking for my dog.
I got a FB tip at around ten tonight and had to go look at a HBC, thank god it wasn't him. I checked the dog for a collar, but it had none, and checked all the listings I could and the dog didn't match any descriptions.
Going on 72 hours now. 58ish? Since he was last positively seen.
I'm going out of my mind.
I got a FB tip at around ten tonight and had to go look at a HBC, thank god it wasn't him. I checked the dog for a collar, but it had none, and checked all the listings I could and the dog didn't match any descriptions.
Going on 72 hours now. 58ish? Since he was last positively seen.
I'm going out of my mind.
I went through this almost exactly one year ago with a dog that I thought would never in a million years run away. She was gone for ten days and got hit by a car, but we have her back and now she's healed. My thoughts are with you. I'm on a phone now and can't type much but if god forbid he's still gone this evening, you can expect a lengthy post from me with thoughts and ideas regarding what we were told to do that eventually bright boo home. For now, I'll say that fliers are your best friend. Lots of them. Weather proof them (I.e laminate them if you can) and go for at least a three mile radius outside your home. Bright is best. And I mean lots. Blanket the area. We hung over three hundred.
Come home Harrison!
I can't believe he's still gone! I've had a lot of luck finding dogs with big fluorescent poster board signs that were readable from the road. Super simple, "LOST brown dog blue collar, call if sighted ###-#### REWARD". Everybody in town knew we were missing the dog because of those signs, and we'd get calls moments after people spotted him.
I've also heard of people leaving the dog's crate with bedding, food, water, and their own dirty clothes in a place the dog was sighted.
I've also heard of people leaving the dog's crate with bedding, food, water, and their own dirty clothes in a place the dog was sighted.
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This!
Another suggestion would be to get it lamented. If that is possible.
Do you know anyone who works in the school district? Maybe it would be possible for them to get laminated. It wouldn't be 100% waterproof, but it certainly would last longer than just regular paper.
EDIT:
Also, here is waterproof "paper" http://www.waterproofpaper.com/rite-in-the-rain.html
Another suggestion would be to get it lamented. If that is possible.
Do you know anyone who works in the school district? Maybe it would be possible for them to get laminated. It wouldn't be 100% waterproof, but it certainly would last longer than just regular paper.
EDIT:
Also, here is waterproof "paper" http://www.waterproofpaper.com/rite-in-the-rain.html
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Okay here goes (and here's to hoping that my post is unnecessary because you have found him):
When we lost Boo, this was some really helpful advice that we followed.
At the end of the day, it was the neighborhood email listserv and the flyers that broguth Boo back home to us. Her collar was still on and intact, but the neighbor that found her knew who she was just upon seeing the dog and didn't even need to use her collar for ID purposes.
I'll be thinking of you. I've been there before and it's not a good place. Don't give up hope.
When we lost Boo, this was some really helpful advice that we followed.
- According to the dog tracker that came out to look for Boo, "Over 90 percent of all lost animals that are recovered are as the result of good posters put up in a wide area in a timely manner." She recommended BRIGHT, eye catching flyers with LARGE text. She recommended neon colored poster board cut into quarters with the flyer pasted to them. We did this for highway intersections, but otherwise just used 8.5x11 laminated paper. There was nasty weather when Boo was missing, so even some of the laminated sheets didn't last, but I actually just found one still hanging and intact a few weeks ago that I forgot to take down (oops!!!) and it was still fully watertight and clear to read (that's after nearly a year!). FYI, Boo's flyer said "friendly, but shy" which is not at all how I would describe her, but was used to encourage people to not be afraid of her, but to treat her as though she was anxious if they saw her and not try to chase her.
**FWIW, duct tape won't stick to a wet street sign, but if you can get the tape to seal to the pole when the pole is dry, it will stay functional through a downpour. A heavy duty staple gun can come in handy for wooden posts. Put posters all around. Also be sure to put them in local vet clinics, shops that will let you hang them (Starbucks and Papa Johns were both willing to help us out), and of course, on street posts.
- Some websites that were recommended to me to post info:
- Craigslist (both lost&found section and pets section)
- http://www.FidoFinder.com
- http://findfido.com/
- http://www.missingpet.net/
- http://www.petharbor.com/ ;
- http://pets.groups.yahoo.com/group/K9AmberAlert
- http://www.lostandpound.com/search.php
- go to all local shelters IN PERSON to see if he is there (and report him missing of course). Sometimes shelter staff are not good at IDing breeds or might incorrectly enter data. "Belgian Malinois" might not be in their vocab.
- We hired a dog tracker to use her search and rescue dog (trained to scent other dogs) to track Boo. We got a trajectory of where Boo had been over the timeline and it enabled us to get a better feel for where to place fliers
- Also according to our pet tracker: "Contact the emergency vet offices and tell them that you will guarantee payment for treatment if she is brought in injured. I worked 13 years at an emergency vet and if animal control brings in a dog or cat that has been hit by a car and they cannot reach an owner for guarantee of payment they will just put it to sleep without treatment."
- Don't discount the influence of a good old neighborhood listserv if you have a homeowners association in your neighborhood.
Other random advice I heard was:- to put a used t-shirt or dog bed in a location with a crate and see if the dog comes to the smell.
- to use a wildlife camera with food bait
- The last tip was that dogs who run away are often scared and quickly begin reverting to feral tendencies. That is, even your own dog may not come to you. She recommended sitting with your back facing the line of woods (I don't know if there are woods in Georgia...) if you get a sighting, while talking in a soft happy voice. If you see him, begin tossing treats, but don't move. I don't know how sound this advice is, but our dog tracker has presumably dealt with far more lost dogs than me.
At the end of the day, it was the neighborhood email listserv and the flyers that broguth Boo back home to us. Her collar was still on and intact, but the neighbor that found her knew who she was just upon seeing the dog and didn't even need to use her collar for ID purposes.
I'll be thinking of you. I've been there before and it's not a good place. Don't give up hope.
On the posters - make sure you put them at eye level with car drivers, easy to read and minimum info (remember drivers will only be stopped for a few seconds at least, or a minute at most, don't so overwhelm).
When we lost our extremely shy cat, we put out over 500 hundred flyers (tucked on mailboxes, next to the mailbox flags - putting flyers IN a mailbox is against the law), as well as posters at all stop signs and on main drives in the subdivisions around us. Ghost was lost for six weeks but we did get her back.
When we lost our extremely shy cat, we put out over 500 hundred flyers (tucked on mailboxes, next to the mailbox flags - putting flyers IN a mailbox is against the law), as well as posters at all stop signs and on main drives in the subdivisions around us. Ghost was lost for six weeks but we did get her back.
Unfortunately, he slipped his collar, and he loses weight quickly, so my other fear is someone is going to think he's an abused dog, and not want to turn him over to the vet or shelter. I'm trying to keep positive and am still hoping beyond hope that he turns up back at home, but his last sighting was the day after he disappeared, at noon, on a sidewalk, heading out of town, towards and extremely busy four lane road. I need to get posters out that way in and out of the neighborhoods over there, some of the large ones and laminated. If someone is keeping him, hopefully a neighbor will call in with a tip, and I'll be able to go get him. The Police, Firefighters and EMTs all have his description as well, and he's been reported to the police as lost. Since it's been so long, I'm considering reporting him as stolen at this point, just in case someone IS keeping him, and I have to argue or get the police in order to get him back.
It's exhausting, and gut wrenching, and I wouldn't wish this on ANYONE.
Thank you everyone for the continued vibes and well wishes. They mean a LOT to me, and I'm hoping beyond hope everyday that I get a phone call from SOMEONE saying they have him or even have just SEEN him.
It's exhausting, and gut wrenching, and I wouldn't wish this on ANYONE.
Thank you everyone for the continued vibes and well wishes. They mean a LOT to me, and I'm hoping beyond hope everyday that I get a phone call from SOMEONE saying they have him or even have just SEEN him.
You might also try contacting some of your local radio stations and asking them if they will make any announcements about lost dogs - the ones I worked for didn't, but the smaller PBS one does. Telling them he's a lost service dog is a potentially excellent way to get more involvement than just "lost dog."