I.Dup. Posted February 26, 2012 Share Posted February 26, 2012 Our dog escaped when we were at Mass this morning. She had problems with escaping ever since she was in the Humane Society so when we leave, we always put her in her kennel. My dd (10yo) was all proud this morning because she rigged her leash around her kennel door since our dog found a way to squeeze out of the opening. Well, she found another way to escape because she tore through her kennel while we were gone, tore the screen out of the bathroom window and ran away. :( She has a collar on and 2 tags- one with her microchip ID and one with our vet's info. How often do people find stray dogs and decide to keep them? She's probably miles away from here now, she goes absolutely nuts when she gets outside. :( Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bluegoat Posted February 26, 2012 Share Posted February 26, 2012 Our dog escaped when we were at Mass this morning. She had problems with escaping ever since she was in the Humane Society so when we leave, we always put her in her kennel. My dd (10yo) was all proud this morning because she rigged her leash around her kennel door since our dog found a way to squeeze out of the opening. Well, she found another way to escape because she tore through her kennel while we were gone, tore the screen out of the bathroom window and ran away. :( She has a collar on and 2 tags- one with her microchip ID and one with our vet's info. How often do people find stray dogs and decide to keep them? She's probably miles away from here now, she goes absolutely nuts when she gets outside. :( In my experience most escaped dogs return home as long as they are not hurt or stopped somehow. If she has tags and someone finds her they will probably call animal control. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
I.Dup. Posted February 26, 2012 Author Share Posted February 26, 2012 Thank you. We have one very sad little girl (and I am sad too). Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
In the Rain Posted February 26, 2012 Share Posted February 26, 2012 If a stray seems approachable, we always check for a collar and tag. I hope you get her back. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nono Posted February 26, 2012 Share Posted February 26, 2012 When I was growing up, we had an Irish Setter who ran away. At least 20x until he mellowed out around age 12. He lived to 15 1/2 yrs old. No chip, just a tag. One boy became quite a good tracker of our dog, because my Dad gave out good thank you tips! :) I hope your dog is home soon. (Oh, and mine even came home in a police car once or twice! He never found his way home himself!) :grouphug: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mudboots Posted February 26, 2012 Share Posted February 26, 2012 (edited) I'm so sorry. I don't know what your chances are, but I have an encouraging story, too. A few days after we moved to our new house, through a series of unfortunate events, our dog got loose and ran away. (She was probably trying to follow DH's truck - she's not the type to run away. In fact, we were sure she must have been stolen.) We were heartbroken. We called the microchip company to update our contact information, because the tag on her collar hadn't been updated. We drove all the roads and took flyers to our new neighbors. Three days later, we got a call from the Humane Society, who got our information through her microchip. We were so relieved! The feeling of not knowing where your dog is or whether she's safe is really upsetting. I hope you have good news soon. :grouphug: Edited February 26, 2012 by mudboots Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Stacy in NJ Posted February 26, 2012 Share Posted February 26, 2012 I have a suggestion for the running away. Have you heard of the dogstra? It's a remote collar that you use to train your dog to respect boundries. Our dog Lucky was a runner and a fence jumper. This did the trick in one afternoon. It's available from amazon for about $200.http://www.amazon.com/Dogtra-1900NCP-Training-Collar-Single/dp/B001COT8LU/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&qid=1330299468&sr=8-2 http://www.amazon.com/Remote-Collar-Training-Pet-Owners/dp/B0013LUXZW/ref=pd_sim_sg_3 Get this dvd to learn how to use it: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jennsmile Posted February 26, 2012 Share Posted February 26, 2012 What another do is as freaked by a kennel as mine? I feel your pain and I realize how hard keeping the backyard yard secure is too. My friends 2 labs escaped and they found them a few days later at a shelter. Good luck. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HappyLady Posted February 26, 2012 Share Posted February 26, 2012 I agree with what everyone has already said, but I'd also like to say that maybe you should call all the local animal shelters, etc, to let them know your dog is missing. Maybe he'll be returned quicker to you then. I hope you find him soon!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mergath Posted February 27, 2012 Share Posted February 27, 2012 I don't know about other people, but I always return dogs I find out roaming around in an area they obviously aren't supposed to be in. I once found a tiny lapdog out roaming along the edge of the highway in a blizzard. I brought it back to the address on its tag, but no one would answer the door, even though I could hear people inside. :confused: The people in the house next door popped out and yelled for me to just leave it in the yard. Ugh. I probably SHOULD have kept that dog... Our cat ran off once, and we eventually found her at the local humane society. I'd call them with a description of your dog so they can call you if she turns up there. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
StephanieZ Posted February 27, 2012 Share Posted February 27, 2012 Plaster the vicinity with Lost Dog signs. with a note abotu REWARD. (I've given $50.) The signs really do help, and you can ask folks in person as you are driving around posting them. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
laundrycrisis Posted February 27, 2012 Share Posted February 27, 2012 :grouphug: Call all of the local animal control offices and shelters with your name, number and a description of your dog. If you have a picture of her, take them a copy of that along with your contact information. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fraidycat Posted February 27, 2012 Share Posted February 27, 2012 :grouphug: I hope she shows up, soon. We had two escape artists, but we always found them or they always came back. When we had our house, we were forever trying to find their escape routes and fortify our back yard. We'd fortify one area, and they'd move on and find a new way out. They were WAY TOO SMART for their own good. Unfortunately, when we moved to base housing, we weren't able to make the necessary adjustments to keep our girls safe, so they now live happily with a family way out in the middle of nowhere on a farm, far away from any traffic and have lots of room to roam and run. The family they are with is the daughter of a friend of my Dad's, so we still go visit them. Now we have two cats, and only one of them keeps trying to escape the house. Pets...gotta love 'em! :D ETA: Holy run-on sentence, Batman! I'm too lazy to edit, though. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ottakee Posted February 27, 2012 Share Posted February 27, 2012 Check your local Craig's list as well as people will post found dogs on there as well. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RoughCollie Posted February 27, 2012 Share Posted February 27, 2012 I suggest you visit your local animal shelter(s) and give them a photograph and information about your dog. I know people whose dogs were chipped and at the shelter, yet when they called, they were told the dog was not there. Check animal shelters in neighboring towns, too. Sometimes dogs run further than we expect. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CalicoKat Posted February 27, 2012 Share Posted February 27, 2012 I suggest you visit your local animal shelter(s) and give them a photograph and information about your dog. I know people whose dogs were chipped and at the shelter, yet when they called, they were told the dog was not there. Check animal shelters in neighboring towns, too. Sometimes dogs run further than we expect. Dogs supposedly go North when they run away. At least that's a theory . Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
J-rap Posted February 27, 2012 Share Posted February 27, 2012 In my lifetime, I've had 4 dogs that have probably run away 25 times, some of them quite a distance and gone for days. We ALWAYS got them back, always. One time it was in a different part of our state where we were vacationing, in the woods, hundreds of miles from our home. He didn't have on tags and of course no one in that area knew him or us. We plastered the area with posters, and put an announcement in the newspaper. After a week or so, someone spotted him along the freeway in the ditch -- just tuckered out and sleeping. We got our boy back.:) Hopefully the same will hold true for you, once he slows down a little and lets someone catch him! Be sure you call your local city dog shelter, and ones in neighboring towns, too. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
In The Great White North Posted February 27, 2012 Share Posted February 27, 2012 She had problems with escaping ever since she was in the Humane Society so when we leave, we always put her in her kennel. The local shelter told friends of ours that they (the shelter) would confiscate the dog if they (the owners) "let it run away" as they (the owners) "obviously couldn't care for it properly." And it was a breed known for escaping and running. Check your agreement/contract with them and be prepared for an argument to get you dog back. Just another reason on a long list that I will not get a pet from a shelter. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AK_Mom4 Posted February 27, 2012 Share Posted February 27, 2012 Plaster the vicinity with Lost Dog signs. with a note abotu REWARD. (I've given $50.) The signs really do help, and you can ask folks in person as you are driving around posting them. :iagree: Our old dog - never a runner and very well-behaved - got scared one New Year's Eve by fireworks and took off. We contacted animal control and hunted, but it was putting up the signs that worked. We got a call 2 days later - old dog had gone over 2 miles that night and scratched at someone's door to be let in! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tammyla Posted February 27, 2012 Share Posted February 27, 2012 Our dog was a runner, and we bailed her out of doggy jail. Call your local animal control for help. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Catwoman Posted February 27, 2012 Share Posted February 27, 2012 Any updates? I hope you get her back soon! :grouphug: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sugarfoot Posted February 27, 2012 Share Posted February 27, 2012 Definitely call the shelter, and maybe the vets in your area, too? For some reason, we're the people that lost dogs come to. We've found/had come to us, probably 5-6. Sometimes it's easy--there's a tag. If not, we call the shelter to let them know we've found a dog, and the vets, too. In every case, the shelters, in both towns where we've lived, have asked us to please keep the dog until the owner has been found. Sometimes the owner has found us through the shelter, sometimes it's a vet's office who has called us and said someone has called. Once, we called a vet's office, and they recognized the dog from our description and called the owner. My kids look at every lost dog sign they see. It may not seem helpful to us because we're always driving, but kids see them, and that could really help. I hope your furry friend is home soon.:grouphug: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
plansrme Posted February 27, 2012 Share Posted February 27, 2012 I have had a couple of Houdinis as well, and I echo what everyone else has said: 1. Put up signs, especially at the entrances and exits from your neighborhood. These have been effective twice for us-once our mail carrier saw the signs and our dogs while out delivering mail. 2. Visit your animal shelter in person, and often; they often have NO IDEA what they have and will not recognize your dog from her picture. If she had tags, they probably will try to call you, but she could have lost her tags and/or her collar. Some shelters also have a found dog/lost dog matching service. If you find a dog, they take your information and try to match it with those who have lost one. 3. You may want to look away for this one, but ask if animal control keeps a "dead animal" list. I had a golden retriever once who dug under a new fence ONCE in her entire life. I searched for days, haunted animal control, put up poster-sized neon signs, and this is finally how I found her. Animal control did not volunteer this information--I had to ask if there was such a thing. It was heartbreaking, but I suppose that I am glad I know what happened. I really hope you have found her already. If a dog wants to escape badly enough, there really isn't a whole lot that you can do about it. Terri Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
I.Dup. Posted February 27, 2012 Author Share Posted February 27, 2012 Thank you all for the tips. The Humane Society where we got her will be opening in 15 minutes, I already called the vet (she has tags on with the vet's number) and they haven't heard anything yet. I will call the HS when they open, they probably remember her since she was there for quite awhile and we only got her about a month ago. I will ask them and I will call animal control also, although I'm pretty sure HS and AC work together, the AC officers were always there whenever we would go. I will ask dh about putting together fliers. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
astrid Posted February 27, 2012 Share Posted February 27, 2012 Have you been out in the car and on foot looking? Flyers are a good idea. Hope she turns up safe and sound! astrid Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bbkaren Posted February 27, 2012 Share Posted February 27, 2012 We have a houdini too - a big, dumb one - and he kept injuring himself squeezing out of his crate so we now clip the crate door shut with a couple of these (from home depot) in addition to the regular sliding latches. Good luck, and I hope yours returns home soon. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RoughCollie Posted February 27, 2012 Share Posted February 27, 2012 Regarding flyers and ads, do not put in every unique descriptor of your dog. Keep something back so if you get a lot of calls, you will know it is your dog. For example, if she has a black spot on her tongue, you can ask a caller to describe her tongue. Or if she has one white toe, or a spot on otherwise all white toes, things like that. Do not be shocked, as I was when I had a lost cat, if crazy people call you. The way you tell if they are crazy *and* have your pet is with a question like I described above. Do not give away the answer with the question, ie., does she have a black spot on her tongue? It would be a good idea to visit shelters in your area if she doesn't turn up soon. It is not unknown for a chipped and tagged lost dog to be at a shelter, but the worker who answers the phone says the dog isn't when it is, or the workers don't check for a chip, or the dog lost his tags, or the owner says the dog is yellow, and the worker thinks it is cream so it couldn't be the same dog, and so forth. If there is more than one shelter, call and/or visit them all. Start with a 10 mile radius of your house and work up to 30 miles. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SweetMissMagnolia Posted February 27, 2012 Share Posted February 27, 2012 hope the dog's back safe and sound very soon...... :grouphug: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Alicia64 Posted February 27, 2012 Share Posted February 27, 2012 I was in animal rescue for years and what I learned is that when you work your tail off you can get your dog back. My sister and her husband even lost a parakeet who flew off and my sister said, "my sister says never give up." And so they drove a few neighborhoods and found him in somebody's backyard! To Do: Lost ads in newspapers Colorful flyers all over your neighborhood and beyond that offer a reward. People want to help when rewards are offered. Alert your humane society or pounds. If you're really ready to go for it, hire a sniffer dog. Trained people w/ trained sniffer dogs are amazing. Don't discount this idea. But you need to use one relatively quickly. Put signs on the side of your car door and drive around. Good luck! Alley Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Denisemomof4 Posted February 27, 2012 Share Posted February 27, 2012 My escape artist was gone for weeks, I believe, when I was a kid. She was over 10 miles away at a great kennel when she got out. My dog somehow found her way home. Tags and a microchip? I think it sounds quite promising! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Catwoman Posted February 28, 2012 Share Posted February 28, 2012 Any updates? :lurk5: I'm hoping for happy news! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Join the conversation
You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.