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Welcome! I hope you are here because you are putting together a Preventive Measures Kit and not because you have lost a pet. Either way, I’ll do my best for you. The Preventive Measures Kit, or PM Kit, should consist of:
- A sheet of paper containing
- Phone Numbers of:
- Your veterinarian and other local veterinarians
- Your local SPCA or Animal Shelter/s
- Local Dog Warden or other Agency responsible for the same duties
- Sheriff or other Law Enforcement responsible for stray animals
- Poison Control Center
- (888) 426-4435 (APCC; a Consultation Fee May Apply - available 24/7/365)
- National Animal Poison Control Center (NAPPC) 1- 800-548-2423
- The ASPCA/NAPCC phones are answered by licensed veterinarians and board-certified veterinary toxicologists 24 hours a day.
- Nearby Animal Hospitals or Emergency Care Centers
- Phone of person who has agreed to take phone calls in the event you are unavailable during times while you are looking for a lost pet.
- Newspapers local and nearby, plus radio and television stations, and extensions if known
- Relatives and neighbors who will assist you by keeping an eye our for your pet
- The URL of this web site.
- Other relevant items needed consist of:
- A written description of each of your pets.
IMPORTANT NOTE: When you write the description, be sure it’s accurate enough to use for identifying the pet, but leave out some small detail that isn’t easily noticeable from a distance but which would be easily seen up close. Such information can be used to insure that a person claiming to have your pet actually does have your pet and not someone else’s pet or worse yet doesn’t even have any pet but wants to figure a way to get the reward, notoriety, whatever; remember, it takes all kinds to make this world whirl ‘round. Some of them are pretty sick.
- A photograph that is a good representation of each pet as it looks today. Young pets, it’s easy to remember to take pictures of them but as they age their looks continue to change. Try to take pictures of adult animals at least once a year for your kit.
- On a piece of poster board, place the following:
- Name the pet responds to. Forget “Marvelous Miystique III”: If the pet answers to “Misty”, THAT is the name you use! Do not mention purebred, mixed breeds, etc.; just make the statement about the breed general in nature. Never assign a value to the dog in these things.
- Rabies and licensing information, color of collar, fur color, anything distinctive.
- Your contact information. Usually it’s best to give at least two phone numbers, you and a close friend or trusted relative, so you don’t miss the call/s.
- The written description of your pet
- The photograph. Color if at all possible. Photocopies of your completed poster board are relatively inexpensive at places like Kinkos, Mail Boxes and the like.
- Information on the date the pet went missing, where it went missing from, time of day and a close approximation of where hew as last seen.
- Anything you can think of that might make the pet more easily identified. Remember to hold back some small amount of data to use for confirmation purposes though; it can save you a lot of time going to pick up a stray that turns out to not be your pet.
- The reward, if you plan to give one, the amount you can afford, and any conditions on redeeming it. For instance, upon having the pet actually back in my home.
- As many copies of your poster board as you think you can possibly use. If you think you can use 20 get 25 copies, and so on.
SAFETY KIT
Along with that information, you might also want to put together a Safety Items Kit, just in case you find your pet and your pet needs immediate attention when you do have it back. That consists of:
- Rubber gloves for handling the pet while you bathe and avoid contaminants it may have picked up
- An unopened bottle of hydrogen peroxide 3% (USP)
- Unopened Can of soft dog or cat food, as appropriate
- Treats, whatever the pet likes the most.
- Turkey baster, bulb syringe or large medicine syringe without needle
- Saline eye solution to flush out eye contaminants
- Artificial tear gel to lubricate eyes after flushing
- Mild grease-cutting dishwashing liquid in order to bathe an animal after skin contamination
- Forceps and tweezers to remove stingers, quills, etc.
- Muzzle to keep the animal from hurting you or any assistants or even the veterinarian while it is excited or in pain
- Pet carrier or some container/method to help carry the animal to your local veterinarian
Never, EVER assume a dog or cat will NOT scratch or bite. An animal in pain and frightened, especially after being lost, may panic at things they would have previously just ignored. Fright and pain are two things animals simply can not contain, even when they know it is their loving owner caring for them. They will ignore it as long as they can, but when it becomes overpowering, they are likely to lash out at their environment. It is their environment they lash out at, not necessarily any person in particular.
You should not attempt any therapy on your pet without contacting either a National Animal Poison Control Center or your local veterinarian.
Send the poster to the Web Site Manager here, so it can be posted on the web site. You can either scan the poster and e-mail it to us, or bring it to us personally. I do NOT suggest mailing the poster because as has been mentioned before, TIME is an important factor in getting your pet back!
If you do not have a scanner or can not get your poster scanned for whatever reason to use for a post on the web site, hand carry the poster to me. I will scan it and see that it is posted on the web site as soon as possible. I will not charge for scanning posters for lost or found pets. I can be reached by phone at (315) 344-7055. I will provide my address if/when you call me.
If however you must ask me to make copies of them to use for posting in various places, I would have to charge for that because it does use ink, toner, paper and other materials. The cost will be minimal, but I’m sure you can understand that I do need to be compensated for the supplies I would have to use. I am also not as fast as a place that has the color copiers to do the job in just a few minutes. It might take me a day or so depending on how I feel (I am disabled due to health problems).
If your kit is assembled ahead of time, you should be all set to begin the busy tasks of looking for your lost pet as described on the page HERE.
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