Lost and Found Tips for Animals

[Evergreen Critters]

LOST A PET- HERE ARE SOME SUGGESTIONS TO FIND THE PET

1. Put up posters at all major intersections in the area where the pet was lost. Do NOT make the sign too "busy!" Use bright poster board or cardboard and make the letters LARGE and THICK with permanent markers. Be brief and specific, i.e. LOST BLACK LAB or FOUND GRAY CAT. Remember that a motorist needs to be able to absorb the information as they are driving by at 40 mph. Ensure that a person cannot help but notice and read the signs because in several days, they may see your pet and recall the sign. Put up the signs, facing them in all directions.

Some breeds may not be familiar to people, so instead of LOST LHASA APSO, write LOST SMALL WHITE DOG or LOST MULTI COLORED CAT

2. This cannot be stressed enough – THE IMPORTANCE OF THE OWNER PHYSICALLY GOING TO THE SHELTERS TO LOOK FOR THEIR LOST PET. Go in person to all shelters and leave a written description of the animal and your phone numbers. Continue to visit the shelter every two days until the pet is found. Sometimes people will find a pet, keep it for a week or even a month, and then take it to a shelter. To avoid your pet being euthanized, continue to call and visit in person. Mistaken identity is often a cause of a pet being euthanized in a shelter when the owner is looking vigorously for it. Do not stop at just contacting the nearest shelter. Often someone will see an animal, pick it up, and take it to a shelter in their area. So, at least phone all of the shelters.

The shelters in our area include:
• Foothills Animal Shelter http://www.foothillsanimalshelter.org 303-278-7575
• (Impound facility for Jefferson County area)
• Dumb Friends League (Denver) http://www.ddfl.org 303-751-5772
• Dumb Friends League Buddy Center (Douglas Co.) http://www.ddfl.org 303-751-5772
• Clear Creek Animal Shelter http://www.clearcreekshelter.org 303-569-3251 x 398
• Park County Animal Shelter http://www.Friendspca.org 303-816-0732
• Also call local rescue groups to add your pet to their lost database:
Intermountain Humane http://www.imhs.org 303-838-2668
Evergreen Animal Protective League http://www.eapl.com 303-674-6442

3. Knock on all doors in the area and spread the word! Hand each person a flyer with the description of the missing pet, its name, your name, phone number and address or place the flyer in the newspaper slots. Be sure to talk with the kids in the neighborhood. They always seem to know which dog or cat belongs where. If school is in session, go to the bus stop and ask the kids!

4. Place a lost ad in the papers. The owner may want to offer a reward. If this is an animal that the general public would consider to be very valuable and desirable (e.g., purebred Yorkie, Shih Tzu, etc.), the owner may want to say that the animal has a medical problem! Someone may be keeping their found pet because they see no evidence that the owners are looking for it.

• Denver Post/Rocky Mountain News 303-825-2525
• The Sentinel Newspapers 303-279-5541
• High Timber Times 303-838-4884
• Evergreen Newspaper/The Canyon Courier 303-674-5534

5. Call your veterinarian and your Microchip Company Register

6. If the pet is wearing tags that no longer contain the correct information, they need to call the former number and/or former veterinarian and provide them with the current information about how they can be reached in case someone tries to trace the tag. Then, advise them to update the tags when they find their pet.

7. Have you listed the lost pet on Evergreenbound.com, 285bound.com, justaroundhere.com, Pinecam, Craigs List, etc?

Did you know that…

EAPL offers FREE pet registration tags. You can pick them up at Chow Down or Busters. EAPL is not closed on nights or weekends; they can trace the tags almost any time of the day or night, there are FEW exceptions. Their dog tag is square with EAPL's name and phone number, as well as an ID number. They trace by ID number only. Their cat tags are smaller, and the tag number starts with a “C”.

Chow Down In Evergreen 303-674-8711
1260 Bergen Park Way (across the street from the King Soopers Center)
Has a microchip scanner

Buster’s Natural Pet Supply 303-816-1848
27122 Main Street (In the Conifer Safeway Center in Aspen Park)
Has a microchip scanner

IMHS offers microchips 303-838-2668 - Microchips are the newest form of identification. Microchips are small passive devices that are implanted under the skin of a dog. When the area is scanned with a special reader, the chip "echos" back a serial number. Microchips have no internal power supply and are completely safe. Many (if not most) shelters now scan all incoming animals for microchips. Pets with chips can be traced through a registry and returned promptly to their owners. Microchips are available at Intermountain Humane Society on the 1st Saturday of every month for $25!

7. Call Animal Control

• Jefferson County Animal Control 303- 271-5070
• On weekends, the Sheriff number for Animal Control 303-271-0211
• Clear Creek County Animal Control 303- 569-3251 ext 398
• Park County Animal Control 303-816-0732

With the increasing number of wildlife sightings and known fatalities for cats and dogs due to mountain lions, bobcats, bears, coyotes, etc., you should take extra measures to protect your pet. Cats should be kept indoors, especially after dark, and no animals should be left outside unattended for long periods. It is believed that dogs tied with a chain are particularly susceptible to being killed by wildlife. No pet should be left outdoors overnight.

FOUND A PET–HERE ARE SOME SUGGESTIONS TO FIND THE OWNER
Thank you for rescuing the animal!

On the evergreenbound.com posting the Subject line should be date/Found/brief
description/area i.e. 5/31/10 Found Black Lab Conifer

In the post be sure to note your name (first name only is fine) and phone number(s) where you can be reached and the following information regarding the found pet:
When and where the animal was found
Dog or cat, male or female, neutered? In heat?
Any collar? (What color is it? Fabric? Leather?)
Any ID? (What kind of ID?)
Coloring (be specific)
The coat (long, short, flat, matted, fluffy, etc.)
Size (estimated weight, height i.e. knee high etc.)
Breed or suggested breed
Any distinctive markings (cropped tail or ears, shaved spot, crooked tail,
etc.)
If possible a picture of the found pet is invaluable

If the pet has the rabies tag, call the veterinarian named on the back of the tag to begin tracing the tag.

Can you take the pet to a facility to have it scanned for a microchip?

Every pet adopted from Foothills Animal Shelter is now micro chipped. All humane societies and shelters have scanners. Most vets have scanners available. The following local companies also have scanners.

Chow Down In Evergreen 303-674-8711
1260 Bergen Park Way (across the street from the King Soopers Center)

Aspen Creek Veterinary Hospital Phone: (303) 697-4864
23605 Oehlmann Park Rd, Conifer, CO 80433

Aspen Park Veterinary Hospital (303) 674-0280
26497 Conifer Rd Conifer, CO 80433

Buster’s Natural Pet Supply 303-816-1848
27122 Main Street (In the Conifer Safeway Center in Aspen Park)

Bergen Park Animal Clinic 303-674-7717
1422 Bergen Parkway next to The Ridge at Hiwan (Brass Horse in front)

Beaver Brook 303-670-0838
77 Elmgreen, Floyd Hill.

Conifer Veterinary Hospital (303) 670-3959
10903 US Highway 285 Ste E105, Conifer, CO

Evergreen Veterinary 303-674-4331
32175 Castle Ct. Bergen Park, Evergreen

Family Veterinary Hospital (303) 679-VETS (8387)
3951 Evergreen Parkway Access Rd, Evergreen CO 80439

Harmony Animal Wellness 303-674-6288
Adobe Center, Kittredge

Lone Rock Vet Clinic 303-838-7494
66529 US Highway 285 Pine Junction 1 mile SW of Pine Junction

Mountain Parks Veterinary Hospital (303) 674-3156
5920 Highway 73 · Evergreen, Co

Mountain Paws Veterinary Practice 303-816-2200
27122 Main St. Unit J 100, Conifer, CO 80433

PetSmart / Banfield Vet can insert a national microchip and/or a separate Banfield brand that can only be read with a specific scanner. The owner selects which microchip to insert (Banfield is the least expensive option).

How long can you keep it?

You can call Animal Control 303-271-5070 and have the animal picked up and taken to the shelter. The shelter keeps found animals six days before they are euthanized and/or placed up for adoption. Remember that the shelter is safe and warm, and that pet owners will look there first. Please use this option as a last resort if at all possible.

Report the found pet to:

Foothills Animal Shelter 303-278-7575 The Foothills Animal Shelter does keep records on FOUND pets, as do other shelters.

You should also let the shelter know if you find the owner of the pet or no longer have it.
• Intermountain Humane Society 303-838-2668
• Clear Creek Animal Shelter 303-569-3251
• Evergreen Animal Protective League 303-674-6442

Have you checked the neighborhood? You should check with neighbors, knock on all doors in the area and spread the word! Hand each person a flyer with the description of the found pet, its name (if you know it from a tag), your name, phone number and address. Be sure to talk with the kids in the neighborhood. They always seem to know which dog or cat belongs where. If school is in session, go to the bus stop and ask the kids!

Have you put up posters? Put up posters at all major intersections in the area where the pet was found. Do NOT make the sign too "busy!" Be brief and specific, and remember that a motorist needs to be able to absorb the information while driving by at 40 mph.

Have you contacted the local Home Owners Association?

Have you listed the found pet also on Evergreenbound.com, 285bound.com, justaroundhere.com, Pinecam, Craigs List, etc?

Place a found ad in the papers. This is free in many papers.
Denver Post/Rocky Mountain News 303-825-2525
The Sentinel Newspapers 303-279-5541
High Timber Times 303-838-4884
Evergreen Newspaper/The Canyon Courier 303-674-5534