What To Do With A Found Pet
A few tips to make sure you do the right thing
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CONTAIN THE PET
Try to contain the pet so that it is safe and cannot escape again if it is safe for you to do so
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PUT A FREE AD UP
Take a picture and register the pet on Lost Pet Finders asap
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REVIEW MATCHES VIA PET RADAR
Receive potential new lost pet reports for review that could be a match. Your listing will also be sent to people who reported a similar pet as lost in the same area
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LOOK FOR TAGS
Look for tags with a phone number or a council registration number and call your nearest council
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AVOID ASSUMPTIONS
Do not assume that the pet has been abandoned or mistreated if it looks worse for wear. It may have been missing for a long period of time
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DOOR KNOCK
Try door knocking in the immediate vicinity of where the pet was found if you feel comfortable doing so
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TAKE TO A VET
Take it to your local vet to scan for a microchip. Be aware: some vets are required by the council to seize a pet and surrender it to the council pound
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CALL THE COUNCIL
Can't take it to a vet? Call your local council and see if a ranger can pick the pet up and take it to a pound
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CHECK FOR OUTSIDE CAGES
Stuck with a found pet on a weekend or a public holiday? Some pounds have outside cages where you can drop your found pet off 24/7
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LOOK OUT FOR POSTERS
Look out for lost pet posters in public places like supermarkets and etc in your local area
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PRINT FLYERS
Print free found pet flyers from Your Account on the website and distribute them around
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ALERT FACEBOOK
Get a free instant facebook post on Lost Pet Finders NZ as soon as you register your found pet. Access the comments via the website even if you are not on facebook.
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SHARE FAR AND WIDE
Share your found pet Facebook post on other local and national lost pet groups and pages. See the list.
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VERIFY OWNERSHIP
Keep some features of your found pet a secret to verify if the people claiming the pet are the true owners
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DO NOT REHOME
Never try to re-home a found pet, it may have owners that are heartbroken and are still looking for the little member of their family
We would like to thank you for taking care of a found pet and for your efforts to find its owners. You can make all the difference to someone’s long days of despair and bring happy tears of reunion.
HAVE MORE QUESTIONS?
"It was a fantastic service to use, so simple and comforting. We were so devastated when we lost Kix, but lost pet finders helped us incredibly!"
Jacqui & Kix
"Thank you endlessly lostpetfinders, you have saved my whole family from sadness. We wouldn't know what to do if Charlie had been lost forever and we are so grateful that lostpetfinders exist and are running so efficiently. Thank you!"
Ana & Charlie
"'Lost Pet Finders' helped give us peace of mind that there were local people keeping their eye out for Onion when he went missing last year. We were lucky enough to get him back within 72 hours and would highly recommend Lost Pet Finders.'"
Vicky & Onion
"He was successfully found a week later, much to our delight. Thanks"
Stephanie & Oscar
"Here’s a pic of Max with my daughter who loves Max more than anything.
The service was very comforting – knowing that we were doing everything we could to bring Max home. It took 12 days but finally he was back!"
Max & Melinda
"My cat has come home. Thank you for this great service. When I was going door to door lots of the people I spoke to said they had received your alert."
Georgie Girl & Megan
"Your website was very helpful when we lost Boo and I’m still receiving alerts when animals are missing in our area. Great service! Here is Boo with his fur-papa John. They are literally inseperable. Boo has a very special place in our little family and we were devastated when he went missing. Thankfully for us we found our little Boo, who was 4 months old back then, in a couple of days. He’s now grown to be an energetic and loving 18 months old kitten. We really love this idea. Hope that there are many happy stories such as ours."
John & Boo
"Your site was amazing! Because of yourselves and all of the beautiful people who passed on Oreo’s information he was found safe and sound after a few days and could not have been happier to be home with his family. It was really encouraging to have people I have never met before pass on his details, or wish me luck in finding him, people can be truly amazing! Thanks so much for all of your help!"
Elise & Oreo