A few

Lost and Found

Success Stories

Hi there!

Good news our cat came home last night.

Very thankful to have him back.

JThanks again for EVERYTHING.

Sherron

Hi Debbie

Jack is now safe at home after being turned in to an animal shelter nearly 200 km from home!

The animal shelter did scan for Jack's chip, although they also had a lost dog report on him that we had just updated that afternoon. It was the lost dog report that originally prompted them to call us and say "We think we have your dog", and when I called them back the following morning they were able to tell me that they had scanned him and confirmed his ownership.

The family who had originally picked up our dog 11 days earlier had taken him on vacation with them and were quite proud of the fact that they had such fun with him! Meanwhile, we had been going through an awful time -- handing out flyers, sticking up posters, losing sleep, crying, spending hours on the phone and the internet. Some people have no idea, do they?

I came to realize during my search, that vets in particular, do not scan a new dog (patient) for a microchip. I had wondered about shelters, and as you said, wondered if they might scan and miss the chip. It's a bit of a gap in the system, isn't it? We had printed off 1100 flyers to send to every Ontario vet, to request that they scan any new dog coming in who matched Jack's description -- but we were so very lucky to get him back before distribution of the flyers.

So all is well with our family again. Jack made the front page of the our local newspaper. I was interviewed on one of our local radio stations, and was able to remind pet owners to have their pets chipped, and to keep their contact information up to date. The family who had taken Jack called me, and I offered to pay the adoption fee for a dog from the shelter, as they had been planning to adopt Jack! So, another dog now has a new home -- one less dog in the shelter.

Thank you so much for all your help. It's nice to know that there is a support system of people like you who can help and understand during such a difficult time.

Regards,

Jenny

My dog has been FOUND.

Your website instructions on how to find a lost dog were very helpful to me. I e-mailed everyone in my contact list with an attachment photo (including all the places you suggested such as the animal shelters and road crews (nasty but necessary) – and asked them to forward my e-mail to everyone in their contact list. In the end someone had seen him wandering and called the locale Humane Society who picked him up and kept him over the (long) weekend.

Thank you so much for your help

Denise

Thanks everybody for your help and searching all over the placed for Flossy.
She now remained at the pound until Saturday afternoon!

Sincerley yours truly,
Joanne
Been two full month without her!

Debbie,
I just wanted to send you a quick email to notify you that Angus has been
returned to us. All of your good advice certainly paid off. I would like
to thank you for all your concern and support.

Ashley

Hi Debbie

Good news - Morgan is now home!

Our neighbour called to let us know. We posted signs with pictures. For a few days now we have been getting calls from people sighting her. My neighbour even saw her but she would not approach as we feared. But by putting food at the locations she was seen caused her to return to the same spot a couple of times. It did the trick and she didn't go far then. Vet is checking her tomorrow and she is going to be cleaned at home from burrs, mats etc.

Thank you for all the help and encouraging words. Especially for having the website available.

Egon

Thanks, Debbie

You've been a wealth of ideas, that I may not otherwise would have thought of under this time of stress.

Thank-you for that. I find I am unable to concentrate on NOTHING else, except getting her back somehow.

Great idea about the kids, as soon as they are back in school I will do just that.

UPDATE:
Good news, HE IS HOME....

Thank you so much for everything!!
Lisa

Dear Debbie: Thank you for your compassionate letter. I just want to let you know what I have done. I put flyers in everyone in our subdivisions mail boxes, even up and down the highway and the next subdivision over as well. I have driven everywhere shaking a box of food and have posted flyers on all the mailboxes that do not have rural mailboxes. I have driven up and down all local roads not hoping but not hoping to find her in a ditch. I have taken a rake and moved all the bushes in the local subdivision that maybe she was injured and crawled under something. I have asked all the neighbours to look in sheds etc. We have a system where we trap our cats if they scoot out the first door and anyone responsible gets her from the garage. That way she goes no where but as far as the garage. Someone must have been visiting and let her into the garage and when my son came home, it's mostly his cat, he opened the door at 10 p.m. and she scooted out. When she first gets out, she won't come to you, but then always comes back in an hour or so. I went looking at 11 p.m. but it was strangely quiet. I called my son, because I knew he would be concerned. He came home and looked and looked. No avail. We stayed up all night. Another cat in our subdivision went missing the same night. I put 4 ads in the local papers and have notified all the pounds and animal rescues as you know. I just pray she returns. I am heart sick. They are like my kids except they don't talk back. I appreciate your advice and another lady called me to tell me that you helped her find her cat just a few doors away. Thank you again. Barb

Hi there

I hope your vacation is is going well and that you are finding time to
relax!!

I am THRILLED to report that literally 2 weeks to the hour we recovered
Noush on our nightly scouring of the neighbourhood. He was found one block
up from us and we were focusing our search efforts there after a sighting of
him reported by a friendly neighbour.

He is SKINNY and a little dirty but besides that great and a total
lovebug....he won't leave our sides at all now.

Thank you for all your useful tips and advice.

Sincerely,

Chantale

I just want to say a heartfelt thanks for the article about finding a lost, indoor-only cat.

I was searching to hell and gone all over our neighborhood all day for our
lost cat, Thumpie, before I read your article that told how indoor cats stay
close and hide. I carefully followed your instructions about searching the
nooks and crannies in our yard while shaking a bag of his favorite Whisker
Lickins. He only responded when I was within about five feet of his
overnight hiding spot. The sound was so faint that I was sure I was hearing
things. He was wedged deep inside a big thicket of brush and brambles and
was very hesitant to come out. It was a moment I will never forget.

My wife and I are very relieved and happy to be reunited with a much loved
pet, and it is thanks to your excellent article. It was exactly as you said.

Matt B

Hello,
I'd like to emphatically thank you for your article Finding a lost cat.
Yesterday we noted our 2 year old grey cat Silver was missing from our
home. Being an entirely indoor cat we searched through our house top to
bottom, to no avail. We surmised that she must have gotten outside when
we went to the drive-in, which in itself was unusual and unexpected as
she's always been too terrified to set foot outside our front door.

I did a google search for "finding a missing indoor cat" and your
article came up. After reading it i took a look around outside, many of
our neighbours have low sitting decks and various likely hiding spaces,
so I began to canvas neighbours and ask their permission to check under
their decks and sheds.

Low and behold, two doors down, under a rather large raised shed with a
boat against the side of it, two big green eyes stared back at me. We
found our cat. Very true to your article she would NOT move with any
amount of verbal coaxing or bribery with food and catnip. It took me
pushing her with a broom and my wife grabbing her when she was forced
within reach to get her out from under the shed. Without your article
we likely would have waited for a sign of her return, which judging by
her determination to stay under that shed, may not have come about.

Again, thank you for your article, it's brought our cat home to us.

Clint S
Cat lover.

I am very happy to say that Hunter is back home. He had wandered onto a woman’s property were she fed him and called animal control who then picked him up. I’d lie to thank you for all your help. It has been greatly appreciated.

Efraim P

Hello Debbie

Bandit is back home!!!!!

With the help of like minded people like you he was

spotted with the aid of one of the flyers that were all over .

He is now home safe, looking a little haggart but home.

God Bless and thank you for everything.

Danny

Debbie,

We found Harley and Dozer!!!! On Friday June 25, we went to the Humane
Society (for the 4th time) and although they were not there, they received a
call 5 minutes before we arrived that a man had them since Monday night and
was keeping them at his house until he found the owners because he didn't
want them to get seperated at the shelter.
We went to his house and it was them!!!!
They were very well taken care of and we could not be happier.
Thank you for all your helpful tips and concern.
We now have the happy task of taking down all of our flyers and contacting
those that we originally notified!

This just goes to show that there are still some really great people out
there and you should NEVER give up hope!!!!

Teresa