lost and found pets

You May Need to Trap Your Lost Cat!

kids and cat that had to be trapped

“Sam” snuck out but stayed close to home and could not be snagged. His Mom borrowed a humane trap and Sam was finally captured

Until you have actually faced the situation, you may not realize that your lost cat will not come to you readily. Inside cats that end up lost outdoors are especially likely to be fearful. In a strange environment, with new smells and unfamiliar surroundings, they suddenly revert to their wild instincts. Even you, their cherished “human”,  provider of food and comfort, will be perceived as a threat by a nervous lost cat.

Here’s an account of such a situation by Shain. He had tried all the tricks we suggest on our Tips To Lure A Cat Back Home page without success.

Ok sorry to bother you but I wanted to let you know I came home from work and went searching again. Mitty must have been stalking me. I was about to call it a night and as I turned around to come back there she was. Terrified. Would not let me near her; kept growling and making a loud breathing sound right before she would hiss. I let her smell my hands and she let me pet her head. But when I grabbed her she scratched but I didn’t let go and when I brought her to my chest she didn’t scratch anymore. Once we got home she started to calm down but not completely. She ran straight to her food bowl and is now still in predator mode watching every move me, my wife or our other cat makes. She’s giving me the soft slow blink though so she’s calming down. Thank you so much for your help and I hope your page helps many more cat lovers find their babies.

Later Shain reported that the kitty hissed and even attacked if he got close, but as soon as he went to bed she jumped up on the bed with him and and ran up to his neck as she used to, curled up and went right to sleep. Finally she is back to her old self.

lost cat recovered

Mitty, back home!

Shain was fortunate that his kitty let her presence be known and he was brave enough to hold on even when she scratched. For others dealing with a cat that won’t come to you, you may have to consider setting a humane trap. You may be able to borrow a trap designed to catch cats from a local TNR (Trap-Neuter-Return) group in your area, or from your local animal control. If you are in a remote or rural area.consider ordering a trap online or buy one from a tractor supply or farm store or even Walmart. You will find detailed instructions about trapping in many places online.

Pet FBI Featured on WOSU / NPR “Tech Tuesday”

Ann FisherThis morning our founder and Executive Director, Maresa Fanelli, was interviewed by Ann Fisher on Central Ohio’s National Public Radio affiliate, WOSU. “All Sides With Ann Fisher” examines topical issues and events in lively and informative interviews with an entertaining style.  Listeners participate via telephone, e-mail, Facebook and Twitter to add to the conversations. As always at WOSU, the coverage is fair and balanced with a civil tone.

Each Tuesday, the second hour of Ann’s broadcast is devoted to technology in today’s world. In her “Tech Tuesday” interview, Fanelli discussed the impact of the Google Ad Grant that Pet FBI was awarded.

Since its inception in 1998, Pet FBI has always depended on word of mouth to attract visitors. Fanelli explained the concept of pay-per-click and how the Google Ad Grant enables Pet FBI to come up at the top of online search results.  As more people post lost and found pet reports to one single central database, the better the chances of a successful reunion.

For people who have lost pets to connect online with those who have found them, there must be a “critical mass”.  Pet FBI  has been active in Ohio since 1998, and is well known. About 40% of Ohioans who submit a lost or found pet report eventually update the status to “reunited”. But it has only been two years since Pet FBI went national and scaled up the database, so the success rate nationally is less than 20%. But it is growing every day, and the Google ads are the major factor in that.

Fanelli also explained how petfbi.org works and how it is unique among the many lost and found pet web sites. For one thing users can do a well-defined, targeted search by timeframe and area. Moreover, Pet FBI keeps records for up to five years, unless the user inactivates it, which is a simple procedure. Perhaps most importantly, since Pet FBI is strictly non-commercial and non-profit, we can link to other sources of information online.

The problem with looking for a lost or found pet report online is that information is scattered everywhere. While Facebook and Craigslist are popular venues for posting lost pet reports, it is not possible to do a targeted search on those sites. Most other lost pet sites are for profit and charge a fee. Still, all-volunteer, not for profit Pet FBI has the largest, best designed and easiest to use of all the public lost pet databases online. Now with the Google Ad Grant we are closer to achieving our goal of getting more lost pets back home by consolidating the most information in a single central database.

Here’s a link to a podcast of our 15 minute opening segment on “All Sides With Ann Fisher – Tech Tuesday:

Tracing a Lost (or Found) Pet Online

 Lost or found a pet?
This post is about using online resources.

Here is an example of a narrowly missed reunion due to the multiplicity of online resources:

10:23  Woman with missing dog posts this on the Pet FBI Ohio Facebook page

lost dog

 

10:26  Teresa, a  devoted Pet FBI Facebook follower finds a matching Found Dog report on the comprehensive  searchable  database at petfbi.org and posts it to Facebook:.

found dog report matching

Comments follow: Pooch is quickly recovered

comments FB

Teresa is a self-appointed Pet FBI “special agent”  who makes it a daily endeavor to “connect the dots” . Without her vigilance, the people who lost their dog might not have recovered it – at least not so quickly. All the while, there was a link on our Facebook page for our web site and database. If the Facebook poster had used it, she would have found her pooch’s Found Dog report without further ado! But the petfbi.org link is easily overlooked, especially since people who lose a pet are generally in a state of panic. The good Sams, in their turn, might have come across the Facebook post, but generally good Sams tend to be less less motivated.  Once they have posted a found report they expect that the owner will find it.

OBJECT LESSON: To recover your lost pet using web based information, you must be thorough and use all possible resources. We are here to say that the best place to start is the database at PetFBI.org because it is arguably the most comprehensive and the easiest to use. If this sounds like self-promotion, or bragging, we invite you to compare. You will find links to the most helpful online resources on our web page Other Online Resources..

Say your pet goes missing. Your first impulse  – using web based resources – is probably to post on your Facebook page and ask your friends to “share”. But you must not stop there!

You could use a search engine like Google with search terms like “I lost my dog, what should I do?” Or “lost pet website”. Then you probably find yourself confronted with a zillion results. Information about lost pets is scattered everywhere, not just on dedicated web sites, like Pet FBI, but also on Facebook pages, Craigslist, neighborhood sites, shelter sites, etc.

Wouldn’t it be great if there were a single, central source of information, just as there is a central registry for stolen cars? If everybody used the same database, lost pets could be recovered quickly and efficiently. This could avert the traumatic – and risky – stay at the pound.

Realistically there will always be multiple sources of information about lost pets. One reason is that there is profit potential in offering various types of assistance for locating a lost pet. Your online search will yield numerous web based businesses. They offer – for a fee – to contact shelters, or neighbors via flyers, faxes, robo-calls, postcard mailings, etc. (For an analysis of the relative merits of pet finding contact services go to our page Other Online Resources.)

Our vision at Pet FBI is to attract as many lost and found reports as possible to optimize the chances of “losers” and “finders” connecting with each other. In Ohio where, after 18 years we have reached a critical mass of users, our success rate is about 40%. Since we only went national in May of 2014, the overall success rate is about half that. But still we have the largest of all lost and found pet databases and all features are FREE!  Most importantly, our web site provides links to other national databases and educates people about how to identify the most helpful online resources for their area.

The bottom line is that your success in recovering your lost pet through online resources is determined by knowledge of where to look and how thorough and persistent you are. It is not enough to use only one resource.

 

“Baby” is Home From the Vet

Girl and emaciated dog

Baby and Bri – on the first day of his new life

A few posts back we reported on a poor emaciated pooch with what looked like a huge tumor on his side. Thanks to the compassion and generosity of a good Sam, a 16 year old girl with a big heart and the “kindness of strangers” – the many Pet FBI Ohio Facebook friends who donated to help him get proper vet care, “Baby” has begun the rest of his new, transformed life with a caring, loving family.

The big mass on his side was an abscess not a tumor, it has been drained and Baby is much younger than he appears, about three years of age. Here are some exchanges from our Facebook page:

From the Mom of his the 16 year old gal who rescued him:

“Baby is home with us. Brianna and Jordan pick him up this evening. He has a lot of recovering to do, but we made a promise to him to have the best life from this point on. God chose us to care for him by sending him to Bri. She loves him completely. He is such a sweet, gentle, and loving little guy. They are curled up sleeping together now.”

A concerned comment from Julie, a Pet FBI Ohio Facebook friend:
So glad he is safe and loved by your family! I hope the vet gave you instructions on how to feed him and put weight back on in a very controlled manor. These emaciated dogs are very prone to bloating/torsion of the stomach. It happens if they eat too fast or too much at once. It can kill a dog within a hour. Please Google symptoms of bloat so you know what to look for. The symptoms are not obvious. It sounds like he is in good hands with you all.”

From Bri’s Mom: “Julie, ty so much for the info. Bri wrote down everything the vet told her to make sure she wouldn’t hurt him in the process of trying to help him. She has a food/calorie intake set up on her phone so she can keep track of it.”

From Bri: “The vet went over feeding schedule with me and informed me how many kcal to feed him, when to increase it, how much to increase it, etc.

Our hearts and prayers go out to Baby, to Bri and to their whole family.

A WARNING TO GOOD SAMS:
If you find a companion animal that is obviously starving, please seek vet care immediately as Bri did. Do not give feed it too much too quickly. You can harm a starving animal with only the best of intentions. It is OK to give water in small amounts at intervals.

Compassionate Pet FBI Facebook Friends Rally to Help Pathetic Pooch

dog with huge mass
This poor fella, found in an alleyway in South Columbus with a large mass on his side, needs to visit the vet. His Good Sam is not in a position to absorb this unforeseen financial burden. 

Dog and good Sam

16 year old Good Sam. with Baby after a nice bath. Doesn’t he look grateful?

She posted on Pet FBI Ohio’s Facebook page and our kindly, caring Admin, Char, called for donations. Within 12 hours over $300 was donated by twenty good souls. When the first vet bill came in at $435, an anonymous donor swooped in and paid the balance. Another $210 came in after hours, That will go towards his ongoing care.

Dog at vet

Baby at vet

Baby is younger than he looks, does not have heart worms, and his blood panel came out OK. But they need to keep him a few days so they can do more tests and control his diet. It is dangerous to let  an animal or  a person gorge after a long period of not  eating. He will also need surgery most likely. You can follow our Facebook page for further bulletins. You may need to scroll down to Baby’s picture.

Fortunately, there is someone in the Good Sam’s family who can give Baby a good home, but his vet bills are not over yet. If you can, please make a donation to help Baby.

Donation link

Pet FBI Ohio Facebook Page Scores 80 Reunions In April With 10 Days To Go!

Never underestimate the power of Facebook! When there is a conscientious admin and a huge faithful following, successful reunions soon abound. Over the years Pet FBI Ohio’s Facebook page has achieved 36,000 likes and growing. An army of faithful friends share posts,  research other sources of information for possible matches, and sometimes even pound the pavement in an effort to find a lost pet. So far this month (April 20) there have been 80 happy reunions through Facebook and there are still many days to go! Thanks to all our devoted friends  for helping Pet FBI fulfill its mission of reuniting lost pets and their families.

HERE ARE JUST A FEW OF THE EIGHTY LUCKY DOGS!

Shelter Posting Leads to Unlikely Recovery

cat in arms of dad

Beating the odds, thanks to shelter’s policy of posting to PetFBI.org

Kip, shown here in the arms of his Dad, had been missing for almost two months. A Good Samaritan found him and brought him in to Capital Area Humane Society (CAHS) , an open admission shelter in Columbus, Ohio. Fortunately, CAHS, has some enlightened policies. For one thing, they post stray intakes on the free public database at petfbi.org. The Pet FBI lost and found pet database is the core of this web site and if all shelters took advantage of it, they would increase their recovery rates and lower their euthanasia rates. They would also spare themselves the trouble of escorting distraught pet parents in search of their lost pet through one or more holding areas.

Kip’s Dad had been checking the database and that’s how he discovered – almost two months after this beautiful kitty went missing – that he was at the shelter. Without the posting he would have had to visit the shelter regularly for almost two months. This would have been virtually impossible. For one thing, the shelter is on the other side of town from where he lives.

There is often an interval of many weeks or months before a cat “surfaces” and is brought to a shelter. A cat that is lost is inclined to keep a low profile and elude people until it is really desperate. By that time the cat’s family may have already given up! So Kip really beat the odds – thanks to CAHS’s policy of posting to PetFBI.org and his Dad’s persistence. As an added bonus, Kip was neutered and microchipped, another enlightened protocol at CAHS.

If you are reading this, please encourage your local shelter to take advantage of Pet FBI’s free database. All reports are strictly managed by the poster and can be edited, updated or inactivated at any time.

Shelter Statistics or Why the Odds of Finding Your Lost Pet at a Shelter are Against You

CONVENTIONAL WISDOM: Most lost pets are reunited through a shelter.

REALITY CHECK: Relatively few strays are reclaimed before being euthanized or adopted out to others.

What is the recovery rate for stray dogs in shelters?Dog in Shelter

According to the ASPCA “About twice as many animals enter shelters as strays compared to the number that are relinquished by their owners. [2/3 vs. 1/3]” But only 17-30% of dogs are ever reclaimed by their owner. (See the ASPCA’s page on Shelter Statistics https://www.aspca.org/about-us/faq/pet-statistics)

 

What is the recovery rate for stray cats in shelters?cats in shelter

For cats the stats are truly appalling – only 2 – 5% of cats ever get reclaimed.

(See The Humane Society of the United States site: http://www.humanesociety.org/issues/pet_overpopulation/facts/pet_ownership_statistics.html ) In major metropolitan areas like Columbus, OH, for example, the numbers may even be worse. Of the 6,000+ cats taken in by Franklin County’s only open admission shelter in calendar year 2014, only 27 were successfully reunited and half of those only because they had a microchip.

Why is the recovery rate so low?

Given the odds against people getting to the shelter during that very small window of time when their pet might still be there, it is little wonder that the recovery rate is so low. Dogs have a better chance because they get picked up sooner and most states have laws requiring a minimum holding period for dogs. It may only be a few days or weeks for dogs, but in most states there is no mandated holding period for cats. In “kitten season” it is not unusual for a cat turned in to a shelter to be euthanized the same day. There is simply no holding space in adoption wards already full of more adoptable kittens.

What can be done to help people recover their lost pets in shelters?

If there were a generally accepted protocol for shelters of posting all strays to a public database it would save a lot of lives. This would spare people the trouble of having to get to one or more shelters almost every day when often the shelters are located on the other side of town and are only open at certain hours. Many sensitive people dread going to shelters and having to look at all those little faces knowing many if them are doomed.

Why Don’t Shelters Post Their Lost Pet Intakes?

Few shelters take advantage of available recent technology to post their intakes. Some shelter management software products have a module that facilitates posting lost pet intakes to the net, but they are usually very expensive and far out of reach for private humane societies. Fortunately, there are some free public databases that any shelter could use, including PetFBI.org. Which is strictly non-commercial and absolutely free, but there is a reluctance on the part of shelters to post stray intakes. The reason given is that they don’t want to invite “shopping”. Apparently there are people with dishonest motives who will claim a purebred dog, for example, with the intention of re-selling it. Or they will claim a breed of dog perceived as a “fighting” breed with the intention of fighting it. (Dog fighting is a cruel “sport” that is much more widespread than imagined.) But I find it hard to accept this reason as an obstacle to not posting strays. Surely, the benefits greatly outweigh the risks and people who claim an impounded animal have to pay a redemption fee. It is unlikely the same person would claim a pet fraudulently more than once.

How would posting lost pets to a public database help shelters?

A necessary condition of course would be that people know they can look online without having to call or come to the shelter. It would still be necessary to come in whenever there is a likely match, but people would be less likely to give up too soon. This would also ease things for shelters. If more of their “stray” intakes were reclaimed, it would lower their euthanasia rate, increase their adoption rate, and save them the trouble of dealing with repeated phone calls and visitors needing to go through the holding areas. Of course, there will always be some cases where it is absolutely necessary to go to the shelter (s). Many lost pets look so much alike.

Why Is There No Single Central Database?

Just as there is a national database for stolen cars, ideally, there would be one central database for lost and found pets. But realistically, this will never happen. There are multiple lost and found pet sites and most of them are for profit. Some offer useful contact services, like postcard mailings to many neighbors. Others offer services of dubious value like robo-calling or contacting shelters (You need to GO there in person!). Unfortunately a number of the online lost and found pet services are really just out to make a quick buck by exploiting people’s desperation. (This is possibly another factor why shelters are wary of online lost and found pet databases.)

What is a good resource for people who have lost or found a pet and for shelters? In 1998, Pet FBI was set up as a public database for individuals and shelters to use. Over the past 17 years it has evolved into the best designed and easiest to use public database online, strictly non-commercial and free. Pet families and Good Samaritans can readily connect before the stray needs to be turned into the shelter. There are many people who are hesitant to take a stray to the shelter because of the risks for the animal. Yet, the shelter is the obvious place a pet owner would look for their lost pet so shelters should have someone dedicated to searching reports of lost pets online. There are numerous sources of information besides the various databases. There are Facebook pages, Craigslist and newspaper classifieds. Even Twitter and Instagram are possible sources of information. Unfortunately, with the current state of affairs, anyone who has lost or found a pet needs to turn over many stones.

However, our experience with Pet FBI has shown that by achieving a critical mass of users reunion rates in excess of 35% for cats and 50% for dogs can be achieved. This is our documented success rate in Ohio where we have been helping people recover lost pets since 1998. In May of 2014 we overhauled the Pet FBI web site and database to service the entire United States and Puerto Rico. Already we have the largest database of lost and found pets anywhere online. (Just do a random comparative search!) Our national success rate is about 20% and growing steadily. In addition to the database we have comprehensive advice and contact information for other reliable resources. There is a great new feature: Once you post a report you will automatically be notified of any new potentially matching reports for 90 days. This system of automatic alerts is unique to Pet FBI.

Please help us save lives and by urging your local shelter to take advantage of this free resource. If they don’t want to use the Pet FBI database to post intakes, they should at least refer individuals to it.

More users = more happy reunions!