NORFOLK, Va. — Having your pet escape can be terrifying and most people will do whatever they can to bring them home.
However, pet tracking professional Carmen Brothers says our first instinct to call and yell out to the animal may not be the best tactic.
“[People] scream and holler and call for their lost pet, and they organize search parties, and you know, they go tramping through the woods, but that’s the opposite of what you should do,” says Brothers with Professional Pet Tracking. “At this point, your dog is so scared. He's not recognizing you, he's not recognizing your voice, he's in survival mode, but he’s looking for you as much as you're looking for him.”
Brothers says she often tells people to wait at home, and put something that smells like the owner outside of the home, rather than organize search parties.
“[Telling people to stay put] is what they don't want to hear and that's what they don't want to do,” she says.
For a more proactive approach, Brothers says to start by putting up large, clear flyers with a photo of your pet and a contact phone number.
“There’s actually a study called five-by-five-by-55, meaning that a person has to see five flyers in five seconds, at 55 miles an hour for it to click for them to know what they're seeing,” she says. “A lot of times, they put on all this verbiage and all this wording and no one's going to take the time to read that.”
With that being said, it's a good idea to put the flyers everywhere you can and post them online. There are a few local Facebook pages specifically created for lost pets in Hampton Roads.
Brothers also recommends having a scent item for your pet that you store in your freezer and refresh every six months. Placing the owner’s clothing outside of the home can also be helpful in luring the pet back.
“[My pet has escaped in the past.] It’s happened to me and it happens to a lot of people,” said Tammy Lindquist with the Norfolk SPCA.
Lindquist says before you need to call in reinforcements, you should have an emergency plan for your pet, which includes keeping porches, fences, and doors closed.
“Make sure your pet is microchipped. You can go to any of the clinics we operate,” she says.
She also recommends having your pet wear a collar with your information.
“[The collar] should have the pet's name and the owner's phone number, definitely,” she says.
If your pet does go missing, alert your neighbors, local veterinarians office, and animal shelters. Some pet owners have also found it helpful to put AirTags or other tracking technology on the animal’s collar.
Carmen and her team at Professional Pet Trackers travel across the country to help families. However they are booked more than two weeks out, as this is their busiest time of the year.
