STEP 5 - COORDINATE SEARCHES
As well as postering and sharing on social media, it is equally important to get as many people out looking for your dog as soon as possible and following up any sightings generated by the posters, etc.
The following is on the assumption that initial searches were made as soon as your dog was lost.
Get as many friends and family as possible to help. Preferably those who know your dog and those who have knowledge of the Surrey Heath area.
You can also ask for volunteers on the various groups and Doglost.
Lost PALS can also supply volunteers, if available, to help.
Try and be as organised and methodical as possible when you coordinate a search.
- During any searches, stick to the plan, don’t let other members of the search party try and take over, politely but firmly tell them you or the person you have chosen is in charge.
- Very often dogs typically make their way to somewhere familiar (e.g. the last place you saw him or home). Have someone stay at home just in case your dog returns there. Also, have someone familiar to your dog wait at the place you last saw him/her, such as with your car in a carpark, or a particular spot on a walk.
- If you have another dog, have him/her help you in the search. They may pick up on things that you don't and they can also attract your missing dog back. Make sure they are well hydrated and fed so they can sustain the effort of the search and this way they can also pee/poop and spread their scent in areas where your missing dog may be.
- Make sure phone batteries are fully charged and that all the phone numbers that are on posters have someone available to answer 24 hours a day.
- Hand out posters to everyone you meet and ask them to share online too.
- Make sure you speak to anyone you see on your search, especially fellow dog walkers and ask them to keep a look out.
- Organise more searches for a couple of days ahead of where you are – hopefully you won’t need those searches and can cancel them. Nobody minds a cancelled search, but it can be really difficult to rally the troops last minute if you need one.
- Decide set areas beforehand and stick to them. You can always look in other places after you’ve done one area, but it’s a waste of time if lots of you end up deciding to go off piste and the most likely places get missed.
- Ask searchers to carry slip leads and strong smelling dog treats with them.
- Make sure any volunteers are completely aware of the type of environment they will be searching in; they will need to be properly attired for weather and area.
- Follow water sources. If a dog has found a water source, he/she may likely stick close to it.
- Dogs may also follow train tracks and power lines.
- Give an exact time, location and contact number for the person who will be in charge of that search. You can give this out individually to search party members, you don’t have to publicly broadcast it if you’re not comfortable.
- It is stressful and exhausting. Try to get a good night’s sleep and remember to eat. When your dog is missing, it’s a horrific feeling and you feel guilty even if you have no reason to, so we completely understand how hard it, but your pet needs you on top form to give them the best chance of being found.
- If you have a set area you suspect your dog might be stuck in, in thick undergrowth or woodland, you can do a structured police style search with canes. Walk in a straight line with the other volunteers and mark out a set space in front of you and search it extremely carefully. You can use canes or walking sticks to prod the ground if you are worried there are holes.
- Take marker flags or tie something to bushes that can be removed again and use these to mark any rabbit, badger or other holes that you have checked out on route.
- Take photos and upload them to your Facebook page, tell the story of the search, keep people engaged.
- IT IS IMPERATIVE THAT NO-ONE CHASES OR TRIES TO GRAB YOUR DOG.
Information with kind thanks to: findmylostdog.co.uk