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How To Look For A Loose GreyHound
Before you do ANYTHING - call your
adoption group - they want to help you. Rope in your friends, neighbors,
colleagues, family, whoever you can. If each of your friends
spends ten minutes putting up posters and telling everyone they know - then
that's a lot of posters, and a lot of people! Even if they can just lend a
torch or a lead, or mind your house for ten minutes, or ring a couple of
numbers, everyone can help.
1. Make sure all volunteers have a correct address & phone number of where
the dog got loose from.
2. Call the local dog warden, dog homes, and local police to report the
missing dog.
3.Send out search units of 2-3 people in all four (north, south, east &
west) directions. Greyhounds have a tendency to run in circles - just
because they headed one direction doesn't mean they haven't doubled back in
the opposite direction.
4. Each search unit should take an area approx. 1/2 mile square. STAY IN
YOUR AREA. The dog might not be there the first 5 times you go down the
street, but he very well may be there on trip #6.
5. Each search unit should have a collar and lead, some dog treats, and a
torch. If you can take a dog along too, especially a GreyHound, that can
help - some dogs are less nervous of people who have canine accompaniment.
5. Check alleys, outside restaurants, cafes, supermarkets and burger vans,
any place where the dog may be able to find food.
6. If you spot the dog & he appears to be spooked (even a friendly dog can
get scared after being loose), walk away from him, or lay down on the
ground, and call him gently. Sudden movements will send him running again.
8. If you don't find the dog, make sure you leave food & water outside.
Also leave a familiar blanket out so that he will know "this" is home should
he find his way back. Leave the gate open so he can get in. Set your alarm
& check outside every hour.
The Next Day
1. Put up posters everywhere you can. Make
sure you offer a reward, but do not specify the amount. Describe the dog,
but do not give its tattoo numbers; or, if it is not tattooed, leave out a
detail of the description. This way, if someone rings up claiming to have
the dog, you can check whether they really do have them or not.
Places to put up posters:
* local shops
* dog homes and animal shelters
* on dog-walking routes
* pubs and social clubs
* community centers
* libraries
* local doctors' surgeries
* give one to the postman to put up in the local depot
* give one to the local maintenance workers to put up in their depot
* similarly try to get posters put up in the local depots for the gas
company, the electricity company, the water company, and the buses.
* supermarkets
* gas stations
* swimming pools and leisure centers
* local notice boards
* the notice boards in people's places of work
* golf courses and/or any other large open areas
* any nearby higher and further education institutions and halls of
residence
2. Put ads in local newspapers & on the local radio stations.
3. Get the search units going again. We have found dogs that have been
lost for more than 3 days by searching every day.
4. Call local vet clinics and alert them that your dog is missing. Ask them
to put up a poster too.
5. Ask all the local schools to make an announcement at assembly, and put
up a poster somewhere.
6. Ask the local places of worship to make announcements at their main
weekly service and to put up a poster
7. Ask everyone to check sheds, garages and outbuildings. Go round local
farms and ask if you or they can check their farms and outbuildings.
11. Check the cemeteries and parks. Both places can offer shelter, bins to
plunder, and sheds and outhouses to shelter in.
12. If your dog is a registered (tattooed) GreyHound, ring the NGA to tell
them it is missing.
13. Ring back dog homes every couple of days. They can sometimes be
overwhelmed and may not always check descriptions of missing dogs when one
comes in. The same goes for the kennels where the local dog warden takes
stray dogs when they are first found.
Things You Can Do To Prepare For The
Times When Dogs Get Lost
Make sure your adoption group has a
"drop & run" list. These are volunteers you can call who will, literally,
drop what they're doing and run out to look for a dog. If your adoption
group doesn't have a list, offer to set one up for them.
Set up a "calling tree" so that one person doesn't have to waste time
calling in reinforcements. Once again, if your group doesn't have one -
offer to set one up.
Make sure everyone on the "drop & run" list carries an emergency kit. This
should include first aid supplies, collars & leads, torches, doggie treats
and a blanket. Mobile phones and/or pagers too, if they have them.
Make sure everyone in your group knows what they should do if their
GreyHound gets lost.
I know that not everyone has an adoption group close to them. Seek out other
GreyHound owners in your town & form a support group of your own. Besides
helping find lost dogs, you can share information, dog-sitting services and
new ideas. |
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