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How to recover your LOST SHELTIE
Shelties can be one of the
hardest "lost dogs" to catch because of their fear of strangers.
Here are our step by step instructions, for the best chance of recovering
your dog.
The following steps are an accumulation of our 20+ years of experience in
catching lost shelties. These steps work, if followed.
These are not in order.... but make sure you do them all.
Quickly.
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Make large posters -- "Telephone pole posters"-- 16"x20"
posters on all street corners and populated areas. Anything
smaller cannot be seen from a passing car. Don't
bother with roads that have more than a 40mph speed limit, as people
cannot read something going that fast. DO put them at
stop-signs, stop lights, and other streets where people are stopped or
driving slow enough to read it. If you live near a business, ask if
you can put these in their window. Put these all over in places where
people may be out walking. You should have a minimum of 20 of these signs
up in a 5 mile radius from where the dog went missing. You
can have these posters made very quickly at Kinkos, Staples, Office Max..
or any other copy shop. THEN....buy some clear contact
paper and laminate them, so they last past the next rain!!
AND... if possible, glue the sign to a thin board so it does not fold or
bend in the wind.
A decent sized reward will spring even the most non-caring person into
action. There are many people who will help with no reward....
but sadly, they are outnumbered by those who WILL need the reward to act!
A $500 reward is what we have found WORKS
Download the telephone
poster file here
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| Put the same ad in your
local CRAIGSLIST.com website..... and any other other local lost and
found internet board. Do this right away....as
people with smart phones will check these sights if they are out and
see your dog. USE FACEBOOK!!
There is a Facebook page dedicated to Lost Shelties
https://www.facebook.com/groups/lostsheltiecollienetwork/
However make sure you post your flyer all over Facebook |
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Make "Mailbox flyers"
..... print them yourself on 8 1/2 x 11 sheets of paper.
Here is a sample letter. Put these in (or tape to) as many
mailboxes as you can in a 2 mile radius. If you have no
sightings after a week, start expanding your radius.
Download the
mailbox letter here
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| Print Vet and Shelter
letters, and mail these to every Police Station, Vet Clinic and Animal
Shelter in a 60 miles radius. Your dog may have been stolen.
Please ask the police to share this with all patroleman.
Download the
Vet/Shelter/Police Letter here
Call your Microchip company and
let them know the dog is lost. They will add it to their
hot-list. |
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Give your Mailbox Letter to ALL local delivery people, the mail man, oil companies, electric
companies, or anyone routinely driving around your area-- and ask them to
keep an eye out for the dog. Seek out every child in
the neighborhood (kids always know where the dogs are on the street) and
give them a flyer or business card with your number. Post one at the
school and play grounds. "Kids on bikes" are always a great
asset to have when looking for a lost dog. |
| Secure a live
trap from somewhere/anywhere. Most
humane society's, shelters and many rescue's have one they will lend
you. A live trap is a large crate-style cage, that you "bait"
with food. Once the dog walks in to get the food, the door
drops closed behind him, catching him! IF YOUR SHELTIE IS VERY
SHY, YOU WILL NEED A LIVE TRAP TO CATCH HIM....TRUST US.
Once you begin getting sightings, and you know the general area your
dog is hanging around in.... this is where you will place the live
trap. Place the trap in quiet, somewhat hidden area.
You may also want to chain the live-trap to a tree or a pole and
padlock it. Live-traps are expensive and if someone steals
it...you are out about $400. We (CISR) have one that we do lend
out free with a refundable deposit. Note: in almost all
cases of missing Shelties, the only way we have caught them is with a
livetrap. We suggest baiting the trap with something "smelly"
that will draw the Sheltie in. We use tuna, freshly cooked
bacon, ground cooked hamburger.... ordinary dog food just is not
tempting enough. You WILL need to check the trap several
times a day, and release any wild animals you catch. Bring
thick, heavy gloves with you to release any wild animals that could
bite through the wire. Wild animals will normally run away
as soon as they are free, but bring a big stick or something in case
you need to scare them into running away. Always get the
land owners permission when setting a livetrap. |
| Things to know....
your sheltie will go "feral" very quickly when running scared, and
he/she will likely NOT come (even to) you, if he has been gone
more than a day. This is normal. The good news is
that once he finally is home, he will go back to his normal self
fairly quickly. |
| Send your local Sheltie
Rescue a copy of your flyer, and we will add it to our LOST SHELTIES
website. |
| The average time it takes
to recover a lost Sheltie.... is 90 days. Some have taken
15 months. SO NEVER GIVE UP. |
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