So sad to see so many missing pets in the local area at the moment.
Cats, Dogs, Birds including parrots, chickens and peacocks.
Which is why we’ve introduced the Missing Pets featured post on our Facebook page (there is a separate post for missing/found items)
Found or Missing Pets
Always make sure your pet is microchipped if possible, which is a legal requirement to have any dog over the age of eight weeks microchipped and to keep your details up to date and this will also be the case under the new law for cat owners in England to microchip their cat from June 2024 for cats over the age of 20 weeks. You can microchip other animals depending on size and species, from rabbits, reptiles and even horses.
If your pet is found then they can be traced back to you and reunited or if they go missing you can notify your microchip company and it can be flagged up if your pet happens to be scanned, whether they are found or taken into a vets maybe by a unsuspecting new owner who could have bought them from the theft.
Call your local vet surgeries, animal hospitals, rehoming centres and local dog warden to check your dog hasn’t been handed in and report them as missing. If it is a suspected theft, please notify the police.
If you have social media and a missing pet, it would help to post it on your profile, make it a public post if possible, that way people can share it directly from your profile.
If you have any leads or updates, if you update the post you put on your wall, it will update on all the shares too.
If you are looking for a lost pet or found one, it is worth checking or posting on the following sites:
Local Facebook Groups
Missing pet Facebook Groups (PETS LOST AND FOUND IN OXFORDSHIRE #PLAFIO)
PetsReunited website
Animal Search UK website
Freeads have a Pets Lost & Found section
Gumtree have a Pets Missing, Lost & Found section
There are loads of information in the above groups, websites and elsewhere online, from free missing pet posters to tips on how to encourage your pet back, this may depend on the species of animal, so a use pet blanket hanging in the wind or putting out a used cat litter tray so they may be able to pick up their scent when the wind blows and help find their way home.
If you see a missing pet, please be cautious, do not chase them, keep your distance and notify the owner. Most people have the best intentions to lure an animal but eye contact, getting too close or trying to catch them, can scare them, even if they are usually very friendly, the longer the animal has been missing, the more enlightened their fear usually is, so please be very careful.
From Resident and Ground Searcher, Marion
There are even search groups and volunteers with drone licences that can help.
Thanks for Marion Foster for sharing the following information to us:
We are fortunate these days to have teams of people with experience in helping owners find their lost pets, a few of them are local and have created their own fb groups, definitely one of the positive things about social media.
There are also groups who offer more specific assistance like volunteer drone pilots and ground searchers such as Drone SAR For Lost Dogs UK. They have won a national award for their services to helping reunite lost pets. With currently 72k+ members nationwide they have made a massive difference to owners and lost pets up and down the country and continuously encourage anyone interested in joining up to become one of their volunteers. I’ve been a volunteer with them for approx 3 years and been involved in various searches, one lasting 3 months last summer for a missing ex-street rescue dog called Hugo from Wendover who was eventually captured by a specialist trapping team (working independently of Drone SAR) who have a wealth of experience in dealing with difficult to catch dogs especially those from a rescue background.
Marion would be happy to discuss Drone SAR For Lost Dogs UK with anyone who feels they may need their help or who might be interested in becoming a volunteer or just wanting to join to be aware about dogs that are missing in and around our area.
It’s worth exploring just to access the excellent information about what to do if your dog goes missing.
You can find them on Facebook: Drone SAR For Lost Dogs UK
Watch out for Scams
Sadly reporting a pet as lost, stolen or missing, may open you up to scammers contacting you saying they have your animal and they will play on your heart strings and ask for money to get them back, when these people don’t usually have them and are trying to scam you.
So please be vigilant.
They have also been known to call you stating that they are from a vets or even the RSPCA stating that your pet needs urgent care or a release fee, these are likely a scam too. If this happens, it is best to take their details, such as their name, where they are calling from then hang up.
Search for the genuine company online (so NEVER use any of the details the caller or email has given you. Find the genuine information yourself) then call them directly to check if it is genuine. If you are on a landline, if you can call via a different phone, so that they can’t stay on the line, then please do so.
If you see a missing animal post on social media, please also approach with caution.
Sadly many scammers will create missing dog or found dog posts. Those that are fake, often post a found injured animal, they don’t always share the exact location, just a rough area that is local to the group. They often turn their comments off on the post so that you can’t respond and all you can do is share. This works as those that do care will share the post, the more it is shared, it is visible in multiple places. Once the scammer wishes, they will then change the ‘missing or found dog post’ to something to a scam, often leading to people clicking malicious links, sharing false information or even links to take your details when people are unaware and it looks like their friends have shared it.
You can protect yourself by checking the details a bit more, not just sharing because it pulls on your heart strings and you want to help, which is a lovely human quality!
Look for clues to see if this is genuine – check the local official missing pet sites, you can check the photo is genuine and where else it has been shared (Google images, Google Lens and Tinyeye are good free resources for this)
You shouldn’t have to do this but it is good to be aware.
