During the pandemic, a runaway dog from Canada inadvertently crossed the border to the United States. She goes by the name Diamond, a 17-month-old German shepherd. From her home in New Brunswick, the dog ended up in Maine.
Diamond’s humans, Paryse and Sylvian Michaud, left the dog under the care of grandpa, Mr. Robert Sirois. The couple went to St. Andrews to watch their daughter’s hockey tournament. When grandpa Robert opened the garage door, Diamond dashed out to freedom. Grandpa Robert could not catch up with the fast and furious dog.
Because of COVID-19 restrictions, Diamond’s return to her fur parents took longer than usual. That is although she was eventually spotted by American friends of the Michauds. But all’s well that ends well. After necessary custom clearance, Diamond found her way back home.
Losing a dog is always stressful. After all, our canine companions are more than just pets. They are part of our family. And we worry about them the same way we worry about the human members of our household.
If you encounter the same problem as the Michauds had gone through, do not fret. There are proven ways to expedite your reunion with your runaway dog. Here are our recommendations.
Create an unmissable lost dog flyer
You do not have to be a Photoshop wiz to create an effective lost dog flyer. There are online tools offering design templates which you can customize. One such platform is called Canva. They have a library of lost dog flyers which you can either download, print, or both.
Make sure to put your dog’s most accurate picture on the design template. Include the dog’s name, your contact details, and some heart-tugging copy to boot.
Once you’ve customized and downloaded your chosen design, you can easily share it with your social network. You can also print your flyers out and post them in strategic places to reach people who may not be active on social media.
Tap the power of social media
Create a Facebook page for your runaway dog. Post public pictures and videos of your pup on the page. Encourage everyone to share your posts. Your goal is for your message to go viral so as many people will know about your ongoing search.
Post on strategic hours for maximum exposure. Think nine in the morning when employees are tinkering with their laptops at work. And be strategic with your lost dog copy, too. No, you do not have to hire a copywriter to do the job. Just make sure you use precise words that appeal to people’s sympathy.
These days most lost pets are returned to their humans thanks to social media. It’s probably one of the platform’s incontestable advantages.
Visit nearby dog shelters
The first order of business when your dog runs away is to visit nearby animal shelters or vet clinics. The instinct of people kind enough to rescue stray dogs is to take them to the aforementioned places.
Make second or third visits if necessary. After all, you cannot approximate the time frame between the day your dog ran away, the day it was rescued, and the day its rescuer decides to surrender it to authorities.
Yes, there are ways to help you get reunited with a runaway dog. But, in the end, staying proactive is the best way to go. One way to become a proactive fur parent is ensuring that your pup has a dog collar at all times. This dog collar should have an identification tag, complete with pertinent details such as your contact number.
Make sure your dog’s collar is securely fitted. Otherwise, it might fall off which totally defeats the purpose.
Microchipping your dog is another option. You do not need to worry about your dog feeling any kind of discomfort because it’s a non-intrusive process. Microchips are placed just under the skin. The process does not even require anesthesia.
But remember that you cannot rely on microchips alone. These microchips need a special scanner for them to be read. That’s no problem if your lost dog ends up in a shelter or a vet where they will most likely have one of these scanners. But what if some random individual clueless about canine microchips found your dog?
That’s why the Humane Society still advocates for dog collars despite microchips being a more advanced technology. If you can give your dog both a collar and a microchip, the better. That’s a foolproof way to ensure your beloved doggo finds its way back home.
