According to the U.S. Census the average American will move 12 times in their life. This means that many people do not know where their local shelter is when their pet goes missing. Factor in that dogs and cats (unlike car keys) do not remain where they are lost. They have four legs and walk so may easily end up in a neighboring county or jurisdiction.
Helping Lost Pets has added an incredibly useful feature to their already long line-up of tools to help an owner find their missing pet. Now when an owner fills out a lost dog report, along with their free flyers and shareable social media links, they will also receive a list of all animal shelters and animal control facilities in a 25 mile radius who have signed up with the Helping Lost Pets system. It gives owners an easy way to make sure that they notify the shelters that their pet is missing. In addition, Shelters and Vet Clinics have access to additional information about pets not available to the general public such as private phone numbers and microchip numbers.
Unfortunately, there are still many shelters who are not participating in this free service. Since an estimated 40 to 60% of animals in shelters are lost pets, it only makes sense that a shelter would want to quickly get as many pets as possible back to their original homes. When lost pets go home, space and resources are freed up for the animals that truly do need a new home.
Shelters can sign up for free at this link: www.HelpingLostPets.com/ORG