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13. Found a pet?
If you have found a stray pet you can use many of the resources and tips
on this website to try to find the owner, or if that's not possible, to
find a new home for the pet.
- First, call your neighbours to find out whether they're missing a
pet or know of anyone who is.
- Next, check with local shelters and animal rescue organizations
to find out whether anyone has reported the pet missing. If not, make
sure they have a record of the pet you have found.
Click here for a list of London shelters and
animal rescue organizations.
Click here for a list of Middlesex shelters and
animal rescue organizations.
(Note: if you decide to take the animal to your local animal control
agency, you may want to inquire about the agency's euthanasia policies
and consider whether you can keep the pet yourself while you search.)
- You can create a flyer to get the word out.
Here's an MS-Word template
based on the flyer shown at right.
Our Flyers page has suggestions of where
and how to distribute your flyers.
If you live in a small town or neighbourhood, be sure to post
the flyer in your local grocery store - all of your neighbours will see
it there.
Tip:
don't include a complete description of the pet - keep an identifying
feature back so that you can be sure that anyone claiming the pet is
the real owner.
- Many newspapers, including the London Free Press, will
print Found ads free. See our
Newspaper ads page for a list of area
papers.
- If you still haven't found the pet's home, you might want to
call or email animal shelters outside of London/Middlesex.
Click here for a list of shelters in
neighbouring municipalities.
Click here for a list of shelters in
the southern Ontario region.
- You can check "lost and found" websites
to see if anyone has reported a similar pet missing. If not, you can post
the pet's information for other people to search.
- Many people who have found pets want to ensure that the pet will have
a happy ending even if they can't find the original home.
If that is the case, consider whether you can keep the
pet yourself or if you know someone who can. If not,
classified ads are
a good way of finding new homes for pets. It's a good idea to meet the
prospective adopters before you commit to letting them adopt the pet.
Best Friends Animal Sanctuary in Kanab, Utah has an excellent 12-page
brochure in PDF format*:
"How to find homes for homeless pets".
The brochure includes sample flyers and ads, advice for screening
prospective adopters, and an adoption contract.
Also from Best Friends:
Finding a New Home for a Pet and
"Help Me ... I Found a Stray" - A practical guide
to helping stray animals.
(*Download the Acrobat PDF reader.)
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Flyer template
Click on this link to download a template
(MS-Word) like the flyer shown below.
Edit the template to show your info.
"Found"
pet flyer
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