Do these first
Start now, before the flyer. A flyer matters, but the fastest recoveries come from a few things you can do in the first hour, and one of them is time-sensitive: your local animal shelter holds a found stray for only a limited window — as short as about 72 hours in some places, longer in others — before it can be made available for adoption. Do not wait to see if the pet comes home on its own.
Search close by first. Most lost dogs are found near where they went missing, and a frightened cat is usually hiding within a short distance, often on your own property. Walk the immediate area calling calmly, and check under decks, in sheds, and in bushes for a hiding cat.
Call your microchip registry and confirm your details are current. A microchip only works if the registration lists a phone number someone can reach. Report the pet as lost with the registry, and check that your contact information is up to date. If you don't know which registry your chip is with, the American Animal Hospital Association's free microchip lookup tool points you to it from the chip number on your adoption or vet paperwork.
File a lost report with shelters and go in person. Contact every animal shelter and animal-control agency within a wide radius, not just the closest, and visit in person every day or two. A phone call is not enough: staff change between shifts, and your description of the pet may not match how someone else logged it. Bring a clear photo and something that shows the pet is yours.
Post to an online lost-pet database right away. Petco Love Lost is a free national database that uses facial-recognition matching — upload a clear photo and it scans found-pet reports for a match automatically. Also post on PawBoost, which sends local alerts, and on neighborhood apps like Nextdoor and local Facebook lost-pet groups, where a neighbor who spotted the pet is most likely to see it.
Making the flyer
The Lost Pet Flyer maker builds a full-page flyer from the pet's name, a photo, a description, where it was last seen, a phone number, and an optional reward, with tear-off phone strips along the bottom. Fill it in and print. What goes on it, and where it goes, is below.
What the flyer must say
A flyer is read for two seconds from a moving car. Make those seconds count.
- Put "LOST DOG" or "LOST CAT" at the top, big.
The single word people register at a distance is what kind of animal. It should be readable from across a street. - Use one clear, recent photo that shows the markings.
A sharp photo in good light showing the face and any distinctive coloring beats a cute one. Skip costumes and filters — people need to recognize the actual animal. - Give the essentials only: breed or type, color, size, and where and when last seen.
A short list reads faster than sentences. Include the cross streets or landmark and the date. - Make the phone number large, and say whether to approach.
A scared animal may run from strangers. Add a line like "Do not chase — please call" so a helpful person phones you instead of triggering a chase. - Mention a reward without naming an amount.
The word "reward" motivates; a dollar figure invites scam calls and haggling. Leave the number off.
Where and how to post it
- Post at eye level where cars slow down.
Intersections, stop signs, and corners near where the pet was lost reach the most people. Add vet offices, pet stores, dog parks, and community boards. - Weatherproof every flyer.
Slide it into a sheet protector or cover it with clear packing tape so one rain shower doesn't erase it. - Hand flyers to people who cover the neighborhood.
Mail carriers, delivery drivers, dog walkers, and joggers see every yard. A flyer in their hand is worth several on poles. - Go wider than you think.
Dogs travel far in a day. Post several blocks out in every direction, not just the block where the pet was lost, and check that posting flyers is allowed before stapling to public poles.
Working with shelters
Visit in person, repeatedly. File a found-report search and a lost report at each shelter, and physically walk the kennels — a matted, scared, or muddy animal often looks nothing like its photo, and only you will recognize your own pet. Ask about the stray hold period so you know how long you have, and ask whether nearby counties use the same shelter. Leave a flyer with your contact details at each one.
Avoiding reward scams
Distress makes people easy to exploit. If a caller says they have your pet but wants money wired before returning it, treat it as a scam — never send money to someone you haven't met who has your pet. Ask the caller to describe a marking you left off the flyer; a real finder can, a scammer can't. Arrange any meeting in a public place, and bring someone with you.