Maine (WABI) – Hundreds of pets are reported missing in Maine every year.
Would you know what to do if your dog strayed away from home?
Joy Hollowell shows us some free resources to turn to for immediate help.
=======
“If somebody loses a dog or if they find a dog, they’ll message us through Facebook,” explains Maine Lost Dog Recovery volunteer Karen Kane.
For a decade now, Maine Lost Dog Recovery has been reuniting missing fur babies with their parents.
“We’ll go ahead and create a flyer for them, we’ll post it on the webpage,” explains Kane. “And that instantly goes out to our community, which is enormous. “We’ll email them the flyer, along with other really helpful tips on what to do, what not to do. We’ll put them in touch with their local animal control officer, their local shelters. And really calming the owners down are really a key element of what we do.”
Kane says their reunification rate is about 87-90%.
Maine Lost Dog Recovery has some key steps for dog owners to take as soon as they realize their pet is missing.
“The first thing we want to do is go out and yell for our dog, right?” Kane asks. “And that’s the worst thing we can do because it chases them away.”
Instead, put out food that dogs can easily smell like hot dogs or tuna fish along with their bedding. And grab a shirt from your *dirty* laundry bag to put out also.
“Those scents all go so far,” says Kane. “The dog’s sense of smell is so much stronger than a humans.”
You’ll also want to print out and hang up those flyers that Maine Lost Dog Recovery created for you, right away. Kane suggests a three to five mile radius from the dog’s last known location.
“Really our success rate is as high as it is because of the flyers,” she notes.
There are several free apps available as well along with a text based service known as Fido Alert
“Fido Alert you can think of as an Amber Alert system for pets,” says Taylor Jenkins, general manager for Fido Alert.
If your pet is registered with the program and it goes missing-
“It will initiate a text message to all members of the Fido Alert network within a couple mile radius,” Jenkins explains.
Kane says the best part of her work, is when word comes in that a dog or owner has been found.
“Oh my God, we all celebrate it, she says, smiling. “Every single one of them.”
++++++
Maine Lost Dog Recovery is a public Facebook page.
Kane says they are always looking for volunteers. You can message them for more information or email MaineLostDogRecovery@gmail.com
It is free to register your pet(s) on Fido Alert and the company says they do not sell your information. They will also provide one tag per pet with a scan code.
Copyright 2025 WABI. All rights reserved.
This post was originally published on this site be sure to check out more of their content.
