Lost Dog Flyer Basics

Flyers need to be made & distributed quickly. Keep it simple, no fancy graphics, thus easy to read. Use bold capital letters, black ink only. Colors fade too fast & don’t show up well on poles. A full body picture of dog is best but use the clearest one with the most detail. If dog is of mixed breed or breed not widely known to general public, a picture of dog with a person to show true size is good. I do not recommend the word “REWARD.” Some children will get excited as well as unscrupulous adults, and it may lead them to chase the dog. It has never, in my experience, led to more calls. Calls come from caring people who are only concerned about the dog’s welfare. I tend to omit the date, street & town dog lost from. You’ll save time not having to re-do flyers. People who see an “old” date on a flyer assume the dog has been found or think negatively in terms of dog’s being found after such a “long” time. Listing exact street/town locations on flyers limits your usage of current flyer further out or in another town/city. People might not bother looking in their area if you list a street in another part of town, never mind a different town. Put “LOST DOG” & insert color PICTURE at top of flyer. DETAILS are next: dog’s name, the breed or top two breeds (if mixed). List major colors and other pertinent things such as weight, curly tail, collar, leash, sex, breed, or approx age etc. If dog has a collar on in the picture adjust description of it, if necessary, in the “details” section. Omit unnecessary information as needed. The general public doesn’t have to know the dog is spayed/neutered, it’s age, sex or that it has tags on. Animal control officers, vets and rescue groups need all the details. It is very common for people to see a dog but still not give an accurate description. You work with all information given to you and play detective. Your main intention is to get sighting calls on any dogs that come pretty close to matching the description of yours. Then you must rule out other dogs in the area. “DO NOT CHASE” is mandatory. Underline it. Many well-intentioned people will chase a dog and make them run further from the area. Insert “CALL W/STREET & NEAREST CROSS STREET.” PHONE NUMBERS on flyers must list area code. List two numbers if possible. These should be answered by a “live” person or at least an answering machine. Check message machine frequently. Insert “CALL ASAP”. Insert optional “CALL ANY HOUR” if you can handle a call at 1 AM. Most people will delay calling you until a “normal” time no matter what. Change your message machine to say, “Hello, if you are calling about our missing dog, thank you. We need the day, time, street and nearest cross street or exact location you saw ‘Buddy’. If you leave your name and number we will call you back as soon as possible.” I do not recommend using an Animal Control Officer’s number on your flyer, with no offense to them, whatsoever. Flyers should be posted on poles about chest height with small staple gun. Note: If you insert flyers in Xerox sheet protectors (office supply store) open side down, they will be protected from rain longer.

Important things: Get a map and highlight where you have posted. Keep track of all sighting calls unless they are positively ruled out and mark sites on map. Write down names and numbers of the shelters, vets, rescue groups, all businesses etc. that you contact while searching. It will be easier to check in with the shelters and call everyone else at a later date. Remember to be kind to the next lost dog and the neighborhoods they are lost in and remove all flyers when your search is completed.