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Writer's pictureCaryl Wolff
Mar 7, 20105 min read

Finding Stolen Dogs – Things to do in Your Search

Updated: Jan 21, 2022



REPRINT POLICY for Finding Stolen Dogs

This article is provided free as a service and may be reprinted IN PRINT ON PAPER ONLY in its entirety exactly as written with the following wording:

Copyright 2007-2021 Caryl Wolff All rights reserved. Print reproduction is granted in entirety. www.DoggieManners.com


I will be happy to send you a PDF file – FREE OF CHARGE – that is formatted and ready for publication in booklet form (including pagination, Table of Contents, and log sheets), so that you can print it out for distribution. Please email me at caryl@DoggieManners.com. I do ask that you link to www.DoggieManners.com or http://doggiemanners.com/art_finding_stolen_dogs.html on any Websites, newsletters, blogs, or email discussion groups.


PLEASE NOTE: This article is all the information I have. I understand that this a difficult time for you if your dog was stolen. I regret that I cannot give you any further information or cannot help find or reunite you with your dog. I welcome emails that say “thank you for your information,” but please don’t email or call me to ask for further assistance because I can’t help you any further.

Thank you for your understanding and cooperation.

I welcome any additions you may offer. Please email suggestions.


Now that the preliminaries are out of the way, we can get to the article itself.


Finding Stolen Dogs – Things to do in Your Search


There are a number of things you can do when looking for your stolen dog. Do as many as you can — the more things you do in your search, the better chance you have of finding your dog.


There are five ways to let people know your dog has been stolen:

  • Make calls

  • Hang flyers and posters

  • Talk to people personally

  • Send emails

  • Contact websites

You keep a sheet for incoming phone calls from your team and one for any calls generated from flyers and ads.


Team members should hand out flyers to everyone they talk to and get permission to post them in business windows or by cash registers.


Call these people. You can begin calling immediately and then follow up by email or faxing them a flyer.

  • All local shelters and vets within 25 miles of where your dog was stolen

  • Animal agencies and rescues

    • Animal shelters

    • Animal control agencies

    • County and city shelters

  • Humane societies

  • Animal microchip, tattoo, and tag registries

  • Breed clubs

  • Breeders

  • Breed rescue groups

  • City newspapers (both to place an ad and the reporters when on assignment may see your dog or want to do a story)

  • Dog trainers

  • Dog walkers

  • Doggie day cares

  • Emergency veterinary clinics

  • Farriers

  • Florists

  • Horse trainers

  • Kennels and boarding facilities

  • Local TV stations (the reporters when on assignment may see your dog or want to do a story)

  • Local radio stations

  • Mobile groomers

  • Mobile vets

  • Neighborhood crime watch groups

  • Pet sitters

  • Pet stores

  • Registered animal dealers and research facilities


PLACES TO HANG FLYERS AND POSTERS TO HELP FIND STOLEN DOGS

For flyers

  • Any bulletin board on any business you can think of

  • Anywhere groups of people frequent that get a lot of foot traffic

For posters Flyers may be visible from a car, but they are not readable. If you want readability, then you must have a large poster with a large photo. If you only put flyers on telephone poles or at intersections, pedestrians will be able to read the information and photo but not car occupants. Place posters on all four corners of an intersection so that drivers of cars of oncoming traffic can read them. Place them eye level to people riding in cars. Here are some specifics.

  • Alleys

  • Bars and taverns

  • Beauty salons

  • Bus stops

  • Churches and synagogues

  • Coffee houses

  • Colleges and universities

  • Community centers

  • Day care centers for children

  • Doors of residences (NOT in mailboxes because it’s illegal unless there is paid postage)

  • Emergency vet hospitals

  • Feed stores

  • Fire departments

  • Gas and service stations, Minimarts

  • Grocery stores

  • Grooming shops

  • Hotels and motels, especially ones that accept pets

  • Internet cafes

  • Laundromats

  • Libraries

  • Mechanics and auto repair shops

  • Near time clocks and/or bulletin boards of local businesses

  • Office buildings

  • Park benches

  • Parks

  • Pet stores

  • Post offices

  • Recreation areas

  • Rest stops

  • Restaurants

  • Schools (Ask permission to give a flyer to each teacher to show to

  • the class.)

  • Shopping malls

  • Tack stores

  • Telephone poles

  • Vehicles windshields in the immediate neighborhood

  • Veterinary offices

  • Walking or jogging paths

  • Windshields of parked cars

Give flyers to these people in and around where your dog was stolen as well as anywhere else you see them. These are people who are travel and are outside frequently or know their neighborhoods well.

  • Anyone you see on the street

  • Bicyclists

  • Business owners in the area

  • Cab drivers

  • Children of friends or neighborhood children

  • City street maintenance workers

  • Construction crews

  • Delivery people – anyone from pizza to UPS

  • Dog walkers

  • Doormen

  • Garbage collectors

  • Gardeners and landscaping crews

  • Gas and oil delivery people

  • Highway maintenance/cleanup crews

  • Home heating fuel delivery man

  • Homeless

  • Joggers

  • Law enforcement

    • Highway patrol

    • Police

    • Sheriffs

    • State troopers

  • Mail carriers

  • Meter readers

  • Mobile catering trucks (that service construction crews)

  • Newspaper delivery people

  • Parents waiting at the school bus stop

  • People at dog adoption events

  • People at street fairs

  • Penny savers

  • Pet sitters

  • Road crews and construction workers

  • School bus drivers

  • School crossing guards

  • Skateboarders

  • Truck drivers

  • Utility workers

OTHER TIPS FOR FLYERS AND POSTERS FOR STOLEN DOGS

  • Distribute flyers as soon as possible.

  • Follow up EVERY phone call with a flyer sent either by fax or email and tell the person you talk to that you are sending one.

  • Tape a large poster on the back and sides of your car, volunteers’ cars, and anyone else who will let you. Use gaffer’s tape so it won’t ruin the paint on the car.

  • Keep flyers in your car and ask everyone you see if they will help you by handing them out.

  • Email your friends with the flyer attachment and ask them to email their friends.

  • Bring flyers to work with you and distribute them. Ask your coworkers for their email addresses and send them flyers so then can email it to their friends.

  • Many of your flyers and posters will be removed. Go back as often as feasible and put them up again.

  • If another language is spoken in the area where your dog was stolen, make flyers and posters in that language.

WEBSITES TO POST INFORMATION FOR STOLEN DOGS

These sites offer listings for lost/stolen/found pets. Do not join any email groups that do not require moderator approval. As I was updating this list, I discovered that many of the ones that were previously listed had become commercial sites. Some were hacked. Some came up on my anti-virus notification. These sites change all the time and seemed like legitimate sites when I checked them out. Be careful!

The following sites are for grief, loss, and support. I was not able to find anything specifically for stolen dogs.


Because this article is so long, it’s broken up into sections. Just a reminder, if you email me at caryl@DoggieManners.com I will send you the entire booklet in PDF.



Thanks for visiting Finding Stolen Dogs - Things to do in your Search. I make a small commission on any products or books I recommend.


Disclaimer: This article is for information only. It does not replace a consultation with a dog trainer, dog behavior consultant, or veterinarian and may not be used to diagnose or treat any conditions in your dog.


If you need help with puppy or dog training, we do both private in-person and virtual lessons via Zoom. Please contact us by calling or texting (310) 804-2392 or sending an email to caryl@DoggieManners.com . We look forward to working with you.

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