JONESBORO — The moments after realizing a beloved pet is missing can be frantic. Getting the word out quickly can help.
In Jonesboro one man helps do just that by posting descriptions and photos of lost and found pets on the Internet and distributing them to local veterinarians’ offices.
Fred Thiel, a volunteer with the Northeast Arkansas Humane Society, goes to the shelter every Friday to pick up the latest list of lost animals. Then he goes to work uploading the information to the group’s website.
Next he e-mails or faxes the details to several area veterinarians, where the staff members check the information if they get word about a found animal.
Most listings include the animal’s physical description and the date and location of its last sighting. These details are taken from the reports people make at the Humane Society or call in by phone.
Some people e-mail their reports and include the missing pet’s photo, which is also posted to the website. The site also includes a list of animals that people have found and are keeping until the owner makes contact.
Thiel said he doesn’t know how many pets are found using this free service, but he gets requests to post lost-pet notices from all over the region and even other states.
“Sometimes pets will travelquite a distance,” he said. “If they send it in, we will post it.”
Local veterinarians say having the updated list every week has helped reunite some pets with their owners.
“It provides us at least a working list of the dogs that are out there so that if a dog comes our way, then we’re able to reference that list to try to place them,” Dr. John Huff of Animal Medical Center said.
Usually the first places veterinary offices call when getting in a stray are the local animal shelters to see if they have reports. They also run a scanner to see if the animal has a microchip, a small device that can be injected above the shoulder blades and which contains a unique number. If a chip is found, the veterinarian can call the microchip registry to obtain the pet owner’s information.
Dr. Archie Ryan of Southwest Drive Animal Clinic said having the list on hand prompts his staff to keep an eye out for those lost animals.
But pet owners should take certain steps to ensure the safe return of their animals, he said. One of those is making sure their dogs have a current rabies vaccination and keep rabies tags on the collar because the information on the tag can connect the owner to the veterinarian.
“That’s probably the No. 1 way dogs are returned,” he said.
Another top precaution is the microchip, Ryan said.
Northwest Arkansas, Pages 8 on 02/22/2011