How to get your dog, cat and co. back home quicklyAnimal missing or found: What to do?
Has your outdoor cat not returned? Has your dog run away? Has the rabbit escaped from its enclosure in the garden? One in two people have experienced this and lost a pet. Here's what you should do if your pet goes missing or you have found a pet.
Preparing for an emergency
Have your dog, cat or even your small pets microchipped. Then simply register your pet online and free of charge with FINDEFIX, the pet register of the German Animal Welfare Federation. This will enable us to identify the animal as quickly as possible if it goes missing and a finder, public authority, vet or animal shelter contacts us.
Checklist: Missing animal
Inform the FINDEFIXteam, the pet register of the German Animal Welfare Association, as soon as possible - either via the online form or via the 24-hour service telephone: +49 (0) 228 6049635. You can also do this if your animal is registered with another register.
Ask in the neighborhood if anyone has seen your animal and inform residents in the area. Sometimes animals get lost in the neighborhood or are accidentally locked in basements, garages or garden sheds.
Inform the local animal welfare association, animal shelters within a radius of up to 50 kilometers, the police and the local lost and found office. These are often the first places finders turn to.
Put up wanted posters around your home or the place where your pet has run away. However, first check with the city or municipality whether it is permitted to attach them to lampposts or whether you need a permit. FINDEFIXautomatically creates a poster for you when you report your pet missing online. You can distribute the missing animal report on the Internet and print it out. You can also ask animal shelters, vets or small stores whether they are allowed to display it.
Your pet may have been hit by a car. Therefore, call the nearest building yards and road maintenance depots. Their employees often find animals that have had accidents and keep them for a short time before "disposing" of them. Ask whether they may have recovered your animal.
Report the missing animal to your liability insurance company. It could cause a traffic accident. Some insurance companies want to be informed about the potential danger.
If your pet returns safe and sound, that's great news. Please inform the FINDEFIX team and all other agencies you have contacted. For the sake of your fellow human beings and the environment, please also take down the posters.
When you should report a cat missing
If your outdoor cat does not return at its usual times, you should search the surrounding area carefully. Don't be afraid to ask your neighbors if anyone has seen the animal. And ask for help. Your cat may have sneaked into a house, cellar, shed or garden shed in the neighborhood. If your animal is locked in there and is not noticed, it could starve and die of thirst. So every hour counts.
Missing animal found: What to do
If you have found a dog, cat or other pet during the day, you should report it directly to the public order office or the police and the nearest animal shelter. You are legally obliged to do so. If you discover a found animal at night, you must call the police. If the animal is injured and you can transport it safely, it is best to take it to a vet and report it to the authorities together with the vet. Otherwise you may have to pay the treatment costs.
Please get in touch with FINDEFIX. Our staff there will check whether the animal has been reported missing. This is the quickest way to find the owner. In an emergency, you can call the FINDEFIX24-hour service telephone on +49 (0) 228 6049635.
