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GUEST: Kat Albrecht-Thiessen is a pioneer in lost pet investigations. She was a police officer, bloodhound handler, crime scene investigator, and search-and-rescue manager before beginning to apply her skills in 1997 to finding lost pets. She is founder of Missing Animal Response Network and author of the book \\u201cPet Tracker.\\u201d

MAIN QUESTION: How can shelters and rescue groups support the public in finding lost pets?

• Don\\u2019t make assumptions about found pets such as that a pet has been abused or dumped, rather than simply lost and on their own for a long time. Such assumptions can get in the way of reconnecting that animal with their people.\\xa0
• Search techniques are different for dogs and cats.
• With cats, the best advice is to get permission from neighbors to do a methodical search of every conceivable hiding place in a two- to five-house radius. (That\\u2019s where most cats are found.)\\xa0
• With indoor-only cats who have escaped, in addition to doing a search, put out a plate of food and set up a wildlife camera. (Then you can set a humane trap).\\xa0
• With dogs, marketing is key: Dogs are often picked up by people so it\\u2019s important to get the word out widely so that the finder can learn that the dog belongs to someone who cares about and misses the pet.\\xa0
• Shelters and rescues can put a link on their website to MissingAnimalResponse.com, where people can find resources on finding missing pets and connect with volunteers who can help them in their search.\\xa0
• And here are a few myths about lost pets:
• It\\u2019s not true that putting a missing cat\\u2019s litterbox on your porch will bring them back.
• Calling out for your cat generally won\\u2019t help and doesn\\u2019t mean your cat is not nearby when they don\\u2019t respond. They are intentionally staying hidden and silent out of fear or injury.\\xa0
• Some shelters will make a situation worse by telling people that a pet was probably eaten by a coyote. Assumptions about coyote predation kills more lost pets than coyotes actually do by inspiring people to give up their search.

LINKS:

• Missing Animal Response Network\\xa0(website)
• "Pet Tracker: The Amazing Story of Rachel the K-9 Pet Detective" (book available in print, electronically and on audio)\\xa0
• Leadership recommendation: "Don\'t Let Internal Controls Slip at Your Nonprofit Organization" by Blue Avocado (article)\\xa0