Derby, CO Lost Female Dog, Nova Is Missing

Facebook Community Response

Rhonda B.

2 months ago

I'm so sorry about your missing fur baby! I've gone through this and was able to recover my little 10 lb puppy mill survivor after 6 days in zero degree temps, high winds, and freezing rain while visiting family out of state. I bred and showed dogs, and trained obedience for 30 years, but learned so much working with a lost dog rescue group, and my fur baby was finally live trapped. Since then, I've been trying to pay it forward by helping others recover their lost pets. Firstly, please don't respond to anyone posting about pet trackers that you contact on instagram. They are scammers! Please don't panic, and stay positive. Dogs are very resilient and resourceful, and most lost dogs do survive. I'd like to share some information to help you: Put some of your dog's toys and bed, and some dirty laundry in the area where your dog was last seen, so your dog may be able to smell their way back and to keep him/her in the area. In order to get sightings, it is absolutely imperative to get LARGE neon posters up immediately. Don't put your dog's name on them, and tell people not to chase or call your dog. Even friendly dogs can become almost feral and very skittish when they're lost, and having your dog's name on flyers and posters encourages people to call them. When they have strange people calling and chasing them, they go into a flight and survival mode and can run into dangerous situations, and run even farther from home. They may even run from you. This happened with my dog and it broke my heart. Put posters up in a 2-3 mile radius at every major intersection and exits from big shopping centers from where the dog was last seen. Check local ordinances about putting posters up on utility poles. Some don't allow them and may take them down without notifying you. You can purchase a dozen wooden 4 ft engineer stakes from a hardware store for about $25 and attach the posters to them. Cover them in heavy cellophane or clear trash bags to protect them from the elements. Most lost dogs circle the area in which they were lost and are found within a 2-3 mi radius, but some can travel much farther, or be picked up and dumped elsewhere. Also, get flyers made and hand them out to everyone you see, including mail carriers and delivery drivers, and put them on car windshields in parking lots. You can make small hand-outs, four to a page. Many people don't know how to go online to look for lost dogs. I received about 100 calls from people who spotted my dog, responding just to posters and flyers ... far more than from online posts, but also post on other social media lost and found pet pages and your neighborhood social media site (Google these; some of these pages don't want them mentioned). Also, if someone has taken your fur baby in to keep or sell, others who know them will likely assume they obtained your dog legally unless they see the flyers and signs. Be sure to check craigslist and Facebook rehoming pages for ads, too. Contact animal control, all the vets in your area, and all shelters. Do searches starting with gender only, because dog breeds are often incorrect. If you get sightings, set up additional scent stations surrounding the area in a wagon wheel formation to help draw your dog back to a safe area with a water source. If your dog has traveled outside of the original area where you have signs, move them to the new area and hand out more flyers. If you see your dog, don't call him/her, but sit or even lie down on the ground with some dog treats and make yummy noises like you are eating and throw some treats around you. Don't make eye contact. Be patient and wait. If your dog watches you, that is a good sign. If you have another dog and they are bonded, take the other dog with you. Your dog may finally recognize you and your other dog, and come to you. Even then, be patient and stay down on the ground. Don't get up or lunge at your dog. Please review this video to learn how to do this: https://youtu.be/cmiZzB643is If your dog is being evasive, you may need to set a live trap. You need to have reliable sightings and know the area where your dog is before this can be done, and receive permission from property owners. It is best that you get the help of a Lost Pet Rescue for this. Please let me know if you end up needing help with any of this. Please don't give up! 75% of lost pets are found, and the reason most of the others are not is because the families just stop looking. I hope this helps to get your fur baby home safe and sound. My heart goes out to you.❤

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