Lost Pet Prevention
Are your pet's ID tags up to date? July is National Lost Pet Prevention Month & July 1st is ID Your Pet Day. Did you know? More pets go missing over #IndependenceDay compared to the rest of the year. Keep your pets safe and keep a collar with ID tags on at all times. It’s the busiest time of year for animal shelters and sadly many animals don’t get reunited with their owners due to not having a ID tag on their collar or having no collar on at all. Find some helpful information from PetRadar below to help prepare for the busy holiday week and keep your pets safe!
Keep Your Pets Safe During July 4th Festivities!
Check your pet’s ID tags - is the info up to date? Is their collar secured? If your pet happens to get lost or separated from you due to being spooked from July 4th fireworks and celebrations, you have a better chance of being reunited!
What is National Lost Pet Prevention Month?
National Lost Pet Prevention Month in July is dedicated to educating pet parents on how to keep their pets safe. It comes at the height of summer because we're seeing a worldwide trend of missing pets spiking in these warmer months.
In fact, from the 120,000 missing pets that have been reported missing with PetRadar, the following insights have been revealed:
22,664 pets were reported missing in the summer
Whereas 15,051 were reported missing in the winter
That means there's a more than 50% spike in lost pets during the summer
June 2023 was the month with the highest number of missing pets at 8435
February 2023 was the month with the lowest number of missing pets at 4273
How to keep your pet safe in summer
Use a familiar face for pet sitting
Ask a family member or friend: The better your pet knows the sitter, the safer they'll feel. A close friend or family member is also more likely to know exactly how to care for your furry friend!
Keep them at home: Opt for pet sitting rather than boarding houses. Encourage pet sitters to stay at your home rather than send your pet to theirs. Keeping your furry friend in their own territory will help keep them calm and their routines steady.
Go away for shorter periods of time: Vacationing for a couple of days at a time will be much more manageable for your pet than weeks on end.
Keep your pet in a secure area
While you may think it's cruel to keep your pet in one area, it's actually the safest and most responsible thing to do. Having these boundaries can often help your cat or dog feel secure and calm.
Rather than confining your pet to one room, you can use baby gates and barriers to shut off certain areas. This allows them to still roam freely around the house.
However, this is more suited to dogs, as cats are excellent escape artists and will most likely be able to jump over any barrier you put in place.
Keep your pet calm
Keep them company: If your pet is left alone when they are already scared, it's only going to increase their fear. Keeping them company, stroking them, and spending time with them can alleviate some of the anxiety.
Create a safe space: Dedicating a specific room to your pet and filling it with their favorite things, can help them feel secure. Make sure you choose a room with plenty of hiding places!
Make the outdoors safe!
Get them microchipped: A microchip that sits just beneath your pet's skin guarantees that they are always accounted for. This simple procedure means your furry friend will have your contact details on them at all times, meaning if they do go missing, you'll likely be contacted as soon as they are found. It can also prevent your pet from being mistaken for a stray and being put up for adoption or, in some cases, even euthanized.
Train them: A well-trained pet is less likely to go missing. For dogs, recall training can stop them from running away and can help them find their way back to you. For cats, training them to come back home for dinner time can prevent them from wandering too far away.
Make them wear an ID tag: Clear ID tags clearly indicate to the public that your furry friend is a pet. If someone finds them wandering far from home, they can contact you with information. This will increase your chances of getting your pet home as soon as possible.