Make sure that the animal hospital or shelter that tattoed your pet has your current address and phone number so they can contact you immediately if someone has found your pet. If someone finds a pet that has a tattoo, they should call any animal hospital or shelter with the tattoo number. The hospital that tattooed the animal will then be contacted and if your information is up to date, you will then be contacted with the location of your pet.

It is equally important to make sure that your current information is up to date with the microchip company that supplied the microchip that was implanted in your pet.

Searching on foot around your property and neighbourhood, checking in locations that might have been open but may now be closed, such as sheds and garages of your own and of nearby homes is a good start.

*Please ask your neighbours to check their basements as well. We now know of 3 separate, local cases of cats and dogs becoming accidentally locked in the basements of nearby homes through openings (doors and windows) that later become closed! Sadly one of the cats died, another cat managed to survive 9 days without food or water and the dog was thankfully rescued 3 days later*

Bring a flashlight with you. You may be able to pick up the glare in your pets eyes when the light is shining towards them.
Make sure your neighbours are on the look-out for your pet as well.

Calling all of the local veterinary hospitals and animal shelters is an important step. People sometimes report a pet they have found to local vets, especially if that pet is in need of medical attention. If your dog has gone missing, the dog catcher should also be contacted so he is informed that your pet is missing.

If you have lost your dog, it is VERY important to contact both of the dog catchers in Gibsons and in Sechelt (they each have a different dog catcher with a different phone number) in case your dog has traveled to either community.

Gibsons Dog Control Officer: 604-886-2274 
Sechelt Dog Control: 604-885-1986.
S.C.R.D. Dog Control Officer (West Howe Sound, Elphinstone, Roberts Creek and Halfmoon Bay): 604-885-6817
You should also phone the Cedar Creek Kennels: 604-886-8568 too. The Regional District and Town of Gibsons take their impounded dogs to this kennel for their holding period. The District of Sechelt takes their dogs to the SPCA for their holding period. So calling the SPCA is also very important. And,if someone finds your dog, they will likely take him or her to the SPCA or they will at least call the SPCA to let them know about the dog they have found. The number for the SPCA is 740-0301.

Gibsons Dog Control Officer: 604-886-2274
Sechelt Dog Control Officer: 604-885-1986
S.C.R.D. Dog Control Officer: 604-885-6817
Cedar Creek Kennels: 604 886 8568
SPCA: 604-740-0301

Sechelt Animal Hospital :604-885-2309
www.secheltanimalhospital.com
Eagle Ridge Veterinary Hospital:604-885-5158
www.sunshinecoastvet.com
Gibsons Animal Hospital : 604-886-7313
The Landing Veterinary Clinic:604-886-8511
Sunshine Coast Pet Hospital : 604-740-8208
Madeira Park Veterinary Hospital : 604-883-2488
(email) mpvh@dccnet.com

S.P.C.A. :604-740-0301
http://sunshinecoastspca.blogspot.com/
Happy Cat Haven:604-886-2407
www.happycathaven.org

Posting signs with contact information and a photo of the missing or found pet in and around the vicinity that the pet has gone missing from or been found in is a good way of making it known that a pet needs help. Covering the posters on both sides with clear packing tape will weatherproof them and make them last for months.  Public mail boxes and telephone poles along streets are good locations for signs. Posting signs in public places that will get attention such as grocery stores, pet stores and vet clinics is also a good idea.

Another very effective way to inform the public of a missing or found pet is to advertise in your local newspapers under the lost and found section.

LOCAL NEWSPAPERS:

The Reporter:604-885-4811
(website) www.coastreporter.net
(email) classified@coastreporter.net

The Local:604-885-3134
(email) thelocal@dccnet.com

It is important to note that the Reporter and the Local will post 'found' ads for free. However, there is a charge for posting an ad for a 'lost' pet. Posting an ad in local newspapers is an important step in trying to locate a lost pet or the family of a found pet.  However, many people do not have the resources to continue posting an ad indefinitely and very often the ad is pulled after only a few publications and the crucial information needed to help lost or found pets find their way home is then no longer available. Who knows how many opportunities have been lost due to this time sensitive situation. If someone comes across a lost pet but has no way of finding out who it belongs to without an ad to consult, the chances of that pet getting back home will be reduced. This site will hopefully bridge that gap.

There are miraculous stories out there of animals who have survived after getting lost for months, sometimes for years who have survived on their own or with the help of strangers until one day they somehow make their way back to their families. Check out the Reunion page to read stories of local, Sunshine Coast pets who have made it back home safely, some of them after 6 months and one after 3 years! It shows us that pets can sometimes persevere the test of time.
A constant source of contact information that is free and easily accessible could be the link that is needed to bring them home. We hope that this site will help you in your search.