Zoey

I was lost on 04/16/2014 near Balboa Park 92110 but was reunited with my owner on 04/19/2014!

Rule number 1: Get a harness that your dog can’t slip out of! A friend took Zoey to Balboa dog park without me and was coming out of the dog park and 10 yards from the car when Zoey saw a bunny and pulled out of her collar and took off. She was too fast to catch and within minutes was out of sight. A dog with not tags is harder to get back home. I posted and handed out 250 fliers with my dog's picture and my phone number all over the area she was lost and walked the area for 3-5 hours a day everyday until I found her. Dogs travel fast so if you lose your dog they first thing you should is get fliers up before they travel too far. Then you post on this site, petfinder, craigslist, etc. I waited until day 2 to start posting fliers. I probably would have got her back faster if I posted fliers straight away. Zoey was lost in an area with a large homeless population so I talked to them everyday and they helped a lot since they were in the area 24/7, I also talked to people who lived and worked nearby or regularly spent time in Balboa park. I gave fliers to all the fed ex drivers, USPS drivers, postal annex stores, nearby construction sites, gas stations, posted in nearby store windows if they allowed, next to all outdoor ATMs, on new stands, and the benches at the bus stops. I asked nearby restaurants to post a flyer in the break room and I posted fliers in the mail rooms of apartment buildings. I spotted a teacher overseeing elementary students playing at recess in Balboa park and she directed to go to the schools office and talk to them about Zoey after she gathered close to 50 students to show them the picture of Zoey. The school office woman was nice enough to send an email copy of my flyer to the entire faculty to keep an eye out for my dog and have teachers tell their students and she posted a flyer in the office were everyone would see it. I gave local police, Balboa Parks and Rec., and all government agencies I ran into fliers and information about Zoey. I also posted fliers at all nearby dog groomers, pet stores and vets. I did my best to recruit an army. By actually getting out there and talking to people about your missing pet, I found people were much more sympathetic and more likely to look for your pet and call you if they actually meet you, especially when they see you out looking everyday. I received over 25 texts from random people checking to see if I had found Zoey! So talk to as many people as you can! Zoey was missing Wed- Sat. By Friday, when I was searching and posting fliers was I actually in tears and had an entire outside yoga class get up and hug me and I also got hugs and offered water bottles from other random strangers who were eager to help me look upon seeing how hot I was from hiking all over Balboa park and getting increasingly upset. The experience totally restored my faith in humanity. People are so much more compassionate when they actually meet you. However, fliers and daily craigslist postings are not how I got Zoey back. GET YOUR DOG MICROCHIPPED!! Thats how I got her back! I checked the animal shelters daily, and gave them a flier, as well as reported Zoey’s microchip missing. Zoey ended up 4 miles away from where she was lost, a 14 minute drive according to map quest. The sweetest lady took my dog in and after a few days of walking her around her neighborhood searching for Zoey’s owner, she finally called animal control, who came to her house and checked Zoey’s microchip which immediately notified the animal control officer the Zoey had been reported missing and had all my contact information. The woman was so nice and instead of sending Zoey away with animal control which would have been very traumatic, she kept her at her house and I picked Zoey up from the wonderful soul who took care of her. Good luck to anyone missing your dog. I hope this advice helps!