Lost dog or cat: what to do in the first 24 hours
By the Tagwyse team · Last reviewed
Search close to home first: most lost pets are hiding nearby. Tell the neighbours, security guards, shopkeepers and three-wheeler drivers on your road, post a clear photo in your area’s Facebook groups, and call nearby vets. Leave water and something that smells of home outside your gate.
Search near home, slowly
A frightened dog or cat usually hides rather than runs far. Check under parked cars, in drains, behind water tanks, on roofs and walls, and in the gardens either side of yours. Go out again early in the morning and at dusk, when it’s quieter and pets come out. Call their name calmly and shake a food packet they know.
Tell the people who are always on your road
The people most likely to see your pet are the ones who spend all day outside: security guards at nearby houses and apartments, shopkeepers, the three-wheeler stand, the garbage collection crew and the fish and vegetable vans. Show them a photo on your phone and leave your number with someone you trust.
Post in local groups
Most areas have a community Facebook or WhatsApp group, and there are lost-and-found pet groups for Sri Lanka. Post one clear photo, your area and nearest landmark, when they went missing, the collar colour, and how to contact you. Leave out anything a scammer could use, and never send money to someone who says they have your pet before you’ve seen them.
Call vets and animal welfare groups
Neighbours often take an injured animal to the nearest vet. Call the clinics within a few kilometres, and local animal welfare groups, and give them your number and a photo.
Fireworks and festivals
Many pets in Sri Lanka go missing during firecrackers at Avurudu in April, at New Year, and around weddings, festivals and perahera nights. Keep them indoors with the doors shut on those nights, and make sure they’re wearing their tag.
When they’re home
Put a tag on the collar that lets a finder reach you straight away. A pet QR tag lets whoever finds your pet send you a photo and an “I found your pet” alert from their own phone, without your address or number on the collar.
Questions people ask
- Is a QR tag a GPS tracker?
- No. It can’t show where your pet is. It gives the person who finds them a way to reach you, and they can send a photo of where they are.
- Should I put my address on the collar?
- It’s safer not to. A QR tag lets the finder reach you, and you arrange where to meet in the chat.