Info on Making flyers to spread the word about your Lost Pet

• Samples
  • Word Document template to download and edit
• Use high contrast/bold colors (black on white) Valuable Poster Info. Click on the link for add'l info from Missing Pet Partnership on creating a sign
• Use a photo or an image of a cat/dog of the same breed (specify if not actual photo).
• Add feathered phone number tags so people can tear them off and take one with them. Make it as easy as possible for them to get in touch with you.

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• Place at eye level so people can read all the details (and so children walking and riding bicycles can see the information).
• Bring duct tape and a stapler (a staple gun tacker makes it easier to attach flyers to trees). See the http://www.lostapet.org/recovery-posters.php link for how to use duct tape.
• Ask neighbors and friends to help place the flyers.
• About 90 percent of pets are found within a 2-mile radius of the point where they were lost so this should be a main target zone for hanging flyers.
• Post signs at grocery stores, community centers, veterinary offices, traffic intersections, laundromats and other locations.
• Post your pet's general physical description and temperament; the date and location your pet was lost; two or more telephone numbers where people should call if they find your pet.

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• While your flyer should offer a reward for the safe return of your pet, it should not specify the amount of the reward.
• Posting that your animal needs medical attention on the "lost animal" flyer can solicit a more diligent response from neighbors who may encounter your animal. It can also deter somebody who may be inclined to keep your animal.
• You may want to put on your flyer a small notation that you will be picking up the flyers when your pet is found, and DO SO! This helps keep public relations on a positive note for the next person who may want to post a flyer, and may mean that your flyer stays up a bit longer. Keep rechecking where you have posted them and post again if necessary.

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• Remember, some of your flyers will be inside (at vets office, in store bulletin boards, etc.) but some of them will be outdoors. In order to be sure your flyers will remain intact during any weather condition, you may want to invest in having some of your flyers laminated in any local print shop (ex. Fed Ex/ used to be Kinko's).

One of the most effective methods for posting lost pet flyers is the use of obnoxiously florescent, giant poster boards. With this method, the florescent poster board itself is used as a backing for standard flyers and boldly announces the REWARD LOST DOG or REWARD LOST CAT portion of the message. The center of the poster board holds the actual 8 1/2 X 11 flyer that contains specific details. On the 8 1/2 X 11 flyer, giant (90-sized font) letters are used (at top and bottom of the flyer) to announce a brief message - the lost pets breed and color (or identifiable trait). The purpose is to attract the eye and put out a concise message that someone passing by at 50 MPH can read - (i.e. REWARD LOST DOG - WHITE POODLE or REWARD LOST CAT - ORANGE TABBY - STUB TAIL).

We've even posted giant florescent poster boards to return a lost dog to its family by posting a sign that read: FOUND DOG - TINY, TAN, TERRIER at the intersection where we found the terrier. The poster helped return that dog to her family within hours of our finding her wandering in the middle of a road!

These poster boards are sold in most office supply stores, drug stores, and in Walmart for under a dollar. In the example poster shown on Missing Pet Partnership's web site, the message that is conveyed is five simple words - REWARD LOST DOG - DACHSHUND - MINI-RED. The color (florescent orange) and size of the poster (28" X 22") almost always attracts the eye. Anyone who drives or walks by who knows of someone who recently found a Dachshund will (hopefully) pull over and call the phone number listed on the flyer. To see this particular Dachshund sample poster and read further instructions on how to create these poster boards, visit Missing Pet Partnership's http://www.lostapet.org/recovery-posters.php. Bookmark that particular page for future reference!

Putting out a brief, efficient, highly visible message to people passing through an area can be a highly effective method for recovering a lost pet - especially in lost dogs cases where most of the time, someone has found ("rescued") the lost dog and needs to find out who the dog belongs to. In many cases, the rescuer who finds the dog believes the dog is homeless or abandoned and does not realize that someone is looking for the dog.