Tips to keep our furry friends at home

Sometimes our furry friends tend to have wandering legs and unfortunately, end up not knowing their back home. Sandton resident and animal networker Lauren Nightingale have some handy tips to follow when you have lost a dog or cat or have found one around your block.

Nightingale strongly encouraged pet owners to microchip their pets, “If your pet is microchipped, chances of it being returning home are higher.

“So the first thing to do when you find a stray pet is to take it to the nearest vet or SPCA so that they can scan the microchip number.”

The Bryanston Veterinary Hospital welcomes stray pets and keeps them for a period of two to three days before sending them to the Sandton or Randburg SPCA, depending on the area the pet was found in.

Nightingale has provided the following tips for what to do when you are looking for a lost pet.

• Check with your neighbours. Sometimes people keep stray pets locked up, hoping to protect them – so, knock door-to-door. Check in a 10-block radius in both directions from your house.
• Make flyers and posters. Drop off flyers at all the vets around your area – you can go as far as 20km from your neighbourhood. Put up flyers or posters in local notice boards such as supermarkets as well as the entrance to security gates.
• Physically go to as many SPCAs as you can – do not just call at first. You need to physically go so that you can fill out a missing pet form and check the catteries or kennels for yourself. Also, leave flyers at the front desk.
• Create social media posts to the network. When you create ‘missing’ posts always include the following crucial information: Date gone missing, gender, sterilisation status, microchip status and contact information.

Nightingale highlighted the importance of having photographs of your pet, “People must at least have five photographs of their pets available – front, behind, top line, left and right side.”

Related articles:

https://staging.citizen.co.za/sandton-chronicle/197607/watch-keep-pets-safe-love-pet-day/

https://staging.citizen.co.za/sandton-chronicle/174212/keep-your-pets-safe-during-flash-floods/