An effective and high quality report of a lost animal increases its chance of the employees of APARC of returning your lost pet.  When making your lost report please follow these guidelines. 

1. A good high quality photograph of your animal is extremely important.  Compare the two pictures below. 

The first picture is blurry and has had a "filter" applied that distorts the actual colours of the cat's eyes and coat.  It doesn't include the body or any unique features.
The second picture is in focus, and displays the unique features of the cat.   There is no filter applied, and is true to the actual colours of the eyes and coat.   The first picture would help if there weren't any others available,  but the second picture is much more useful for correctly identifying your pet. 

 

     2.  Know how to accurately describe your pet.    If you cannot provide a picture right away, a good description is important to provide as soon as possible.  Include things like colour of coat, eyes, length of coat, weight, any special features and markings.  There have been many instances of a pet owner describing their cat as a "silver tabby" and the animal was, in fact, a black-brown tabby.  We have also had dog owners describe their dog as "all red" when the dog was black with brindle.  Although these descriptions made sense to the owners of these pets, these descriptions were very different from each other when we attempted to identify their pet.  If you are unsure if the description you use actually matches your pet, you can call your veterinarian, groomer, or anyone that works with animals that knows your pet.  They will generally know the proper terminology that will help us identify your pet and be able to return it to you easier.  You can also perform a google image search of the description, just to see if other similar looking animals appear in the results.   

     3.  Know your pet's history.  Has your pet been spayed/neutered?  Does it have an active license tag?  Has it been microchipped, and the information for the microchip is up-to-date?  Any special features, like chipped teeth, missing toes, or tattoos?  This information is all vital and should be passed along when making a lost animal report. 

     4.  Describe the event of losing the animal.  Where/when was the animal lost? What kind of collar were they wearing?  Do they have a history of running away, and if so where do they usually go? 
 

A good description of an animal may read "LOST- Short haired Brown Black Tabby with patch of white on chest and toes, golden-yellow eyes, 15 lbs, missing front canine tooth.  Male, neutered.  Microchipped, with up-to-date information.   Wearing red collar with white crossbones, no tags.  Lost in Crescent Heights this morning, 10AM."   

By providing APARC with the proper information regarding your pet, we will be able to help much better.  Please call us to give a lost animal report at 403-487-5671, and email us a picture of your animal at [email protected] or post it on our Facebook page.