Little Dog Lost

Today, Spryte and Brego went out to help get the newspaper, but Spryte never came back.  That was at about 9 am.  It is now past 11 pm and she still isn't home.  We have driven around to all of the areas where she was last seen, but none of our efforts have paid off.

So what should you do when your dog becomes lost?

The first item on my list is to alert the police, animal shelter, and emergency vet.  The police get calls all the time about loose animals.  I make sure I give a good description of my dog (most of my dogs have been out at one point or another), and I emphasize the fact that they have a microchip.

After calling those three places, it's time to put the microchip to use and alert HomeAgain.  They can put out a notice that a dog in the area is lost, so that people in the surrounding neighborhoods can be on the look out.

Lastly, I make "Lost" signs with a brief description (coat color and breed), and my phone number.  Unfortunately, the weather has been really crappy these past few days, and more storms and rain are in the forecast.  Usually here in Austin, it is hot and dry, so the signs posed a problem:  how to make them waterproof quickly and cheaply.

My solution:  An 8.5"x11" piece of paper fits almost perfectly in a  gallon size Hefty OneZip.  For further waterproofing, I inserted the paper upside down so that the zipper was at the bottom of the sign.

UPDATE:  Spryte is home!  She was found after a day and a half on her own.  Amazingly she crossed two highways without any injury!  She "got stuck" on the wrong side of the road and was too scared to cross back, but luckily some friends spotted her in their neighborhood and called us.

--Olivia