The following are ideas that may help you if your Whippet is ever lost. They have been used to help find two Whippets lost in the Atlanta area. One of these previously lost Whippets went on to win the National Top 20 this year. So don't think it couldn't happen to you!
1.Don't panic. Determine exactly when and where the dog was last seen.
2. Immediately enlist the help of others to start looking. This is not the time to be proud and self-reliant!
3. Call Animal Control for your city AND county. (In some cases they both have the same function). Say you've lost a Whippet, and explain that it looks just like a little greyhound.
4. Call your local Humane Society, and any other non-government or no-kill shelters in your area. These are not the same organizations as Animal Control.
5. Go out and look yourself. Take a photo of your lost Whippet or another of your Whippets with you.
a) Talk to anyone you see, show the photo or the "sample" dog.
b) Mention any identifying marks, collar and tag information.
c) Give your name and telephone number out.
d) Offer a reward to be paid by check after delivery of the right dog, alive, but don't mention the amount.
6. Check your answering machine often.
7. Call ALL Animal Control and Humane Societies in adjacent counties and municipalities. Call all animal emergency clinics in the area.
8. Put a Lost Dog ad in the newspaper.
9. Contact your local Whippet breed rescue groups AND local Greyhound rescue groups. If there is a purebred rescue group in your area, contact them as well. Remember, as a recent list topic stated, that our Whippets are mistaken for a WIDE variety of other breeds! (Great Dane, IG, Saluki, Airedale, etc)
10. Make signs and flyers describing your dog with the date it was last seen. Have your name, and phone number(s) and as good a full body view picture as you can get. Put the signs up at all major intersections, thoroughfares, and neighborhood entrances. Hand out flyers in your neighborhood or area where the dog was last seen. Additionally post them at: pet stores, veterinary clinics, pet grooming salons, schools, fire and police stations, grocery stores, gas stations, delivery and courier services (pizza, flower shops, et al).
11. **Important! Take the flyers or photos to the Animal Shelters and Humane Societies. Most shelter workers don't have a clue what a Whippet looks like. Go to your local shelters and look yourself. You are better qualified to identify your dog under the worst conditions than anyone else.
12. Solicit help from kids, Scouts, joggers, hunters, garbage and utility services (they are out driving the neighborhoods), and anyone else outside with their eyes open.
13. City and county sanitation departments may have a dead animal pickup team which can be contacted. Not a pleasant option, but they are another information source.
14. In some cases local police or sheriff department can help. Hand out your flyers to those on foot patrol and in cruisers. They often cover a wide area repeatedly. If they see your dog they can then call you.
15. Ask your friends to physically go and check their local shelters and post more flyers.
15. Pray. (St. Francis is the patron saint of animals, and St. Anthony is the patron saint of things lost.)
Some important notes:
**Be wary of phone calls from someone who says they have your dog and want to meet you after dark, in a remote location, or at a late hour. YOU pick the time and place to meet, and ALWAYS take someone with you, the larger and more intimidating the better. When in doubt, meet at a police or fire station parking lot. Pay rewards by check, and only after you have the dog in your hands. Call the police if your dog is being held for ransom.
**Your whippet is far more important than it's neck hair. Always keep a collar with ID tags on your whippet.
**Keep checking ALL area animal shelters DAILY until the dog is found.
**Be considerate when your dog is found; call back the shelters, and other searchers and tell them. Also, remove any signage and flyers. This prevents future unwanted phone calls.
**Have a clear, current photo of your Whippet(s) available at hand. (Some people have theirs taped to the refrigerator with an emergency contact list.)
**There is no substitute for permanent identification. Tattoo or microchip your Whippet.
Over and over again owners say their lost Whippets were found a LONG way away from their last sighting point. So this is very important - CHECK SOURCES THAT ARE FURTHER AWAY than you think your Whippet could have gone, and KEEP CHECKING. In Georgia their are literally dozens of counties, and each has animal shelters, emergency clinics and Humane Society's. Because it is such a large metropolitan area, it also has a large number of breed clubs, and breed rescue groups. Use this to your advantage!
As part of my Public Education and Awareness package, I have a list of 17 local animal shelters, 73 local dog breed clubs and organizations including the purebred rescue contacts, and 7 local animal emergency clinics. This list has proved to be an invaluable resource. I would highly recommend compiling a list like this for your area "just in case".
I hope you never lose your whippet, but if you do I hope the above helps to find it again. Many thanks to Doug and Chelle Vinson of Afghan Rescue of Atlanta for their help with this list.
PLEASE FEEL FREE TO COPY AND DISTRIBUTE THIS LIST.
printed & linked to with permission of:
Katherine Shearer
Metro Atlanta Whippet Association
Public Education & Awareness
Fairwind Whippets