**POST HUGE, BRIGHTLY-COLORED POSTERS USING LARGE PRINT within as much as a 1- mile radius of your residence as soon as possible. Make sure they are easy for drivers passing by. It is not necessary to post a photo, but rather make sure the sign clearly reads: LOST DOG (or cat). A wordy description of the animal is not necessary, just big print and a phone number, and (possibly) where they were last seen. Don’t clutter the sign with too much information.

Paper the neighborhood and all local businesses with brightly-colored flyers. TELL EVERYONE THAT your pet is missing!

Search the local area when it is quiet, generally late in the evening when cars and other people aren’t such a deterrent. Animals often will not come out if they feel too exposed to sounds and things they are not used to.

Put personal items with a strong scent outside your home to attract your pet. Recently worn clothes work well.

Call local veterinarians and emergency clinics and ask if an unidentified animal has been brought in. Call them more than once during your search, and/or give them your contact information when you call them.

Visit local animal shelters and Animal Control centers. Make sure they know you are looking for someone and that they can contact you if they appear at the shelter.

Ask an animal communicator for help. If an animal wants to come home again, they will do everything they can to transmit information about the path they traveled and where they think they are now. Many communicators have a high rate of success for finding lost animals. This is the one of the best ways to make contact with an animal that doesn’t know where he/she is and help them find their way back.