Searching For Lost And Missing Animals

By Sandy Zoumbaris

There is nothing worse than the terrifying feeling that grips you when you realize a precious animal family member is missing or lost. Twice I have lived through the panic, the fear, the stress and the search process. The intense emotions make it impossible to think clearly about what to do. Thankfully, in both cases I was able to find my missing animals. I am uncomfortable sharing about actual lost and missing animal cases I have been involved with, but I want to share in this blog about my own experiences searching and how I found my own lost animals. Using examples from my searches, I will describe some of the measures that helped me find my lost dog and my lost cat.

If you are searching for a lost or missing animal, I recommend utilizing every single method available to you. I was successful finding my own missing animals using a mixture of methods. Every animal and every search is unique, but there are excellent resources available that explain WHAT TO DO and, also, WHAT NOT TO DO.

After you conduct a thorough search of the immediate area where the animal was last seen, the two links below contain information that can help you START ACTING AS QUICKLY AS POSSIBLE.

HOW TO FIND A LOST DOG
This short video from the Front Street Animal Shelter in Sacramento, CA clearly describes the steps to take if your dog is missing.
https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=8cKxfWUXBnY

FINDING A LOST CAT
This website provides a Lost Cat Kit as well as a video, UNDERSTANDING LOST CAT PSYCHOLOGY, and other useful information to help you find a missing feline.
https://www.lostcatfinder.com/lost-cat-resources

Animal Communication can be a very valuable resource in the search for a lost animal. By connecting telepathically with the lost animal, a communicator may be able to verify if the animal is safe and whether they have been rescued by someone. Information gained from the lost pet can even help pinpoint their location. I am currently not accepting lost animal consultations. However, you can follow this link to a list of interspecies communicators certified by Nancy Windheart that includes individuals who are available for lost and missing cases.

https://nancywindheart.com/professional-certified-animal-communication-practitioners

I also recommend you employ all of the following measures that are available to you.

• Utilize local online listings like NEXTDOOR, CRAIG’S LIST, and local FACEBOOK pages for Lost and Found Pets
• Communicate frequently with local shelters
• Distribute POSTERS and FLYERS throughout the area
• Investigate NATIONAL LISTINGS for missing animals
• Contact a Lost Animal Search Professional

You can find additional resources and links on my Lost and Missing Animal Resource Page. https://interspeciesweavings.com/about-resources

(*Please note that inclusion of a resource in this blog and on my Resource Page is not an endorsement.)

I want to emphasize the importance of CHECKING LOCAL SHELTERS not just once, but every couple days. I have personally found lost dogs along the road on three separate occasions in my life. Each time I immediately notified the area shelters. In all of these cases, the dogs were reunited with their families because the owners also got in touch with the shelters. That’s three out of three happy endings!

JESSIE’S STORY

FLYERS AND POSTERS were the key to finding my dog, Jessie. Terrified of thunderstorms, Jessie escaped one day while I was at work. An immediate door–to-door search of the surrounding area yielded a sighting and a possible direction she might be running. First, of course, I notified the shelters. Then, since I lived in a very rural area where internet was not yet established, I focused on hanging posters and flyers. The posters and flyers were placed at stop signs, larger intersections, the post office, gas stations, convenience stores and anywhere else it was possible to post them. Unfortunately, at this point in my life I had never even heard of animal communication so I was not able to take advantage of this service.

On the third day of searching, there was a phone call! Jessie was alive and still traveling in the suspected direction. As the search progressed, the flyers provided a means of tracking her progress. Every call helped confirm the direction of her movement. More posters and flyers were then distributed outward from the area of the most recent sighting.

The search continued by vehicle, on foot and by flyer for 10 days. Unfortunately, we experienced thunderstorms every single day, keeping Jessie frightened and running. I listened to an intuitive feeling to turn down a particular dead-end road. I posted the last flyer in my possession at a group of mailboxes and returned home to make more flyers. That evening I received a call from the last home at the very end of that dead-end road. That was the property where she was finally recovered.

Jessie’s story reveals some of the frustrating aspects of searching for a lost dog. It is typically suggested that you approach a lost animal slowly and quietly and use food to attract them to you. This is because if they are frightened and in survival mode they may not even recognize you! I took Jessie’s own food bowl and food with me to the property where she was sighted. I was hoping she would recognize the sound of food being poured into her own bowl. From a distance, she watched me pour the food but then she retreated into the woods. As a backup plan, I brought my other two dogs along. I thought she might recognize the dogs even if she did not recognize me. This plan also failed and it began to thunder and rain again. Terrified of the storm, Jessie ran farther into the darkness and the trees. I finally returned home, planning to try again the next morning.

On a return trip to the same property at 6 am the following day, Jessie was discovered sleeping in a ditch near the road! The car door facing her was quietly opened. When she heard her name called very softly, she woke up and immediately recognized the car!!! Jessie calmly walked to the vehicle and climbed in for the ride home!

HOW I FOUND ERNIE

Finding a missing feline can require different methods than looking for a dog. My own experience looking for my missing cat, Ernie, certainly supports the common belief that a cat may be more likely to be found closer to home than a dog. Ernie’s story also reveals the kind of challenges animal communicators can face.

It was winter and the temperatures at night were below freezing when my elderly farm cat, Ernie, failed to come home for dinner. I had completed a beginning workshop in Animal Communication, so I decided to try to connect to him. I successfully communicated telepathically with Ernie and he showed me a visual image of the inside of a rundown old shed or out-building. He indicated he was injured and could not get out.

The following morning, holding this very clear visual image in mind, I began searching on foot investigating every old, dilapidated structure I saw on the surrounding rural properties. I connected with Ernie telepathically multiple times and always got the same visual image, even when I asked if he could show me a picture of something else close by. On the third day, I received a strong intuitive feeling that he just had to be closer to home. I started over and searched outward from my home again. Thankfully, this time I found him!

Ernie was hiding in a tiny, dilapidated shed that I already investigated on the very first day of my explorations! In my initial visit to this shed, I called for him and got no reply. I even looked inside the structure but just did not see him hiding there. The outcome was different on my second visit. I immediately heard him meow when I called his name. He was alive but his injury prevented him from jumping back out through the broken window. I asked Ernie why he did not answer me the first time. He explained that he jumped through the window to escape a tough feral cat that was chasing him. Ernie was afraid the feral cat was still around the shed. As you can see, although I was immediately able to connect with Ernie telepathically it proved very difficult to actually find him physically.

My heart goes out to anyone who suddenly finds they are in a missing animal situation. I hope my stories help you prepare for the ups and downs and the frustrations of the search process. I am sharing my stories of successful recovery of my own missing animals in the hope that they will inspire anyone who is faced with this challenge. Here are a couple of my own suggestions too:

• Every situation and animal is unique. Therefore, it is important to remain flexible and change your strategy if you find you need to.
• Follow your own intuition. You are the one connected to the animal and this connection can be a source of intuitive guidance.
• Be PERSISTENT. Keep trying. Get the support you need to help you keep going!
  
  Here is the link to my Lost and Missing Animal Resource Page for more helpful information. https://interspeciesweavings.com/about-resources