What Do I Do?

dlambirl

Hi everyone,

My 2 year old Golden Lab, Benson... is my world. He is my wee baby, my dude. He has his own wee routine and his own wee ways. Every morning when I go to work he crosses the field to my mother in laws house where he'll spend the day playing with her two dogs (his mother & sister) and then when I come home, he'll come home and spend the evening watching TV with me on the sofa.

On Sunday, he and one of the bitchs (both not neutered) disappeared. We've put ads on our local radio station, I've rang the pound, I've put up posters in the locals shops but 4 days on and there is nothing... no leads... no sightings... Another dog is missing in the same area (I heard the ad on the radio after mine). I was wondering maybe if someone lifted them?

Benson is microchipped since last year. The vet gave me the documents to register him - on www.fido.ie and I was just wondering is this sufficient? If he was found anywhere would our details come up?

I've also been wondering if someone say stole him and sold him on - the new owners would be none the wiser and I was wondering if there was anything that could be done when say the chip was read by a vet in the future that it could be alerted that the dog is missing from our area (Carrickmacross, Co. Monaghan)

I really don't know what to do. I'm at work here now at the minute with tears running down my face just thinking about him gone. I'm blaming hayfever if anyone asks. Is there anything else I should be doing? I've asked neighbours but no body has seen him or the other dog..

I've tried to add a picture of him onto the Lost Thread but I dont know how to (its stored on the hard drive of my PC, its not a image from the internet).

Thanks for reading.

easyeason3

Jesus, I really hope he turns up safe.
I suppose you could report it to the Guards, that you think he was stolen.
If he was stolen to sell on then if the new owners brought him to a vet & if he was scanned your details will come up.
Maybe get that picture off the computer & distribute it to all the vets in your area & neighbouring counties.
Check with rescue centres & pounds in case he was picked up as a stray & left in.
Keep an eye on done deal & buy and sell in case he pops up.

Other than that I don't know what to say to you but best of luck & I hope it all works out.

Falcon Crest

Oh God love you I hope he comes back to you, that's awful. Put up his photo on all the lost and found sites too. And put flyers all around the area. Best of luck hun.

morganafay

I'd definitely put up posters everywhere with a photo of him. I lost my kitten and someone saw the poster after a few days and called us and we got her back. I really hope he's just wandered off and not stolen.

ISDW

You have to make the pair of them too hot to handle, if you think they've been stolen. Print off posters and put them everywhere. Put the dogs details up on every site in the country, every lost and found site, even put them up on the selling sites, it only costs €3 I think. Contact all the pounds and dog wardens within a 100 mile radius, in fact, if you have the time and energy, contact every pound in the country, its not difficult to move dogs around. I'd also be in touch with pounds in the north as you live not too far away. Microchips are fantastic, but sometimes they move around in the dog's body, so they can be missed at a vet or a pound. Keep checking the pounds websites, most of them put dogs up that have come in. Check out petsireland and irishanimals, most of the rescues that take dogs out of the pounds will put their dogs up on there for rehoming.

Best of luck.

dlambirl

Is having his details registered with FIDO.ie sufficient? Thats what the vet gave me?? Is there anyway I can get the chip to tell the reader that the dog is missing/lost/stolen from me? Cos its not hard for someone to say that they bought the dog and that was the last owner?

I am beside myself. My other half will be back home on Saturday after a long weeks work. He is the other end of the country and he cant do anything. He loved him as much if not more than me. I'd imagine alot of tears will be shed this weekend

How do I put up a photo of Benson up here on Boards??

easyeason3

dlambirl wrote: »

Is having his details registered with FIDO.ie sufficient? Thats what the vet gave me?? Is there anyway I can get the chip to tell the reader that the dog is missing/lost/stolen from me? Cos its not hard for someone to say that they bought the dog and that was the last owner?

I am beside myself. My other half will be back home on Saturday after a long weeks work. He is the other end of the country and he cant do anything. He loved him as much if not more than me. I'd imagine alot of tears will be shed this weekend

How do I put up a photo of Benson up here on Boards??

As far as I know you can't get the chip to alert anyone that the dog is stolen & anyone who would chance saying they bought the dog off the owner is scum in my eyes. This is why you need to contact as many vets as you possibly can & make sure to contact the Guards to report it. Get on to every pound & rescue centre around you & in neighbouring counties. Ring them & ask for an e-mail address, e-mail on the poster & then send a hardcopy in the post also.

Also on any of the posters/ ads you are putting up it might help to say Benson is neutered, even if he's not, in case he was stolen to breed which means he can't produce the goods.

Don't know how to upload pics but someone here will help you.

toadfly

I think if you contact FIDO let them know you think he has been stolen they can change the info on his chip. Or you can do it online, I know I could change Tilly's details online for her chip when she was spayed.

Good luck.

Wisco

Being listed in Fido should definitely help- any vet or pound who checks chip numbers is likely to look at it. You could also contact them and ask them to not allow any details (ie new owners) to be changed without contacting you. I wouldn't worry that the chip won't be found if he's scanned- they don't move that much and most vets/pounds will scan the dog all over anyway if they do'n't find the chip in the usual place.
Do ring the local Garda stations and tell them he's missing/stolen- they do keep a list. And definitely put up pictures everywhere you can- you might also offer a reward as well.
Good luck, it's a horrible situation.

neelyohara

You poor thing - my heart goes out to you.

The advice given above is spot on - if the dogs are stolen you can make it incredibly difficult for the thieves to actually sell them. If he is stolen and they discover he is neutered they may abandon him somewhere quicker than waiting to see if he breeds.

You just need to get out there and widen the search. I'd definitely follow up on the seller sites and I'd personally visit every pound/shelter in my area, the staff will remember you if you call in person rather than an anonymous email.

My sister took in a stray last summer. They brought it to the vet (no chip) and then contacted all the local pounds and shelters. The main pound said they had no record of the dog being missing but took her details. When we eventually found the owner (via posters) she said she had contact the same pound and provided them with info and a photograph.

You really need to be proactive and keep thinking the best of people.

In regards Fido.ie, they are really good when it comes to altering your information (updating phone numbers, etc). If there isn't an area to flag that the dog is stolen you could ask that they change the dogs name field to *STOLEN - REPORT IF FOUND* or something similar.

My sister (again) adopted her current dog, when she was brought to the vet the first thing the vet did was check the chip and telephone the owner who confirmed that the dog was surrendered. I'm not sure if vets must contact the owners in all cases but perhaps you should call your local vet and see if there is any regulation on it?

Good luck with the search. I'd be happy to put up posters in Wicklow and contact the shelters/pounds here.

Oh... and to upload a photo just create a photobucket or flickr account (both free), upload your photograph to there (both have easy to follow instructions) and then just post the link here (or click the 'insert image' button above a new post - it looks like a little yellow square with mountains on it, the 8th button from the right hand side.)

Whispered

I would also make sure that on your posters there is a big "REWARD" written. If the dogs were stolen to sell and the thief thinks they can make money easier by selling him back to you you might have a chance.

EDIT: OP you can open an album on your boards account (in your CP then "pictures and albums" the click "add album") and upload pics onto that then you can simply copy and paste the

dlambirl

I've put up posters in the town I work in and the town I live in (where he went missing). I live in the country in a mass of by-roads so I cant really go door to door. The owners of the other dog have asked around and nothing. Another dog in the general area went missing Tuesday.

My dog is such a gentle, kind, good natured thing. He knows every trick in the book and was great company to me and OH. If someone did see them on the road and stopped to take them, all they'd have to do is open the boot and my fella would jump straight in.

There is no contact number on Fido - so I've email them. Still waiting back on a reply. I've rang 4 local gardai stations. I've it on my facebook site and friends have put the notice on their page to.

flowerific

Maybe set up a find your dog page on Face Book and post up the link and people here can join it too

dlambirl

I'd afraid to do that in case people think that i'm a b0ll0x

JaneyJ

Keep an eye out on the following websites and maybe post up a Lost Ad of your own. If he was stolen, he could turn up anywhere

http://www.lostandfound.ie/

http://www.lostandfoundpets.ie/

http://www.lostdogs.ie/all-dogs/

I hope you find him

neelyohara

I just spotted your ad on lostandfound.ie I thought I'd add the image here.

boardbrowser

I'd also suggest contacting milkmen, dustbin men and anyone else that would frequent your area and maybe has seen him.Kids seem really tuned in to spotting dogs so maybe flyer your most locals schools too.
I would suggest that you keep up the momentum with the postering campaign as someone may spot him , maybe not this week but in the next few weeks.
Laminate posters with rip off tabs if you can.
Also, call the rescues and pounds daily to check if he might have turned up.
If this gives you any hope, i found a dog that had been missing for almost 2+ months having spotted him running around my area some time ago.
I found a poster that was a posted when he went missing and very weather beaten but contact number was still clear. dog got re -united the next day, although a bit worse for wear and in need of a good meal and some tlc.

suziwalsh

I second ISDW

TOO HOT to handle is the best make him known to every rescue in the country, every website, write to every paper etc etc email his photo to all the vets/pet shops etc

If you email a photo I will give you a hand - suziwalsh@gmail.com

I have done this a lot and am happy to help

Xiney

This family had their dog stolen and got him back by making him known to everyone - I'd follow their lead.

http://lost-dog-in-bray.com/


Since he disappeared with a bitch it is likely he was stolen with the intent of breeding for profit, ie, puppy mill. I hope you get him back.

Morganna

ISDW gave excellent advice .To hot to handle is the only way .Put him on facebook aswell.Theres lots of missing dogs on there.Also try your local radio station.The more publicity the more the thiefs will panic .
I hope you get him back ,thinking of you.

Morganna

just posted him on my facebook page

dlambirl

A local shop keeper asked a man yesterday evening if he had seen any dogs and he said he seen two on the road on his way. He wasnt local so he couldnt say where exactly on the road. The shop keeper rang us and we went straight looking but there was no sign unfortuntely of any dogs. I've gone around houses with flyers in the hope that someone has seen them.

I've put flyers up in my local town and the town I work in. I will go further afield tomorrow when I am off and put more up there. I really do hope I find them because I am lost without him

I have him on facebook and some friends have put the message and photo up on theirs too which I am very grateful of. I dont wanna make a page especially.

If they were lifted I would think they would be miles apon miles away from our town.. I really do hope I get them soon. I and my in laws are walking around like zombies since they disappeared.

toadfly

There is a lost n found pets page on FB here..

http://www.facebook.com/#!/LostFoundPetsIreland?ref=ts

email them a pic and some details they will put it up for u.

Best of luck x

dlambirl

I put him up on their page.

I keep logging into facebook and sending chat message to my friends to keep a look out. I was so dissappointed yesterday when I couldnt find them. I had my hopes up (i know I shouldnt of had)

toadfly

I have added it to my page as well.

Its heartbreaking, u poor thing. Hope you have some good news at the weekend.

dlambirl

so do i.

To say i'm heartbroken would be an understatement. I have my dad trolling the roads looking for them, i dunno ifs its gonna be any use. Everyone I talk to are telling me that they are gone a long time and that I should give up hope...

toadfly

dlambirl wrote: »

Everyone I talk to are telling me that they are gone a long time and that I should give up hope...

Oh god no of course you shouldnt give up hope, its only been 5 days right? Do all you can this weekend get the word out to all pounds/rescues as possible. No point sticking to your own area get his picture out there.

Best of luck, *hugs* xx

dlambirl

Please everyone have their fingers crossed for me....

jofe

Just to give you some hope, my friend's dog turned up in an entirely different part of the country almost 3 months after going missing. So keep trying.

The Sweeper

dlambirl, labs can be notorious wanderers. If your dog and the bitch he's vanished with are both intact, she could have wandered miles in heat, and he'd have wandered miles after her. Since they're both gone together, someone could have seen the two of them and taken them in, but just isn't seeing the messages you're putting out that you've lost him.

The microchipping is an excellent idea, but only if the finder takes the dog to the vet or the pound. Think positively - you'll get him back (and when you do you can add a dog-tag with your phone number to his collar).

Getting the word out is the most important part. Fliers on the noticeboards in the supermarkets, ask the local radio station to put a plea out for you, signs up in the petrol stations, see if the local schools will let you put up 'missing' signs.

I wouldn't be giving up hope at all. If he was one dog gone on his own, I'd be worried he could have had an accident - but two together? Someone's got them shut into their back yard, feeding them up and waiting to see if they can find their owner. Hopefully it's just a matter of time before you join the dots and they find you!

And of course, you could always try the pet detectives?

easyeason3

Any sign of them?