Recently JAAN received several reports of lost dogs. Some of them had a happy ending and returned home, others were never found again.

Here are some tips when you lose your dog:

1. Don’t waste time! It is important to search for your dog as soon as possible! Look around the area where your dog was last seen and ask people.
2. Make flyers (black and white photo copy flyer will do) and distribute them around your home or where the dog was last seen. It is important that you spread the flyers at least less than 24 hours before your dog went missing.
3. When you make the flyer, put your dog’s picture and your contact number, but don’t put your address. You can write ‘REWARD FOR FINDER’ or ‘ADA IMBALAN BAGI PENEMU’ but do not put in the exact sum of money.
4. If someone tries to blackmail you into a higher reward before returning your dog, try to make sure they have the right dog (or any dog at all) and ask the person to meet you in a public place. Then go with another person to meet them. Don’t be taken advantage of. If it is your dog, offer a token reward.
5. Try to look for your dog in the area where street vendors sell dogs (eg: Jl Menteng), bring some evidence that the dog is yours (eg: pictures, vaccination book, certificate.)
6. When you find your dog,it is important to prove that he/she is your dog and NOT reward dog thieves/ traders with large sums of money. Most dog thieves and dog traders steal dogs for a living and when they know that they can make money out of loving dog owners, they will continue in this line of business.
7. Even if you still cannot find your dog after a few days, please stay positive. Keep searching, dogs have been re-united with their owners even after a year or more!It is very important to start searching the moment you realize your dog is missing, in most cases the owner found the dog before they were missing for less than 24 hours.

Here are some stories from the owners who lost their dogs:

1. Wolly was only a puppy when her family left for a long holiday, they entrusted the house and Wolly to a friend, but not long after they left a close friend of Wolly’s owner came and said that he wanted to take Wolly to the vet. The man didn’t take Wolly to the vet, he dumped Wolly in the street. Wolly was then taken by a neighbor, who insisted that Wolly is an expensive dog and demanded her family to pay or give them a motorbike in exchange of Wolly. The negotiation was long and tiring, Wolly’s family kept insisting on getting Wolly back and refused to give in, and after a couple of days trying, the kidnappers finally gave up and took the smaller amount of money Wolly’s owner offered them. Now Wolly is back with her family.
2. Douglas was a stray who was rescued and fostered by a JAAN’s volunteer. He escaped and roamed the streets when his foster family was asleep. That same night we handed out flyers and asked people in the nearby area if they had seen him. Luckily, the next day a man called us, reporting that his friend caught a large dog the day before, he read the flyer and decided to call. Now Douglas is safe in his new home, adopted and never wants to leave home alone again
3. Chester is a shihtzu with a lot of energy, one day, he ran out of an open gate and his owner could not catch him. His owner handed out flyers and searched the neighborhood for Chester but no luck. Fortunately a man got the flyer and contacted the owner. Chester was reunited with his family and was safely back at home. We believe that the reason Chester was not yet sold to the dog market at Jl Menteng was because he was sterilized.
4. CJ had been adopted for 2 years but still could not get used to being in a car due to past trauma. One day, his adopter told his house maid and driver to take CJ by car to meet her in the campus but during the ride, CJ paniced and jumped out of the car. In less than 3 hours time, CJ’s owner made flyers and handed them out to the people around the area where CJ was missing. She looked around the whole night, asking people and searched by foot. Seven hours later, CJ was found in the bushes, cowering and dirty. CJ is now back in his home safely.

It is easier to prevent your dog from going missing than to be sorry afterwards!!!

How to prevent your dogs from being stolen:

1. Sterilize your pets. Sterilizing your pets will reduce the likelihood that it attempts to escape in order to find a mate. Most dog thieves prefer unsterilized dogs because they can sell them to backyard breeders and puppy mills.
2. Keep your door and gates closed, do not let your dogs roam the streets without a leash. But do let your dog roam freely around your yard- DO NOT CHAIN or CAGE him
3. Do not trust people easily, it is a common story that a dog was stolen by someone known to the family.

Good luck!