Greyhound Pets, Inc.

Greyhound Pets, Inc.

Greyhound Adoption in Puget Sound, Washington and British Columbia

lost dog

Lost Your Dog?

What to do when your greyhound is loose

Grab a leash, squawker or rabbit squealer and another dog, if you have one, and do a cursory check of the area.  It's always good to teach your dog a recall signal such as a call command of some kind, whistle, etc - do not use a squawker as your recall signal unless the dog is actually loose.  Once the squawker is used too often, it will be ignored.

  • Shake the leash and say, "Let's go for a walk!"  "Come get a treat!"  (Make sure you have some with you)
  • If you can get your greyhound’s attention and he still won’t come to you, you could try turning and walking away, or even running the other way if he enjoys a chase. If he thinks you are leaving, or that you want to play, this might work.
  • If you're in your car, stop and open the door and say, "Let's go for a ride!"  Don't move towards a shy dog.  Just open the door and say, "Let's go!"
  • Grab your cell phone or return home and call Greyhound Pets, Inc at 1-877-468-7681.  Tell us your dog is loose.  Whoever answers the phone will call your local VP who will call other volunteers to get some help to you.  The person answering the phone will put out a message about your dog to our local email lists and social media sites.   Program our phone number into your phones.  Carry our business cards and place our phone number on your refrigerator.

See if you can enlist older children, neighbors, and family to help.  Your GPI representative will try to get volunteers to your area to help you look for your dog.

If you walk your dog on a regular route on a frequent basis, please check that route.  Greyhounds are creatures of habit so hopefully your greyhound will be somewhere on that walking route.

Lost dog posters

Place as many of these as you can around the last location your dog was seen.  Better yet, download the our Lost Dog poster, fill it out, attach a picture then make a lot of copies BEFORE your dog gets loose so you're ready to go if your dog ever gets out.

Talk to passersby and businesses in your area. Ask if you can post your Lost Dog poster in their business or on their window.

Call local vets and emergency clinics to see if your dog has been brought in.

Immediately place an ad in the major daily newspaper for your area and on social media sites for your area.

Tips to Help Keep Your Dog Safe

Tips to help keep your dog safe

  • Make sure all doors are shut tight.  Make sure children understand this or better yet, double check the doors yourself.  Your children's playmates don't have a clue as to the importance of keeping a greyhound inside.   Consistently caution children about the importance of making sure all doors are tightly closed.
  • Be aware of repairmen who come into your home who also do not know the importance of closing doors after themselves.  In fact, they may even prop a door open to save themselves some time and off goes your dog.  Please make sure the repairman knows to shut the door, if you can't be there.  Better yet, crate your dog or put your dog in an xpen if a repairman needs to come into your home while you're not there.
  • Please lock all gates with a padlock or combination lock.  If your meterman needs to open your gate, make sure the utility company knows that you have a sighthound on your property and it's imperative that they close and secure the gate behind them.  If possible, keep your dog indoors on days that your meter needs to be read or talk to your utility company about other ways to have your meter read.  At least find out when they plan to come around so you can make other arrangements for your dog if you can't be there to supervise.   Some meter readers will read a meter from the neighbor's yard with binoculars and not need to enter your property.
  • Make sure that your dog is wearing a Greyhound Pets, Inc. tag with his own unique number on it at all times.  It also has our 800# on it which anyone can call if they find your dog.
  • Make sure your dog has your own unique personal ID tag on it at all times.  This tag should have your phone number on it so anyone who finds your dog can call you.
  • Don't take your dog's collar off at night.  If he slips out the dog door and gets out of the yard, he has no tags on.  If the noise from his tags bothers you, please consider buying a "tag bag" which will cover the tags and render them silent.

Helpful articles:

What You Don’t Know About Lost Pets Can Hurt Them
By Kathy "Kat" Albrecht, Founder, Missing Pet Partnership, May 2012

Guide to Finding Lost Dogs
By Jim Branson of Three Retrievers Lost Pet Rescue

Lost Greyhound Emergency
By a moderator of Greyhound Amber Alert on Facebook

Lost Pet Resources

Internet lost pet resources

Call all local shelters (see list below).

Western Washington Shelter Organizations

British Columbia Shelter Organizations

Please contact the webmaster with information about a shelter in any Greyhound Pets, Inc. service area and we will add it to our list.

Credit goes to PAWS for some wonderful tips about what to do when you lose your pet as well as our own volunteers for their valuable input on this important subject.