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Tuesday, February 15, 2011

Craigslist - Don't Give Up

Craigslist is like no other resource for spreading the word about a missing pet. No matter where you live in the US, Craigslist is as important a posting and searching site as you will find for a lost dog recovery effort.

For people new to Craigslist, there are a few things to learn. So, people that don't know Craigslist, and don't get -- or heed -- the advice to use it to the max, do lose out on one of the very best resources available.

Over time, there will probably be plenty of lessons learned posted on this blog about Craigslist. This lesson is simply to never give up on posting to Craigslist no matter how long it's been since there was a sighting.

In some markets, such as in rural areas or those with relatively low populations (Roanoke VA as one example), a posting to the Lost & Found section of Craigslist will remain viewable for weeks or perhaps even months. This is because the traffic on Craigslist is far less than that of a more populated area such as mine in Northern Virginia. You have to get to know your market in order to make the most of Craigslist.

When a dog first goes missing, posting to Craigslist should be daily in an area like mine -- because the posting will drop out of site within 1-2 days. After a time, if the dog is still missing, dropping to a couple or three times a week is fine. At some point, it becomes fine to post weekly, and maybe monthly at the least often, if there is any real objection to posting as often as weekly. But as long as the dog's people still want the lost dog back, they should keep up Craigslist postings indefinitely.

If stories will help convince you that it pays to keep posting to Craigslist even when sightings and activity have dried up, I have three for you.  Shadow's story is my favorite; it's a must read. Shadow had vanished seventeen months earlier when a pair of Craigslist postings lead to a reunion, both of which were viewed by a third party unacquainted with either Shadow's person or the people that found him.

You may also enjoy Whitney's story and Toby's story.  In both cases, these dogs hadn't been seen in a couple of months, but their people just kept up the Craigslist postings anyway.

If you have a chance to pass only only a few tips to someone searching for a lost dog, pass on the tip to use Craigslist to its full potential.