HomeAgain -- you know, the microchip company -- presents basic pet detective training that was developed for them by Kat Albrecht with the Missing Pet Partnership.
It's an overview, not in depth training, but I would recommend it to anyone. If you have no experience and are thinking of getting started in lost pet recovery, look at it as an introductory class that you take to figure out if it's something you want to pursue.
If you've been at it for a while, take it as a kind of a refresher. If you are seeing brand new stuff, it will have been worth your time, right?
So give it a go!
http://www.petdetectivetraining.com
Friday, December 21, 2012
Saturday, December 1, 2012
How Messages Influence Our Behavior
Part of the Missing Pet Partnership's "Think Lost, Not Stray!" message is a discussion of how messages influence our behavior, and you will find this on their website at: http://www.missingpetpartnership.org/recovery-thinklost.php
Missing Pet Partnership Copyright © 2009
Think Lost, Not Stray!TM
The phrase "THINK LOST, NOT STRAY!” was developed by Missing Pet Partnership as means to send out a new message designed to reunite more lost dogs and cats with the families who love them. Our message to the animal welfare industry and citizen rescuers is this: Many of the "stray dogs" and "feral cats" that come into your care are actually lost pets with families who would do anything to get their companion animal back home. Before you work to give a found dog or found cat a new home, THINK LOST, NOT STRAY!TM
HOW MESSAGES INFLUENCE OUR BEHAVIOR: The messages that we hear through marketing, advertising, and other sources influence our thought processes and, ultimately, how we behave. According to Malcolm Gladwell, author of BLINK: The Power of Thinking Without Thinking, a good portion of our decision making comes from an unconscious level. Gladwell says that we make unconscious "implicit associations" that influence our decision making process and, ultimately, our behavior. These implicit associations, which typically lead to snap judgments, are the opinions we've developed based on the things we've previously seen or heard.
According to Gladwell's research, people "make connections much more quickly between pairs of ideas that are already related in our minds than we do between pairs of ideas that are unfamiliar to us." He went on to write that, "The giant computer that is our unconscious silently crunches all the data it can from the experiences we've had, the people we've met, the lessons we've learned, the books we've read, the movies we've seen, and so on, and it forms an opinion." THE "HOMELESS" MESSAGE: Some of the primary messages the animal welfare industry have sent out in the past years have promoted the words "homeless," "abandoned," "dumped," and "feral." People (usually private citizens) who have heard messages that millions of "homeless" animals are "abandoned" and "dumped" every year tend to leap to the conclusion that the dog they find wandering along a road was "dumped" and is "homeless" rather than considering that it could be a beloved lost pet.
Someone who believes that a dog was dumped is more likely to self-adopt that dog rather than attempt to find its' owner. Are some dogs dumped? Yes! Are most of the loose dogs running around in our neighborhoods there because they were dumped? NO! In order for most of the loose (found) dogs to be unwanted (dumped or abandoned), we'd need to have hoards of people lining up every day just to dump all of these dogs! How likely is that? In reality, we have many people showing up at our animal shelters every day to report that their dog escaped and is lost. The number of loose (found) dogs that end up in shelters, rescue groups, or that are self-adopted is comparably less, compared with the number of people who "dump" or "abandon" dogs and more comparable to the number of lost dogs that are never found by their families.
THE "ABUSED" MESSAGE: A secondary message that the animal welfare industry has sent out in the past years is that many dogs and cats are "abused." Are dogs and cats routinely neglected and physically abused by a sick segment of our population? While the answer, unfortunately, happens to be yes, these sick people are actually a rather small segment of the entire pet owning population. More importantly, the physical appearance and the behavior of a found dog or cat is not the best indicator of whether or not an animal was abused! A dog that is thin, has cuts, burs, fleas, ticks, and is limping may appear this way because it has been running loose for two weeks. A cat that is thin, emaciated, and full of fleas might appear this way because they have been hiding in fear for six weeks under a neighbor's deck after escaping from their owner's home.
Many dogs and cats are at risk of permanent separation from their families simply because their appearance
and their behaviors are misinterpreted as "abuse." The two groups of companion animals that are at the
highest risk of permanent displacement are dogs and cats with xenophobic (fearful, skittish) temperaments.
THE XENOPHOBIC DOG: Xenophobia means "fear or hatred of things strange or foreign". Dogs with xenophobic temperaments (due to genetics and/or puppy hood experiences) are more inclined to travel farther and are at a higher risk of being hit by cars. Due to their cowering, fearful behavior, people assume these dogs were "abused", and even if the dog has ID tags, they will refuse to contact the previous owner.
Some of these panic-stricken dogs will even run from their owners! People who find xenophobic dogs often misinterpret the dog's behavior: they assume that the cowering, fearful dog was "abused" when in fact the dog has a fearful temperament and has been shy and fearful since it was a puppy.
Dogs found in rural areas are often assumed to be "dumped" and/or homeless; many rescuers never think this could be a dog that was lost. Some people who find a stray dog that does not have a collar automatically assume it is "homeless" and therefore they immediately work to place the dog rather than attempt to find the dog's owner.
THE XENOPHOBIC CAT: One of the most tragic misinterpretations of feline behavior occurs when rescuers observe a cat with a xenophobic temperament and assume, based on the fearful behavior, that the cat is an untamed "feral." Xenophobic cats are afraid of EVERYTHING that is new or unfamiliar. Their fearful behavior is hardwired into their character; it is caused by genetics and/or kitten hood experiences (nature or nurture). These cats will hide when a stranger comes into their home, and they typically will not come out until well after the company has left. They do not do well with human contact (being held, petted, etc.) and they are easily disturbed by any change in their environment. When displaced, they bolt and then HIDE IN SILENCE. They tend to remain in the same hiding place and become almost catatonic, immobilized with fear.
If they are found by someone other than their owners, they are typically mistaken as being untamed or "feral cat." While it is true that feral, untamed cats who are unaccustomed to human contact will hiss, spit, twirl, lunge, and urinate when humanely trapped, this "wild animal" behavior is also common in cats who have xenophobic temperaments! We know this because we've talked to owners of lost, xenophobic cats that had to be humanely trapped in order to be recovered; the owners verified that their cats exhibited wild behavior while in the humane trap. These "wild" and "aggressive" behaviors are a reflection of a cat with a fearful TEMPERAMENT, not a lack of TAMENESS.
WHY WE SEND THIS MESSAGE: Every year, millions of dogs and cats escape from their homes and are never reunited with their rightful owners. The entire burden of finding and recovering a displaced dog or cat rests solely on the shoulders of the owner, who, in most cases, is not trained in how or where to search. They are not equipped with or trained in how to use animal capturing tools like catchpoles, snappy snares, and humane traps. We offer every imaginable service under the sun for our companion animals but when they become separated from the families who love them, we leave it up to grieving people who are discouraged, overwhelmed, and usually working alone.
With everything working against them, people who lose their beloved dogs and cats need all the help they can get in order to achieve a successful reunion. Lost dogs and cats that are not returned to their families take up valuable space in our animal shelters, no-kill shelters, rescue groups, and feral cat colonies. So, the next time that you find a loose dog or an unattended cat, assume that someone loves and is looking for that particular companion animal. Ideally, you should post a FOUND poster in the area where the animal was found, place a FOUND Ad in the paper, have the animal scanned for a microchip, and report the animal as found to your local shelter (or transport it to the shelter where the owner can find it, but place a hold on it so you can adopt it if the animal is not claimed). With your support, Missing Pet Partnership can put out the message that STRAY DOG MAY MEAN LOST DOG and STRAY CAT MAY MEAN LOST CAT. By doing this, we know that rescuer behaviors will change and more found dogs and found cats will be reunited with the families who love and are searching them!
Thursday, November 15, 2012
Lost Pet / Lost Person Comparative Analysis
The Missing Pet Partnership developed this comparative analysis years ago, and presented it at a Best Friends conference in 2009, making it available as part of an audio presentation you can listen to at: http://bestfriends.s3.amazonaws.com/nmhpconf/2009/ThinkLostNotStray1.pdf
As someone that helps people find their lost dogs, you want to be equipped with as much background understanding as you can have about missing pets and searching for them. This is a pretty good overview, well worth your time. Be sure you see the previous post on this blog before you begin listening to this audio presentation.
1. LOST PEOPLE: Central clearinghouse consistent across nation (9-1-1)
LOST PETS: There is no central clearinghouse -- there are massive locations where a found (stray) could end up (local pound, humane society, rescue group facilities, volunteer homes of rescue groups, self-adopted by independent rescuer, etc.).
2. LOST PEOPLE: Typically the family receives sympathy and support (especially in child abduction or high-profile cases)
LOST PETS: Typically pet owner experience "disenfranchised grief" (grief that is publicly unacceptable) where they are shunned by friends, co-workers and family who have a weak (or non-existent) human-animal bond and who tell the pet owner to "just get over it," "you'll never find your dog," "it was just a cat" or "just go to the pound and get another one."
3. LOST PEOPLE: Typically the family is not openly blamed, even if accident resulted in death of a child.
LOST PETS: Typically, the pet owner is blamed and considered "irresponsible" for their dog or cat running loose, even if it was a clear accident beyond their control.
4. LOST PEOPLE: When a lost child is found, rescuers do not consider keeping it and in most cases, it is not turned over to child protective services so that "a better family" can be found.
LOST PETS: When a lost dog is found, it is quite common for the rescuer to self-adopt the dog or turn it over to an organization that will find the dog a new home (without ever attempting to return the dog to the original owner).
5. LOST PEOPLE: When a child is lost, trained resources will respond immediately to the location, 24 hours a day, seven days a week.
LOST PETS: When a pet is lost, there is no one to call, no one to respond to assist in the search efforts—you can call a pet sitter, mobile veterinarian, and even a dog poop scoop company to come to your house but when your pet is lost, sorry, you are on your own.
6. LOST PEOPLE: The burden is on the police agency to take action, not on the family member (to find their lost family member).
LOST PETS: Burden is on the pet owner to take action to find their lost pet—and relying on people who are untrained in lost pet behavior or in the differences of how to search for a missing dog vs. a missing cat is a major contributing factor to the homeless pet population.
7. LOST PEOPLE: Assistance offered whether it is asked for or not!
LOST PETS: Assistance is typically refused (by animal shelters, the local police, even TNR and rescue groups) when a pet owner calls and asks someone to come out and help them search for their missing pets…even when pet owner pleads for it!
8. LOST PEOPLE: In many cities across the USA there are three levels of services available:
(a) law enforcement officers conduct an investigation
(b) volunteer search-and-rescue teams are deployed to assist in the search
(c) outside nonprofits are used to supplement investigation (Polly Klaas Foundation, Child Quest, etc.).
LOST PETS: Pet owners are very lucky if they can even find a pet detective in their area, let alone afford the current fees charged for their services.
9. LOST PEOPLE: Research has been conducted to analyze lost person behavior and search managers use the data from that research to strategically deploy the proper resources during search-and-rescue operations.
LOST PETS: No research has been conducted on the behavioral patterns of missing dogs and cats (even though the data is readily available)
10. LOST PEOPLE: Search-and-rescue managers use principles like "Search Probability Theory" and "Deductive Reasoning" to develop conclusions on how and where to search for lost people.
LOST PETS: Reasoning is seldom used when searching for lost pets -- untrained pet owners instead are following gut instincts and using NO reasoning (when they should use deductive reasoning!) and they do everything from stapling dirty underwear to trees to leaving “a scent trail for their pet to follow" and other acts of desperation
11. LOST PEOPLE: National nonprofit exists exclusively for purpose of missing children education and assistance (National Center for Missing & Exploited Children, founded by John Walsh).
LOST PETS: Before Missing Pet Partnership was developed, no nonprofit existed exclusively for purpose of missing pet education or in helping to develop community-based lost pet services.
12. LOST PEOPLE: System in place and aggressive attempts will be made to positively identify people -- even DEAD people (dental records, finger prints, driver's license, social security card, tattoo records, etc.)
LOST PETS: Microchip systems are in place that could be used to positively identify pets but is only used by a small fraction of pet owners.
13. LOST PEOPLE: The problem of "Homeless" people is not being addressed through aggressive birth control education or adoption events for unwanted babies. There are many reasons why people become homeless (depression, mental illness, drug or alcohol addictions, loss of income, tragedy, etc.) and services have been developed to deal with each of these issues that contribute to the problem of humans who are homeless.
LOST PETS: The problem of "Homeless Pets" is primarily being addressed through aggressive spay/neuter education or adoption events for unwanted dogs and cats. However, there are many reasons why dogs and cats become homeless, including lost and displaced pets that are never found.
THE BOTTOM LINE
Homicides, burglaries, robberies, and many other crimes stem from the prolific drug trade and individual drug addiction problems. Gangs and drug trafficers will commit murder over drugs and many thieves are either users or suppliers of drugs. Measures used to cut back on burglaries include aggressive enforcement of drug laws (federal, local, and state funding and programs), cross checking databases of known drug abusers to solve burglary and armed robbery investigations, public education of crime (theft and robbery) prevention programs, and public use of burglary and robbery alarms. The problem of murders, burglaries and robberies is addressed using preventative measures (drug enforcement, crime prevention) as well as reactive measures (investigating a homicide, cross checking databases, etc.). If homicides, robberies, and burglaries were never investigated with one of the primary roots of their cause (drugs) in mind, we would have far fewer cases solved and crime rates would soar. Attacking the pet overpopulation problem by strictly focusing on spay/neuter issues while ignoring one of the primary root causes (lost dogs and cats that are never recovered) has resulted in a drastically low “return to owner rate” of lost pets as well as a pet overpopulation problem that is out-of-control.
This comparative analysis can also be found at: http://bestfriends.s3.amazonaws.com/nmhpconf/2009/ThinkLostNotStray1.pdf
As someone that helps people find their lost dogs, you want to be equipped with as much background understanding as you can have about missing pets and searching for them. This is a pretty good overview, well worth your time. Be sure you see the previous post on this blog before you begin listening to this audio presentation.
Missing Pet Partnership Copyright © 2009
LOST PET / LOST PERSON COMPARATIVE ANALYSIS:
How We Look for Lost People vs. Lost Pets
By Kat Albrecht
Copyright 2007© All Rights Reserved
1. LOST PEOPLE: Central clearinghouse consistent across nation (9-1-1)
LOST PETS: There is no central clearinghouse -- there are massive locations where a found (stray) could end up (local pound, humane society, rescue group facilities, volunteer homes of rescue groups, self-adopted by independent rescuer, etc.).
2. LOST PEOPLE: Typically the family receives sympathy and support (especially in child abduction or high-profile cases)
LOST PETS: Typically pet owner experience "disenfranchised grief" (grief that is publicly unacceptable) where they are shunned by friends, co-workers and family who have a weak (or non-existent) human-animal bond and who tell the pet owner to "just get over it," "you'll never find your dog," "it was just a cat" or "just go to the pound and get another one."
3. LOST PEOPLE: Typically the family is not openly blamed, even if accident resulted in death of a child.
LOST PETS: Typically, the pet owner is blamed and considered "irresponsible" for their dog or cat running loose, even if it was a clear accident beyond their control.
4. LOST PEOPLE: When a lost child is found, rescuers do not consider keeping it and in most cases, it is not turned over to child protective services so that "a better family" can be found.
LOST PETS: When a lost dog is found, it is quite common for the rescuer to self-adopt the dog or turn it over to an organization that will find the dog a new home (without ever attempting to return the dog to the original owner).
5. LOST PEOPLE: When a child is lost, trained resources will respond immediately to the location, 24 hours a day, seven days a week.
LOST PETS: When a pet is lost, there is no one to call, no one to respond to assist in the search efforts—you can call a pet sitter, mobile veterinarian, and even a dog poop scoop company to come to your house but when your pet is lost, sorry, you are on your own.
6. LOST PEOPLE: The burden is on the police agency to take action, not on the family member (to find their lost family member).
LOST PETS: Burden is on the pet owner to take action to find their lost pet—and relying on people who are untrained in lost pet behavior or in the differences of how to search for a missing dog vs. a missing cat is a major contributing factor to the homeless pet population.
7. LOST PEOPLE: Assistance offered whether it is asked for or not!
LOST PETS: Assistance is typically refused (by animal shelters, the local police, even TNR and rescue groups) when a pet owner calls and asks someone to come out and help them search for their missing pets…even when pet owner pleads for it!
8. LOST PEOPLE: In many cities across the USA there are three levels of services available:
(a) law enforcement officers conduct an investigation
(b) volunteer search-and-rescue teams are deployed to assist in the search
(c) outside nonprofits are used to supplement investigation (Polly Klaas Foundation, Child Quest, etc.).
LOST PETS: Pet owners are very lucky if they can even find a pet detective in their area, let alone afford the current fees charged for their services.
9. LOST PEOPLE: Research has been conducted to analyze lost person behavior and search managers use the data from that research to strategically deploy the proper resources during search-and-rescue operations.
LOST PETS: No research has been conducted on the behavioral patterns of missing dogs and cats (even though the data is readily available)
10. LOST PEOPLE: Search-and-rescue managers use principles like "Search Probability Theory" and "Deductive Reasoning" to develop conclusions on how and where to search for lost people.
LOST PETS: Reasoning is seldom used when searching for lost pets -- untrained pet owners instead are following gut instincts and using NO reasoning (when they should use deductive reasoning!) and they do everything from stapling dirty underwear to trees to leaving “a scent trail for their pet to follow" and other acts of desperation
11. LOST PEOPLE: National nonprofit exists exclusively for purpose of missing children education and assistance (National Center for Missing & Exploited Children, founded by John Walsh).
LOST PETS: Before Missing Pet Partnership was developed, no nonprofit existed exclusively for purpose of missing pet education or in helping to develop community-based lost pet services.
12. LOST PEOPLE: System in place and aggressive attempts will be made to positively identify people -- even DEAD people (dental records, finger prints, driver's license, social security card, tattoo records, etc.)
LOST PETS: Microchip systems are in place that could be used to positively identify pets but is only used by a small fraction of pet owners.
13. LOST PEOPLE: The problem of "Homeless" people is not being addressed through aggressive birth control education or adoption events for unwanted babies. There are many reasons why people become homeless (depression, mental illness, drug or alcohol addictions, loss of income, tragedy, etc.) and services have been developed to deal with each of these issues that contribute to the problem of humans who are homeless.
LOST PETS: The problem of "Homeless Pets" is primarily being addressed through aggressive spay/neuter education or adoption events for unwanted dogs and cats. However, there are many reasons why dogs and cats become homeless, including lost and displaced pets that are never found.
THE BOTTOM LINE
Homicides, burglaries, robberies, and many other crimes stem from the prolific drug trade and individual drug addiction problems. Gangs and drug trafficers will commit murder over drugs and many thieves are either users or suppliers of drugs. Measures used to cut back on burglaries include aggressive enforcement of drug laws (federal, local, and state funding and programs), cross checking databases of known drug abusers to solve burglary and armed robbery investigations, public education of crime (theft and robbery) prevention programs, and public use of burglary and robbery alarms. The problem of murders, burglaries and robberies is addressed using preventative measures (drug enforcement, crime prevention) as well as reactive measures (investigating a homicide, cross checking databases, etc.). If homicides, robberies, and burglaries were never investigated with one of the primary roots of their cause (drugs) in mind, we would have far fewer cases solved and crime rates would soar. Attacking the pet overpopulation problem by strictly focusing on spay/neuter issues while ignoring one of the primary root causes (lost dogs and cats that are never recovered) has resulted in a drastically low “return to owner rate” of lost pets as well as a pet overpopulation problem that is out-of-control.
This comparative analysis can also be found at: http://bestfriends.s3.amazonaws.com/nmhpconf/2009/ThinkLostNotStray1.pdf
Monday, October 15, 2012
Think Lost, Not Stray!
This post is one for when you really have the time to invest in learning about the Missing Pet Partnership's "Think Lost, Not Stray!" message. It's an important message, and if you are helping people find their missing pets, you should know all about it.
This presentation runs almost 1 1/2 hours; it was presented by Kat Albrecht at a Best Friends conference in 2009. Below the link to the conference, I'm providing the outline for a significant part of the presentation. My next blog entry will present the remainder of it -- the comparative analysis of lost pet/lost person searches
Click to start the presentation whenever you are ready, and you can follow below in a separate window if you want: http://www.bestfriends.org/recordings/thinklostnotstray/index.html
Every dog and cat that escapes from the care of its guardian is a "stray" that contributes to the overcrowding of our shelters. A great majority of the stray dogs that end up in shelters were not born in the wild nor were they living in wild packs. Most escaped from a home where they were cared for by someone who simply failed to keep the animal contained. You’ll learn how behaviors contribute to drastically low RTO rates of shelter cats and how shelters can reduce euthanasia rates of unclaimed strays (dogs and cats) through innovative lost animal services, education, and prevention techniques.
I. INTRODUCTION
Here is a PDF of the presentation:
http://bestfriends.s3.amazonaws.com/nmhpconf/2009/ThinkLostNotStray1.pdf
This presentation runs almost 1 1/2 hours; it was presented by Kat Albrecht at a Best Friends conference in 2009. Below the link to the conference, I'm providing the outline for a significant part of the presentation. My next blog entry will present the remainder of it -- the comparative analysis of lost pet/lost person searches
Click to start the presentation whenever you are ready, and you can follow below in a separate window if you want: http://www.bestfriends.org/recordings/thinklostnotstray/index.html
Missing Pet Partnership Copyright © 2009
THINK LOST, NOT STRAY!
Presenter: Kathy “Kat” Albrecht
Founder, Missing Pet Partnership
www.missingpetpartnership.org
E-mail: kat@pethunters.com
Every dog and cat that escapes from the care of its guardian is a "stray" that contributes to the overcrowding of our shelters. A great majority of the stray dogs that end up in shelters were not born in the wild nor were they living in wild packs. Most escaped from a home where they were cared for by someone who simply failed to keep the animal contained. You’ll learn how behaviors contribute to drastically low RTO rates of shelter cats and how shelters can reduce euthanasia rates of unclaimed strays (dogs and cats) through innovative lost animal services, education, and prevention techniques.
I. INTRODUCTION
A. Brief History / Background
B. Why Lost Pets? (Industry focus is currently on spay/neuter and forever home adoptions. Sadly, there’s very little effort invested in returning lost companion animals to their original homes)
II. WHAT IS A “STRAY?”
A. To wander about without a destination or purpose; to be loose and roaming.
1. A stray dog or cat DOES NOT mean it is a “homeless” animal or an animal without a guardian…it simply is a companion animal who has escaped custody of his caregiver.
B. STRAY DOGS: In most cases, a stray dog is a missing/lost dog that has not yet be found by his guardian.
C. STRAY CATS: A stray cat can be an untamed feral cat, an escaped house cat, or a displaced cat whose guardian is not known. All three categories can exhibit the same “feral like” behavior (hissing, spitting, growing, twirling in case). Sadly, mistakes on determining whether a cat is “feral” vs. a panicked domesticated cat are common (ZEKE story + VIDEO)
III. WHY ARE SO MANY STRAYS UNCLAIMED?
A. Lack of a Central Clearinghouse (see “Lost Pet / Lost Person Comparative Analysis” handout)
B. Shelter logistics (hours, location)
C. Shelter policies (fine involved, must come down to shelter)
D. Physical limitations (disabled, elderly, no transportation)
E. Emotional limitations (grief avoidance, shelter phobic, hopeless)
F. Discouragement (from untrained professionals)
G. Cultural limitations (language barriers, cultural ignorance, fear of uniforms)
H. Searching at wrong location (multiple shelters, timing of the entry into the shelter)
I. Human and animal behaviors are a major contributing factor to permanent the displacement of lost companion animals! (Refer to “The Lost Pet Triad”)
J. Tunnel Vision (cat owner believed animal communicator instead of standard search advice – even with previous experience of a cat taken to a shelter!)
K. Expecting grieving, broken-hearted people who have no hope to continue a sustained search effort without offering assistance contributes to high euthanasia rates!
IV. WHAT FACTORS INHIBIT THE RECOVERY OF LOST COMPANION ANIMALS?
A. The moment a dog or cat escapes from his guardian’s care, the terminology used for that animal and how people (rescuers) respond to that animal DRASTICALLY CHANGE
B. Vernacular used by rescuers (“I found a dumped stray” instead of “I found a lost dog”) influences their behavior and ultimately what happens to the dog (i.e. re-homed with no efforts to re-unite)
C. Lost companion animals viewed as “sad” by shelters but not as a serious contributing factor to the amount of unclaimed strays they hold in their cages and then euthanize
D. Pet Detectives viewed with suspicion or as a joke (or not even heard of at all)
E. THE FIRST PLACE that guardians are told to “search” for their lost dog or cat is typically THE LAST PLACE where a found dog or cat will be taken (i.e. the city pound). Compare this to lost/found people (central clearinghouse called “9-1-1”).
F. Cats that are panicked, sick, or injured will hide in silence (behavior called “The Silence Factor”) to protect themselves from predators. These cats will not be found by their guardians unless they physically search their neighbor’s yards and/or utilize baited humane traps. The fact that these specific techniques are rarely taken contributes to low reclaim (and high euthanasia) rates of stray cats in our shelters.
G. What a rescuer THINKS and BELIEVES about a found dog or cat influences HOW THEY BEHAVE and WHAT ACTION THEY WILL OR WON’T TAKE. We make “implicit associations” and make snap decisions automatically based on what we have been led to believe such as this dog was dumped or this skittish cat is feral (see “Think Lost, Not Stray” handout).
V. MISSING ANIMAL RESPONSE SERVICES TO INCREASE REUNIONS
A. Physical Searches by professionals (MAR Technicians) with trained search dogs, hightech
equipment, and training in how to solve investigations
B. Lost Dog Protests using volunteers with LOST DOG signs near escape point (VIDEO)
C. Reverse investigation/efforts (posting giant FOUND DOG florescent flyers, interviewing
neighbors) by volunteers to solve the mystery of WHO LOST THIS (caged) DOG?
D. Tagging vehicle windows (see photo example at www.missingpetpartnership.org home
page slide show) to mass market a lost dog
E. Refer Guardians to lost pet resources
1. www.missingpetpartnership.org – species specific lost pet recovery tips and network of trained volunteer and professional lost pet recovery resources
2. www.craigslist.com – social network for posting lost/found pets
3. www.petfinder.com (sustained search for ADOPTABLE DOGS weeks or months after escape)
4. www.petharbor.com, www.pets911.com, www.dogdetective.com, etc, etc.
VI. PREVENTING LOST COMPANION ANIMAL ENTRY INTO SHELTERS
A. Microchip / Tag / Containment System Education
1. Cat Fence In Products – Coyote Rollers
2. Most obvious and common effort
B. Referral to Pet Detective Services and Web sites
1. www.missingpetpartnership.org – national directory of pet detectives and behavior/species specific recovery tips
2. Testimonials (SUHKI CASE / ODIE CASE)
C. Establish a Volunteer Trap-and-Reunite (TAR) Program
1. Displaced cats do NOT “run away” – they hide in silence (often near their escape point)
2. Volunteers use humane traps, baby monitors, and surveillance methods to recover “lost” cats who are hiding
3. If not captured, these cats ultimately end up in feral cats colonies or shelters (months later, long after family has stopped searching)
4. The failure of cat owners to recover their displaced cats IS A MAJOR REASON WHY OUR NATIONAL RTO RATES FOR CATS ARE DISMALLY LOW (2%)
D. Lost Pet Search-and-Rescue Teams
1. Physical searches for lost companion animals (service fee or to foster new donors)
2. Proper Posters (ODIE CASE)
3. Counseling/assistance (even transportation) for those who have lost an animal
4. Shelter Cross checks (volunteers in distant communities)
5. LOST DOG protests
6. Network of Taggers to mass market lost dogs
7. Craig’s List and other web site cross checks
8. Night Patrols to recover displaced cats (requires a car, a spotlight, and someone who loves cats!)
E. Missing Pet Partnership’s Vision for the Future
1. MPP will rescue dogs from shelters, train them to locate lost pets, and issue them to partnering shelters and rescue groups
2. Through partnerships, MPP will facilitate the development of volunteer Missing Animal Response teams in communities across the USA
3. Ten years from now, guardians will know they can call on resources that include professionally trained volunteers and search dogs to help them search for their lost pets
4. The reality, however, is that this vision will take TIME and FUNDING. Please support Missing Pet Partnership. Visit our web site and become a MEMBER!
VII. CONCLUSION
Experience has shown that there are many reasons why people fail to show up at their local shelter in time to claim their lost animals. So what would happen if shelters referred guardians to reliable lost pet recovery services? What would happen if shelters developed a program where volunteers did everything within their power to find the guardians of stray dogs and cats within the 72-hour holding period? What if instead of passively waiting for a lost dog or cat to show up in the local shelter, volunteers and guardians went into the community and aggressively searched for lost dogs and cats?
How much would shelter euthanasia levels drop and how high would return-to-owner rates soar if instead of immediately looking for “forever homes” for strays, we instead slowed down and worked to find the “original home” where that dog or cat escaped from? The answer is that we will never know until we try!
Here is a PDF of the presentation:
http://bestfriends.s3.amazonaws.com/nmhpconf/2009/ThinkLostNotStray1.pdf
Friday, September 21, 2012
Flier Distribution Services
If you're like most people, you weren't aware that some locations have small business services that will perform flier distribution services. This means that if you're in such an area, you can refer lost dog owners that you help to such services.
Of course professional door-to-door flier distribution services certainly will bring up the cost of the search for a lost dog. But it's so very common for people with lost dogs to be unable to pull together enough people to help by volunteering to do this kind of spreading the word about the lost dog. That lack of available volunteer labor is such a huge problem that most people that can afford to employ such services, they would be lucky to have them in their area.
Here are a few such services that I found by Googling the term "flyer distribution service". It may be that none are available in your area, but continue searching the internet and talking to people to see if this type of service is offered by anyone in your area:
Of course professional door-to-door flier distribution services certainly will bring up the cost of the search for a lost dog. But it's so very common for people with lost dogs to be unable to pull together enough people to help by volunteering to do this kind of spreading the word about the lost dog. That lack of available volunteer labor is such a huge problem that most people that can afford to employ such services, they would be lucky to have them in their area.
Here are a few such services that I found by Googling the term "flyer distribution service". It may be that none are available in your area, but continue searching the internet and talking to people to see if this type of service is offered by anyone in your area:
- http://www.myflyerguys.com
- http://www.alldelivered.com
- http://www.aaflyerservices.com
- http://www.dmsadvertising.net
- http://www.homebasedelivery.com
- http://doortodoordistributors.com
- http://www.flyersdeliveryservice.com
- http://www.localflyerdistributionservice.com
- http://www.cityflyers.net/index.php?/residential-door-to-door-joint-flyer-distribution
Saturday, September 1, 2012
Scent Inhibitors
In difficult cases where the dog has basically been found but won't allow himself to be captured, trapping can be the only way. Traps need to be checked periodically, and while it's normally most advisable to allow traps to do their work alone, often people want to stage stakeouts.
I think that often this is more to satisfy themselves that they are doing something, or if done by the dog's owners, because they are just dying to see the dog. Usually there's not some real plan for how to respond if the dog is seen. Many times I've recommended not infiltrating the dog's area with the presence of a lot of people, all their energies focused on that dog.
At any rate, if there will be humans sneaking around in the dark of night, whether just to check traps and replenish feeding or just to stare in the hopes of generating a sighting, there's a problem worth putting some effort into addressing. That is the human scent that the dog will pick up, and know that he's not alone! Any dog can recognize human scent.
Through research mostly on hunting websites, I've found that hunters know something about reducing the strength of their scent while they are out there in their hunting blinds. Here's an overview that might be worth a look. It's intended for hunters, and they are more likely to go to the extents that the author suggests than most people that would participate in a stakeout or check traps and feeding stations for a lost or a stray dog. But the education isn't bad to have.
Then I've also learned that there are many scent inhibitor products on the market. I found a product comparison website for anyone thinking of investing in such products. And I also found a recipe to make your own.
I think that often this is more to satisfy themselves that they are doing something, or if done by the dog's owners, because they are just dying to see the dog. Usually there's not some real plan for how to respond if the dog is seen. Many times I've recommended not infiltrating the dog's area with the presence of a lot of people, all their energies focused on that dog.
At any rate, if there will be humans sneaking around in the dark of night, whether just to check traps and replenish feeding or just to stare in the hopes of generating a sighting, there's a problem worth putting some effort into addressing. That is the human scent that the dog will pick up, and know that he's not alone! Any dog can recognize human scent.
Through research mostly on hunting websites, I've found that hunters know something about reducing the strength of their scent while they are out there in their hunting blinds. Here's an overview that might be worth a look. It's intended for hunters, and they are more likely to go to the extents that the author suggests than most people that would participate in a stakeout or check traps and feeding stations for a lost or a stray dog. But the education isn't bad to have.
Then I've also learned that there are many scent inhibitor products on the market. I found a product comparison website for anyone thinking of investing in such products. And I also found a recipe to make your own.
Wednesday, August 15, 2012
Missing Pet Voicemailing Services
One of the greatest thing to hit missing pet searches was automated voicemailing! Find Toto service was probably the first one and most certainly is the best known. But there are competitors in Lost My Doggie and in Pet Amber Alert
With a growing population of people that either don't have landlines or, like me, never check the voicemail on their landline phones but every few weeks, these voicemailing services may not always work so well. But today, when they work, they work GREAT! Possibly, because cell phones can be texted to, some day a lost pet texting service idea will work. I have found one, LostPetText.com, but I don't know anyone that has ever used it and I don't think the site does a good selling job.
Also to my knowledge (and I'd love to be wrong about this), the messages are in English, so that can be another drawback if the messages are delivered to a large number of homes with no English-speaking residents.
I've found another service that looks interesting, but I know of no one that has ever used it -- Called Everyone. It is a service that allows you to record the message, and provide the phone number list of who to be called. If the lost dog's people have a good source of a lot of numbers -- maybe including cell phone nu;mbers? -- then this might be a good method for getting the word out to whoever might be seeing the dog. Or it can be used to request help in the search!
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| Lost My Doggie logo |
To make it work, you do need to have a good reason to believe that the dog is in a certain residential area and will be seen by people receiving the voicemail message at their home landline phone. That can be the biggest problem. The services don't deliver (voicemail messages) to businesses or to cell phones. With a growing population of people that either don't have landlines or, like me, never check the voicemail on their landline phones but every few weeks, these voicemailing services may not always work so well. But today, when they work, they work GREAT! Possibly, because cell phones can be texted to, some day a lost pet texting service idea will work. I have found one, LostPetText.com, but I don't know anyone that has ever used it and I don't think the site does a good selling job.
Also to my knowledge (and I'd love to be wrong about this), the messages are in English, so that can be another drawback if the messages are delivered to a large number of homes with no English-speaking residents.
I've found another service that looks interesting, but I know of no one that has ever used it -- Called Everyone. It is a service that allows you to record the message, and provide the phone number list of who to be called. If the lost dog's people have a good source of a lot of numbers -- maybe including cell phone nu;mbers? -- then this might be a good method for getting the word out to whoever might be seeing the dog. Or it can be used to request help in the search!
Sunday, July 15, 2012
Shelters Naming Strays
If your goal as a pet detective is to help people find their missing dogs, one thing you can do is devote time to matching lost and found dogs virtually, using the internet. Lots of people do it; why not you?
There are countless websites on which lost dog ads are posted, Craigslist being probably the best local source. Other examples are Fido Finder, Find Toto, Lost My Doggie, Pets911, Petfinder Classifieds, and there are a ton more.
Then to find found dogs to match them to, many of the same sites also post found dogs. However, there are always fewer found dogs, partly because it's not that common for people to go to the effort of searching for a lost dog's owner, and because typically, a person who happens to be in a position to rescue an at large dog in need isn't necessarily in a position to foster that dog until the owner is found. So, finding shelter websites that post dogs is generally a good way to make matches. Pet Harbor is the best site I've found for this.
If you think that people don't need help finding their dog at the shelter, think again! Many people don't think of the shelter, don't check often enough, don't know how to check online. Then there's a problem that this guy ran into -- his dog was taken to a shelter that assigns names to stray dogs, from the time they are admitted. This guy may never have gotten his dog back if there wasn't someone to explain to him that his dog was the one on the Pet Harbor website that had been immediately given the name "Tangerine".
There are countless websites on which lost dog ads are posted, Craigslist being probably the best local source. Other examples are Fido Finder, Find Toto, Lost My Doggie, Pets911, Petfinder Classifieds, and there are a ton more.
Then to find found dogs to match them to, many of the same sites also post found dogs. However, there are always fewer found dogs, partly because it's not that common for people to go to the effort of searching for a lost dog's owner, and because typically, a person who happens to be in a position to rescue an at large dog in need isn't necessarily in a position to foster that dog until the owner is found. So, finding shelter websites that post dogs is generally a good way to make matches. Pet Harbor is the best site I've found for this.
If you think that people don't need help finding their dog at the shelter, think again! Many people don't think of the shelter, don't check often enough, don't know how to check online. Then there's a problem that this guy ran into -- his dog was taken to a shelter that assigns names to stray dogs, from the time they are admitted. This guy may never have gotten his dog back if there wasn't someone to explain to him that his dog was the one on the Pet Harbor website that had been immediately given the name "Tangerine".
Thursday, June 21, 2012
Camera Selection
Hmmmm . . . it looks like I don't need to do that research I've always meant to do on cameras to be used in lost dog searches. Danielle Robertson has done some great research and posted it to her blog. at http://www.lostpetresearch.com/. So for now, I'm just going to refer you to that great article:
Online Resources for Selecting and Using a Trail Camera
Online Resources for Selecting and Using a Trail Camera
Friday, June 1, 2012
Offering Help to Strangers
As people like me know, Craigslist is a great source if you are looking for people to help find their lost dog. It's probably THE best online source, and lots of people know it and advise people to use it. So, huge numbers of lost dogs are advertised on Craigslist.
But I, and many others I know, have experienced countless times that we offer help to strangers on Craigslist, and we don't hear back. This is always been true. I've come to understand it from doing my best to place myself in the shoes of people that post their lost dogs on Craigslist, but may otherwise have no experience with Craigslist and/or the dog loving community. I get that people get a LOT of emails with advice from well intended strangers -- so much that it's overwhelming, and in some cases, may actually interfere with the search. Or is perceived to do so.
The other day I departed from my normal procedure, and I DID send a brief email offering help. As is normal, I got no response. A couple of days later I was forwarded an email from one of my close friends that is involved with one of the many local homeless animal rescue organizations, which she always does since she knows I do lost dog recovery. It was from a friend of that dog's family, reaching out to rescue organizations asking if they've taken in a dog that looks like the friend's lost dog. So I emailed that family friend, let her know that I'd offered help to the family (or to whoever posted to Craigslist), and would she be so kind as to make sure the family knows that help is available if they want it.
I think that her response captured the essence of what people go through so well that I want to share it here. While it was all stuff that I already understood, I thought she put it well, and I figure there are lessons for others to learn here about approaching people that post their lost dogs on Craigslist:
Now, as for advising how to approach strangers so they will accept your offer of help -- that I still haven't figured out! I mostly get referred to by people that know what I do, and tell others. Without those referrals, I wouldn't be helping many people find their lost dogs.
But I, and many others I know, have experienced countless times that we offer help to strangers on Craigslist, and we don't hear back. This is always been true. I've come to understand it from doing my best to place myself in the shoes of people that post their lost dogs on Craigslist, but may otherwise have no experience with Craigslist and/or the dog loving community. I get that people get a LOT of emails with advice from well intended strangers -- so much that it's overwhelming, and in some cases, may actually interfere with the search. Or is perceived to do so.
The other day I departed from my normal procedure, and I DID send a brief email offering help. As is normal, I got no response. A couple of days later I was forwarded an email from one of my close friends that is involved with one of the many local homeless animal rescue organizations, which she always does since she knows I do lost dog recovery. It was from a friend of that dog's family, reaching out to rescue organizations asking if they've taken in a dog that looks like the friend's lost dog. So I emailed that family friend, let her know that I'd offered help to the family (or to whoever posted to Craigslist), and would she be so kind as to make sure the family knows that help is available if they want it.
I think that her response captured the essence of what people go through so well that I want to share it here. While it was all stuff that I already understood, I thought she put it well, and I figure there are lessons for others to learn here about approaching people that post their lost dogs on Craigslist:
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| Click the image for a larger view |
Now, as for advising how to approach strangers so they will accept your offer of help -- that I still haven't figured out! I mostly get referred to by people that know what I do, and tell others. Without those referrals, I wouldn't be helping many people find their lost dogs.
Tuesday, May 15, 2012
Notifying Multiple First Responders
So you are fortunate enough that you have both sightings, and some depth in your volunteer base for responding to sightings. Or the family with the lost dog has friends, neighbors and extended family members that are ready to jump in and help. This is good!
But when a sighting comes in, if there are three people that you want to respond, or at least to notify to see if they can respond, you want to notify them all as quicky as possible. So here's a quick way if you have the sighting call taker at a computer.
For each first responder, collect the cell phone and their carrier name. Then determine the address at which you can send a short email from your email address that will be recieved as a text message by the first responder. I found the information by searching on "email to text"; plenty of resources came up. Here are the main providers, and what your emails would need to look like:
Provider Format
Sprint phonenumber@messaging.sprintpcs.com
Verizon phonenumber@vtext.com
T-Mobile phonenumber@tmomail.net
AT&T phonenumber@txt.att.net
So for example, if you have someone whose number is 800-555-1212 and their carrier is T-Mobile, then you email them at 8005551212@tmomail.net.
Obviously if you need to notify only one person of a hot sighting that you want them to respond to, this isn't a handy trick. But it works great if you have about 3 or more, and you have a computer to use to notify people. Even people that don't like to text back can at least read a text.
Give it a try the next time you have several people to notify that you have sighting calls to respond to.
But when a sighting comes in, if there are three people that you want to respond, or at least to notify to see if they can respond, you want to notify them all as quicky as possible. So here's a quick way if you have the sighting call taker at a computer.
For each first responder, collect the cell phone and their carrier name. Then determine the address at which you can send a short email from your email address that will be recieved as a text message by the first responder. I found the information by searching on "email to text"; plenty of resources came up. Here are the main providers, and what your emails would need to look like:
Provider Format
Sprint phonenumber@messaging.sprintpcs.com
Verizon phonenumber@vtext.com
T-Mobile phonenumber@tmomail.net
AT&T phonenumber@txt.att.net
So for example, if you have someone whose number is 800-555-1212 and their carrier is T-Mobile, then you email them at 8005551212@tmomail.net.
Obviously if you need to notify only one person of a hot sighting that you want them to respond to, this isn't a handy trick. But it works great if you have about 3 or more, and you have a computer to use to notify people. Even people that don't like to text back can at least read a text.
Give it a try the next time you have several people to notify that you have sighting calls to respond to.
Sunday, April 15, 2012
Pictures for Large Posters
Obviously, fliers are a staple in lost dog searches. Everyone uses them, in all searches. Most commonly, people print them on an 8 1/2 " x 11" sheet of paper, and slap them on telephone poles.
Signs much larger than that are much, much more effective for spreading the word, needless to say. But they really raise the cost, and they take a lot of time to make if you cut costs by making them.
Then there's the problem of how to print pictures large enough. Well, check this out! It was just sent my way, and I tried it - it works great!
In this sample, I selected 2 pages, portrait, and US letter size. This basically means that my picture will be blown up such that 1/4 of the picture will print per page, which is already large enough that it will be a little blurry. But cars driving past from the distance they will be at, drivers should be able to see it.
Give it a try! Print large pictures for large signs that will be seen, and this should help spread the word!
Signs much larger than that are much, much more effective for spreading the word, needless to say. But they really raise the cost, and they take a lot of time to make if you cut costs by making them.
Then there's the problem of how to print pictures large enough. Well, check this out! It was just sent my way, and I tried it - it works great!
In this sample, I selected 2 pages, portrait, and US letter size. This basically means that my picture will be blown up such that 1/4 of the picture will print per page, which is already large enough that it will be a little blurry. But cars driving past from the distance they will be at, drivers should be able to see it.
Give it a try! Print large pictures for large signs that will be seen, and this should help spread the word!
Wednesday, March 21, 2012
Precautions When Using Cameras
Recently, a dog that I was involved in the search for was found, by sightings and by a search dog, to be traveling accross a small piece of property that happened to belong to the town. It was outside the fence of the public works building. There was a spot that was perfect for a feeding station, and we strapped one of our cameras to a tree.
The camera was there for close to a week before it disappeared.
Some days afterwards, we were emailed by a neighbor living near where the feeding station was. It seems that someone from the town had gone in search of the camera owner, to tell them they could come pick up their camera from the police department. That neighbor knew how to contact us.
So I called the officer, and I was surprised to have him tell me that he needed me to give him the make and mode, and preferably the serial number, of the camera before he would release it to me.
Well, our group has a number of different cameras, and I didn't have any idea what camera was out there. Fortunately, someone in our group did know which camera was there, and she had its twin at home. She did need that to look up the make and model, and from it she also got the format of the serial number, in case that would help.
So, the lessons are, one, don't forget, as we did in that case, to put identification on a camera (such as strepping a business card on to it, and keep a record of the make, model and serial numbers -- just in case your camera is appropriated by a municipality!
The camera was there for close to a week before it disappeared.
Some days afterwards, we were emailed by a neighbor living near where the feeding station was. It seems that someone from the town had gone in search of the camera owner, to tell them they could come pick up their camera from the police department. That neighbor knew how to contact us.
So I called the officer, and I was surprised to have him tell me that he needed me to give him the make and mode, and preferably the serial number, of the camera before he would release it to me.
Well, our group has a number of different cameras, and I didn't have any idea what camera was out there. Fortunately, someone in our group did know which camera was there, and she had its twin at home. She did need that to look up the make and model, and from it she also got the format of the serial number, in case that would help.
So, the lessons are, one, don't forget, as we did in that case, to put identification on a camera (such as strepping a business card on to it, and keep a record of the make, model and serial numbers -- just in case your camera is appropriated by a municipality!
Thursday, March 1, 2012
The Worst Thing About Coyotes
Obviously, a dog, or any pet, being killed in a coyote attack would be about the worst thing that could happen to a missing pet.
But if you talk to a lot of people that spend their time searching for missing pets, the message that they will put out is that people giving up the search for their missing pets because they assume that they were killed by a coyote is the worst thing you can do. Coyotes don't account for anywhere near the amount of domestic animal kills that many people believe.
As a pet detective, one of the best ways you can assist missing pet owners is to advise them about coyotes, and to avoid placing an inordinate amount of stock in the idea that they have killed a dog or a cat, if they start talking about it. Here's a little reading on the subject:
Danielle Robertson discusses Trends in Coyote Attacks on Dogs in her blog.
One of the best succinct pages I've found on the subject is on the website of Carmen, a clairvoyant and a pet detective. Even if she is questionable as a source because of her status as a clairvoyant, she does a good job of putting the message out there: The Truth About Coyotes
Also read Digging for the Truth on Coyotes to get a little background on how scientists figure out that coyotes don't necessarily eat cats and small dogs as often as so many people believe.
But if you talk to a lot of people that spend their time searching for missing pets, the message that they will put out is that people giving up the search for their missing pets because they assume that they were killed by a coyote is the worst thing you can do. Coyotes don't account for anywhere near the amount of domestic animal kills that many people believe.
As a pet detective, one of the best ways you can assist missing pet owners is to advise them about coyotes, and to avoid placing an inordinate amount of stock in the idea that they have killed a dog or a cat, if they start talking about it. Here's a little reading on the subject:
Danielle Robertson discusses Trends in Coyote Attacks on Dogs in her blog.
One of the best succinct pages I've found on the subject is on the website of Carmen, a clairvoyant and a pet detective. Even if she is questionable as a source because of her status as a clairvoyant, she does a good job of putting the message out there: The Truth About Coyotes
Also read Digging for the Truth on Coyotes to get a little background on how scientists figure out that coyotes don't necessarily eat cats and small dogs as often as so many people believe.
Wednesday, February 15, 2012
Collecting Sighting Info
Often in a search for a lost dog, there are no, or few, sightings. And when the dog is actually out and about, as opposed to having been picked up, a lack of sightings can be very disheartening and depressing.
But then there are the cases with LOTS of sightings.
This tip is going to be valuable to only a fraction of individual lost dog owners who are currently searching for their lost dogs. But for the pet detective or lost dog recovery specialist, this gives you one more option to advise lost dog owners about if you are working a case with lots of sightings: Collect sighting information on an electronic form!
I haven't tried it yet, and in fact, I only just recently learned about free online form builders. And the first use I thought of related to searching for lost dogs is to collect sighting information. The first form building program I learned about was jotform.com, and I found some info on it on their Facebook page. So I suggest looking at that.
But since I really am not prepared to recommend one over the other, never having actually tried any of them, it seems that I should give equalt time to all of the programs I found quickly and easily with one quick internet search. So here are the websites I found, in no particular order other than alphabetical:
I'd love to hear how this works for anyone that tries it before I do. And I'd love to hear about other ideas for this kind of resource, in addition to the idea of collecting sighting info.
But then there are the cases with LOTS of sightings.
This tip is going to be valuable to only a fraction of individual lost dog owners who are currently searching for their lost dogs. But for the pet detective or lost dog recovery specialist, this gives you one more option to advise lost dog owners about if you are working a case with lots of sightings: Collect sighting information on an electronic form!
I haven't tried it yet, and in fact, I only just recently learned about free online form builders. And the first use I thought of related to searching for lost dogs is to collect sighting information. The first form building program I learned about was jotform.com, and I found some info on it on their Facebook page. So I suggest looking at that.
But since I really am not prepared to recommend one over the other, never having actually tried any of them, it seems that I should give equalt time to all of the programs I found quickly and easily with one quick internet search. So here are the websites I found, in no particular order other than alphabetical:
- http://www.emailmeform.com/
- http://www.formlogix.com/
- http://www.formsmarts.com/
- http://www.jotform.com/
- http://www.phpform.org/
- http://www.wufoo.com/
- http://www.zoho.com/
I'd love to hear how this works for anyone that tries it before I do. And I'd love to hear about other ideas for this kind of resource, in addition to the idea of collecting sighting info.
Sunday, January 15, 2012
Surveillance Plans
A couple of nights ago, I ran a stake-out for the first time in a while, and this was after only participating in a few stake-outs before. Not that you know what I'd already learned, I'm going to share the new stuff I picked up.
One relates to establishing locations; one that we established turned out to be way too active. It was like Grand Central Station. There's a Dunkin Donuts and a Subway and a couple of restaurants. It probably would be a good location for an overnight stake-out, but this one ran from 8pm to midnight. We pulled it as soon as we figured it out, and reassigned the volunteers.
Another relates to deciding what volunteers are assigned to what locations. One volunteer has her own night vision, so we put her at one of two sites that was completely dark, with no street lighting. That was a good call. In another case, we got lucky when we paired two volunteers that were not interested in sharing a vehicle, but both stayed in their own cars, out of preference. We wanted the volunteers to help keep each other awake, so in general, this isn't preferable -- for them to be in separate cars. But at their site, it happens that one needed to watch the street and the other needed to watch the park, which are in opposite directions. So their cars faced opposite directions, and it worked.
We had neglected to instruct each volunteer team to study the areas surround each of the five surveillance sites, which they would need to know in case a sighting came in to one, since we would want all teams to move to the sighting area to assist. We got a volunteer to stay by the phone and computer so that she would be able to help navigate anyone that called her, in the event of a sighting, to the sighting location. Now, I would always want someone on standby for this reason.
We set up a phone tree in the event that a sighting came in. The first person to call would be the dog's foster mom, with whom she had bonded. Then the sighter would call the person on the list to which he was assigned. This would be the passenger/non-driver in another team. That person would call the person to whom they were assigned, which was the passenger in another team. This would continue until everyone was notified and would be on their way to the sighting locaiton. We tested this, and thankfully so since one person's phone number, on the list, was his home phone not his cell phone!
No, we never sighted the dog that night. But my consolation prize was figuring a few things out about stake-outs that I hadn't known before.
One relates to establishing locations; one that we established turned out to be way too active. It was like Grand Central Station. There's a Dunkin Donuts and a Subway and a couple of restaurants. It probably would be a good location for an overnight stake-out, but this one ran from 8pm to midnight. We pulled it as soon as we figured it out, and reassigned the volunteers.
Another relates to deciding what volunteers are assigned to what locations. One volunteer has her own night vision, so we put her at one of two sites that was completely dark, with no street lighting. That was a good call. In another case, we got lucky when we paired two volunteers that were not interested in sharing a vehicle, but both stayed in their own cars, out of preference. We wanted the volunteers to help keep each other awake, so in general, this isn't preferable -- for them to be in separate cars. But at their site, it happens that one needed to watch the street and the other needed to watch the park, which are in opposite directions. So their cars faced opposite directions, and it worked.
We had neglected to instruct each volunteer team to study the areas surround each of the five surveillance sites, which they would need to know in case a sighting came in to one, since we would want all teams to move to the sighting area to assist. We got a volunteer to stay by the phone and computer so that she would be able to help navigate anyone that called her, in the event of a sighting, to the sighting location. Now, I would always want someone on standby for this reason.
We set up a phone tree in the event that a sighting came in. The first person to call would be the dog's foster mom, with whom she had bonded. Then the sighter would call the person on the list to which he was assigned. This would be the passenger/non-driver in another team. That person would call the person to whom they were assigned, which was the passenger in another team. This would continue until everyone was notified and would be on their way to the sighting locaiton. We tested this, and thankfully so since one person's phone number, on the list, was his home phone not his cell phone!
No, we never sighted the dog that night. But my consolation prize was figuring a few things out about stake-outs that I hadn't known before.
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