The Probability that you will Find your Lost Pet

If you’ve ever lost a dog or cat, you know that the experience can be devastating. It is often difficult to rationalize that your animal may not come back. Most owners take to their printers and computers, and post flyers with their dog or cat’s photo on light poles and telephone poles in the area in hopes of gaining help from neighbors and local residents. Oftentimes these flyers even involve a reward for anyone who can bring Fido or Fluffy home safe.

According to the first-ever study on this subject, 93 dogs that are lost from an owner are returned safely to their homes. The study was conducted by the American Society for Prevention of Cruelty to Animals to determine how many of the animals in shelters are lost pets and how many may just be homeless vagabonds. Dr. Emily Weiss, a certified animal behaviorist, says that the research project merited some very surprising results.

First, only 15 percent of all pet guardians have reported a lost dog or cat within the past 5 years. 14 percent of all personally owned dogs go missing, while 15 percent of all cats vanish from time to time. Yet only 6 percent of dog owners and 2 percent of cat owners found their pet at a shelter later one. Normally, these animals are returned to their homes by a Good Samaritan, as referred to above. While 93 percent of dogs arrive safely home, the likelihood for cats is slightly less, at 75 percent. If you are worried that your pet may run off, make sure that he or she wears a identification tag. 15 percent of all dogs were found because of these tags which help citizens to return the animal to the correct home.