Show Some Puppy Love by Microchipping Your Pet

July is National Lost Pet Prevention Month when people are encouraged to take steps to help them find their pets if they get separated.

Microchipping is one of the best ways to help find a lost pet. A collar with the owner’s contact information is another way to help reunite owners with their lost pets. Here are some other tips to help bring your pets back home:

Contact the Prince William County Animal Shelter at 703-792-6465. “Contact us immediately and place a lost pet report on file,” said Prince William County Shelter Manager Suzette Kapp. “Contact the microchip company if your pet has a microchip. Sometimes the companies that make the microchips will put out an alert for you, and if somebody finds a pet, they can trace it back to the owner. Microchips are instrumental in getting a pet reunited with their family.”

Put signs in the area where the pet was lost and post on social media sites, such as Pawboost Alert and homeowners’ association sites. “If people find a pet and see a sign or a social media post, then people and their pets are more easily reunited,” Kapp said.

Another way to help people find their pets, particularly dogs, is to take something familiar to the area where the animal was lost. “We always recommend bringing something out that smells like you, like a piece of clothing,” Kapp said. “Typically, if they’re lost in a strange place, they stay in that general vicinity.”

Thunder and fireworks can also scare dogs. With July 4 coming up and summer storms rolling in, many dogs escape their fencing. Kapp said people should keep their dogs close when people are setting off fireworks and during thunderstorms.

Keeping dogs on a leash, continuing obedience training and securing fencing can also help prevent losing a pet. Learn more about the Animal Shelter, including how to report lost and found pets, adoptions and dog training classes at pwcva.gov/department/animal-control.