Lost or Missing Pet? - Making Highly Effective Signs to Bring them Home

I cannot stress how important signs are. They are low-tech, highly visible and immediately available. The major key is to make effective signs! To do this you will need to invest in a few key elements. Neon colored posterboards, plastic sleeves, thick markers in black, a staple gun, a hammer, nails, packing tape and color copies are the ingredients for successful signage. Don't skimp! This is the cornerstone of your campaign!

Buy as many poster boards as you can afford. They should be no smaller than 18"x24". Have them cut in half at the store, or take them home to be cut. Buy a box of the plastic sleeves, the ones that go in binders and have the pocket to hold papers. Pick up a multi-pack of packing tape and some black markers that have a thick tip and one with a thinner tip.

Go through your photos of your pet. Pick out three photos that show your pet in different full-body shots. Do not use photos that only show the face or that have hard-to-make-out details. Take these photos to a copy store and have as many prints as you can made up. (I found that color copies were crazy expensive at most stores so I shopped around. The UPS store had the best price, far and away, at .19 a copy.) If your pet has any distinguishing marks make sure that at least one of your photos shows that. This photo should take up one page of paper. You are not going to have any words on here, just the color photo of your pet, filling the page.

You are going to need blank white paper to type your message on and to have copies run off. Your message should be short and concise and look something like this:

Lost Pet (Note: These should be in all capital letters)

Phone Number

Reward

That's it. Remember, people are seeing the majority of your signs from their cars. Don't ad useless information like "needs medication" or "family sad" or try to describe the dog. They can't read a novel, they can only catch the headlines, so get to the point.

You are now ready to make your signs. Each piece of poster board should be cut in half, each side being no smaller than 9"x22". A little bigger is better. You should have two pieces of paper, one with your pet's color photo, one with your message in big clear letters. (Choose a font that's easy to read from a distance, such as Times New Roman or Century Gothic.) Put a copy of the photo and a copy of the flyer into plastic sleeves and use the packing tape to secure them to the poster board. Be sure to tape over the opening at the top of the sleeve so that water doesn't ruin all of your work and investment. Put the photo sleeve on top, the flyer sleeve right under it. If you have the room at the top of the poster, write "Lost Pet" (again, this should be in capital letters) in your thick marker.

Posting Your Signs

Now you begin to work your spiral. The more people you have helping you, the faster this will go. Use your signs in your neighborhood first, one sign on each corner, facing oncoming traffic. Place your signs low enough that people in cars and pedestrians can see them easily. As you work out on to major streets you will use the signs in groups.

At a major intersection you will need twelve signs. Yes, I said twelve. You will be putting up three signs at each side of the intersection facing oncoming traffic. There are a couple of good reasons for this.

A.) People drive by so fast that they have passed your one sign before they can register that it is something that they should be looking at.

B.) Repetition and color guarantee that by the third sign people will be reading and studying your signs, increasing the chances that they will be on the lookout for your animal.

This is a good place for teams of two to work on. Take your tape, your hammer and the staple gun and twelve of your signs. After finding a safe place to park your car, head to the nearest corner. Now look back down the side walk. You are looking for a series of three poles in which to post your signs. Utility poles, mailboxes, bus stops---use what you can see and what drivers will be able to see as they approach that intersection. Place your signs in a series of three, placing each sign so that drivers can see it from their vehicles. Some signs will be metal and some wood so you may need tape and staples or nails. Stop signs are not a good idea. They are so thin that your message will be lost in the wrap-around. Work your way around the intersection, placing three signs each time.

Be Persistent

People will see these signs. You should drive around and check on them at least once a week. Your spiral map will help you remember where your signs are. If your signs are vandalized or if they get torn down or rain-soaked, replace them. You also want to watch for sun-fading. If this search lasts for more than a couple of weeks, you may need to replace south, east and west facing signs due to fading and yellowing. If you don't care enough to keep your information looking fresh, why should the public take the time to read your signs? Also, fading and water damage tell people that this search is old and stale and that there isn't something important at stake. Keep your signs current. This lets people know that you are still looking. Go to the animal shelters every three days and do a visual check yourself, do not rely on the phone and internet. Never rely on others being able to recognize a certain breed of dog. I just had a case of a lost terrier and so many people responded to our signage saying they had found a terrier only for my to discover the dog they had found was a Chihuahua, a dachshund, and two different poodles. Use your own eyes for identification, even at shelters and pounds. Post on ads on Craigslist and Petfinder. Knock on your neighbors' doors and keep asking if they have seen them. Lots of lost animals are found by kind people who decide to keep them. Many animals that are frightened end up running until they are exhausted and then they search for help. Most averages put that distance at three miles, but if your dog is a runner you might want to post signs four to eight miles out.