What to Do If Your Pet Gets Lost in Massachusetts

There can be nothing more frightening than when a loved one goes missing. We read accounts of families frantically searching for missing parents who have wandered off or children who have disappeared.

Losing a pet can make you almost as heartsick and desperate as though a family member had vanished. After all, many pets are considered part of the family.

Animals get away from us even when they are not attempting to escape.

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Open fences, gates, and doors often offer irresistible opportunities for dogs to bolt. A loud noise or traumatic experience (fireworks, house fire, storms) can startle a dog or cat, and off it goes.

A dog's instinct to roam can get lost before they, or you, realize it.

The Peabody-based non-profit Missing Dogs Massachusetts (MDM) is about "reuniting lost and found dogs with their families."

MDM works with animal control officers, rescues, shelters, law enforcement and the media to reunite lost pets with their owners. MDM's volunteers utilize social media pages, including Facebook and X (formerly Twitter) to reconnect owners and pets.

Missing Dogs Massachusetts is not alone in working to bring lost pets home. There are many others.

Massachusetts Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (MSPCA Angell) has a lost and found page.

Others include LostMyDoggie.com, which sends free dog Amber Alerts, PawBoost.com, the Massachusetts Animal Coalition, and MassLostPets.net, to name a few.

The experts say the best way not to lose your pet is to take steps to prevent it from getting away from you in the first place. If your pet does get away from you, take heart in knowing there is help available to find it.