Effective 'LOST'  Posters

Follow these steps for making effective Lost Dog Posters and Flyers In addition to posting flyers (8 ½ X 11 sheets of paper), you will also want to make highly visible giant, florescent POSTERS that have your lost pet FLYERS attached to them. Florescent posters are highly visible, effective, and they are harder for people to tear down. They have proven highly successful in the recovery of lost pets, especially lost dogs. Your goal with these poster boards is to make them very big, very noticeable, and very brief.

ITEMS NEEDED: At least 10 giant (28" X 22") florescent orange poster boards; 2 large black magic permanent markers ( do not buy water soluble markers); 10 sheet protectors; duct tape; 10 flyers with color photo of your lost pet.

CREATING THE POSTERS: Use giant (28" X 22") florescent orange poster board available at most office supply stores. The size and florescent color will attract the eye of everyone who drives by-this is your goal! You will hang this vertical (not horizontal). At the very top, in 5-inch black letters , print the words REWARD. At the very bottom, in 5-inch black letters, print the words LOST DOG . In the center of the poster, use clear packing tape to secure a plastic sheet protector. This is where you will slip your FLYER in and then seal the top portion with more tape to protect it from weather.

This is how your final lost poster should look

CREATING FLYERS FOR YOUR POSTERS: Next, you'll need to create ten special flyers used to display in the center of your florescent posters. You'll want to use a very brief description of your dog at both the top and bottom of these ten flyers. Use the largest font that you can - such as size 80 or 90 in Arial or Verdana font. Your florescent poster will already announce "REWARD LOST DOG" (see photos above) so you do NOT need to write the words "lost dog" again on these flyers (at least not in giant letters). Instead, in smaller font (size 18 to 20) write just a few sentences of information about your dog, where it was lost, and include your phone numbers where you can be reached. In the center of the flyer paste a color photograph of your dog. When you are finished, the biggest words on the white flyers should be the color and breed of your dog (i.e. RED DOBERMAN or TAN TERRIER). If your poster combined with the flyer can convey in five words or less the message "REWARD LOST DOG - WHITE POODLE" or "REWARD LOST DOG - YELLOW LABRADOR" then every passerby will be a potential witness who may be able to lead you to your missing dog. We call this the "Five words, five seconds rule." That's because you will only have five seconds and five words to get your message across to driver's who are passing through the area. The biggest mistake people make when posting 8 ½ X 11 white flyers is that (a) most people passing by don't even notice them and (b) the only thing that driver's passing by can usually read is "REWARD" and maybe "LOST DOG" - that's it. Using the five words on the florescent posters will give hundreds of driver's passing by your poster a visual picture of what your lost dog looks like. Then, anyone driving by who happens to see a loose yellow Labrador will remember your florescent poster and will know where they can find your phone number (which will be in a smaller font).

You should make a flyer like this for each florescent poster board that you create.

Remember, lost dogs travel. They are often noticed by people who live and drive the same roadways every day. You have a good chance that if your dog was picked up by someone who pulled over to rescue him, that same person might drive by your poster and discover how to contact you. Get your florescent poster boards up as quickly as possible while witnesses still remember the day and time that they saw your dog.

CREATING FLYERS AS HANDOUTS AND TO POST In addition to posters, you will want to create lost dog FLYERS - 8 ½ X 11 sheets of paper that you hand out to neighbors, post at specific locations, mail, and place in key locations like veterinary offices, pet shops, groomers, post offices, and outside super markets in your area. You will need to make plenty of lost pet flyers (at least 75 to 100 initially). You will hand these flyers out to neighbors and people that you talk to as well as post them inside pet stores, groomers, and veterinary clinics. You'll want to leave a few with your local shelter and find out how to mail or fax them to all of the local breed and non-breed rescue groups in your area. If you're not sure how to contact the rescue groups in your area, ask the staff at your local animal shelter as they typically keep in touch with these nonprofit organizations.

This is how you should create flyers that you will hand out to neighbors and post in public
(these flyers won't be used on the florescent poster boards).

When creating your handout flyers, always use the best picture of your pet, preferably a color photo showing the entire pet - the larger the photo, the better. Place the photo in the center of the flyer. Be sure your flyer includes details such as your pet's breed, coloring, hair length, and any distinctive markings, whether it was wearing a collar, and the location and date the pet was last seen. Include a phone number where you can be reached in big, bold letters, and encourage calls anytime day or night. Be sure to change the recording on your home phone machine to refer people to another phone number such as a pager or cell phone. The last thing you want is someone to call you at 12:00 noon to say they see your dog and you don't get the message until 6:00 p.m. ! If you don't own a pager or a cell phone, borrow one! If your pet is timid, add that information to your flyer.

When creating flyers and placing Ad's in the local classified section, it is important to withhold at least one identifying mark or characteristic of your lost pet, in case you need it later to verify that a person has actually found your pet and is not trying to scam you - it's unfortunate, but it does happens. For safety considerations, DO NOT include your name, address, or a specific reward amount on your flyer! The type of people that you hope will call are animal lovers who don't care about the money - not folks looking to make buck. Whenever you go to claim your pet, be sure to take someone with you - and do not pay any reward until you actually have your pet back in hand. If someone asks you to wire them money because they found your pet but are now in a different city, DO NOT BELIEVE THEM as this is a common scam.

POST YOUR POSTERS WHERE THEY WILL BE SEEN: Post your giant florescent posters on telephone or street light poles at busy street corners - especially at the major intersections nearest where your dog escaped or was last seen. Highly florescent orange posters stand out at intersections where several signs compete for everyone's attention. Of the three lost pet flyers at this intersection, the one that will be noticed is the one pasted to the florescent orange poster.

You will want to place your florescent posters at all the major intersections within a 2-5 mile radius of the escape point and at any locations where you've had possible sightings. Make sure they are at a level as far above your head as possible for maximum visibility for drivers passing by. Use duct tape (on the back of the poster) to secure the poster to a post or pole.

Run at least 4 horizontal strips of duct tap (on the back of the poster), taking care to wrap the duct tape around the back of the pole and secure it to both back sides of the poster board. Taking these extra measures when posting your flyer will give your poster a much better chance of remaining in its spot for an adequate length of time. Don't forget to examine your posted flyers frequently and replace the ones that are missing or damaged.

Use LARGE font so people can read your sign! Flyers that are scribbled with handwriting on lined paper are not readable from a distance and are ignored.

Use THICK FAT markers for easy reading.

PET DETECTIVES: For a listing of certified pet detectives with dogs trained to track lost pets, visit Pet Hunters International at http://missingpetpartnership.org/  and click on the Find a Pet Detective.

LOST PET WEB SITES: There are plenty of lost pet web sites on the Internet where you can post a picture and information about your lost dog. Visit our links page for a listing of recommended lost pet web sites.

ONE LAST THING: DO NOT GIVE UP HOPE! Your pet is out there somewhere and you stand a good chance of bringing him/her back home if you remain focused, positive, and persistent in your efforts. Your biggest enemy is discouragement and a lack of hope!