Losing a pet can be a frightening and anxious time. When a pet turns up missing, our first response is to imagine the worst. However, it's the first few hours that are critical to ensuring your pet's safe return. Plan a strategy for locating your pet. These simple steps should help:

Start at Home Indoor pets will usually stay around the home. Check the yard, crawl spaces, and bushes. They know where their home is and aren't comfortable going far. Trying calling for them and bring some irresistible treats. If you see your pet, coax them to you - running or lunging at them in your panic will only make them want to play a nice game of "chase me down the street".

Post Flyers with a Photo of the pet. Chances are if your pet went for a walk, they were seen.  You can offer a reward, but likely, you won't need to. You should also distribute the flyers door-to-door in at least a three-block radius. You'll want to post in store windows and on telephone poles in the area of your home, or any other location your pet may have gone to.

Call Around. Contact Animal Control, local veterinarians, and animal shelters. Where possible, you should give a flyer or photo of your pet, as a description often doesn't do enough justice to whatyour pet actually looks like. Even if they don't have your pet, your pet could  turn up at any of these locations over the next few days.

 Advertise. If a couple of days have gone by and still no Fido, there is still hope. Check local classifieds for a description of your pet, and post a missing ad in the lost and found pet section. These are usually free listings and can be found in most major newspapers, and on websites such as craigslist.