What to do if a pet goes missing
First and foremost, contact your local animal control officer. Give them your name and contact information, and let them know that your animal is missing. Provide them with your animal’s identifying information such as name, species, sex, breed, coat pattern and color, last place seen, and microchip number.
Check the Animal Impound
Check the Animal Impound websites and Facebook pages for a full list of impounded animals. Check these sites daily.
You can also contact them directly by phone
- Bismarck Police Department: (701) 223-1212
- Bismarck Animal Control Voicemail Box: (701) 355-1910
- Bismarck Animal Impound Voicemail Box: (701) 355-1994
- Mandan Police Department: (701) 667-3250
Create a flyer.
The flyer should be well-organized, easy to read, and should have a large, up-to-date, and clear photo of the animal.
Here are some resources for flyer templates:
Here’s what you should include on your Lost Pet flyer:
- The animal’s name
- A clear picture of the animal
- Your personal contact information
- The intersection where your animal went missing and the location of the most recent sighting
- Relevant identifying information such as species, sex, breed, coat pattern, and color
Communicate on Social Media
Post a picture of the flyer on your personal social media accounts and on lost and found pet groups. Start following local lost/found animal pages to see if your animal is posted as found. Reach out to local rescues at this time as well. Ask if they’ve seen or taken in your animal and if they’ll post your missing poster on their social media accounts.
- Mocha’s Mission
- BisMan Lost and Found Pets
- Bismarck-Mandan Lost Pets
- Freckles lost and found page
- Furry Friends Rockin’ Rescue
- Kitty City
- Central Dakota Humane Society
- BisMan Animal Rescue Incorporated
- Patrol the area in which your animal went missing.
- Coordinate group searches with family and friends
- Post flyers
- Set traps only if you can commit to checking them every few hours
If the animal went missing near your home:
- Talk to your neighbors and leave your contact information with them
- Set out their food and water dishes
- Set out bedding or unwashed laundry that smells like you and them
- If the missing animal is a cat, set out litter box.