Australian pet owners turn to detectives to find their missing pets
Pet owners are going a step further than word of mouth or social media posts to find their missing fur baby by spending big bucks on detectives.
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The thought of losing a beloved animal is enough to make any pet owner panic — and it’s become common all over the country.
But owners are going a step further than word of mouth or social media posts by hiring a pet detective to sniff out a furry family member.
Many lost and found pet Facebook groups have popped up to help reunite pets with frantic owners but now the search is becoming forensic.
One group, Arthur & Co. Pet Concierge, says it has quickly become Australia’s comprehensive pet detective service with more than 20,000 followers and has a team of state specialists with a variety of skill sets to help owners find their missing or stolen pets.
The group’s founder, Anne-Marie, started the page after losing her collie Sam when she was younger.
“I never recovered from losing him,” she says.
“Someone picked him up and kept him but there was nothing we could do to get him back.”
Anne-Marie says dog theft has increased significantly over the years and more so during the pandemic as the demand for domestic pets surge.
“We receive up to 50 inquiries each week from lost or stolen pet owners and we do a lot of covert cases where someone who is known to the pet owner is responsible for the theft — the most common being an ex-partner or a pet sitter,” she says.
“Social media has become a great forum to engage with the community quickly and raise awareness of a missing or stolen pet.”
Arthur & Co. Pet Concierge recently helped Jessica Tassiou find her missing two-year-old cavoodle, Clifford, after the pooch escaped from a grooming store during stage four restrictions in Victoria.
The pet detective business, which charges $300 and up, hired a private investigator to get a permit to perform door knocks on the street Clifford was last sighted and also published ads online.
“We received information from a witness that had seen Clifford bolting up (a nearby road),” Anne-Marie says.
“The evidence suggests someone in a nearby street found and kept Clifford.”
Mr Tassiou says: “When I opened my front door and saw him, we both ran to each other and he jumped into my arms.
“I was so overcome with relief and happiness that I accidentally locked myself outside. A neighbour assisted us to get back inside.”
While the story had a happy ending, experts say it’s also a cautionary tale about the importance of pet collars, tags and microchips.
Greencross Vets’ regional clinical director Dr Adam Sternberg says collars, identification tags and microchips are still the most direct way to get a dog home.
“A microchip allows rapid identification of a pet should they become lost and a unique number is correlated with your details on a protected database,” he says.
“Having a collar with a pet tag listing pets’ names and your phone number also increases the ability of your pet finding their way home should they become lost.”
Dr Sternberg says there are other ways that you can keep your pet safe at home.
“With spring and summer comes humid weather and storms — having a secure backyard or hidey spot inside the home are great ways dogs can feel safe and secure,” he says.