From The Humane Society of the United States: Right now The HSUS is working together with other groups to merge data from many organizations and agencies, and the process is time-consuming and complicated. Some of the records are good; some came from the field and have limited information or are dirty, wet, or otherwise hard to read. Rescuers used different methods to catalog the animals they took in, and some animals came into the staging areas before any cataloging system had been put in place.
The result is that there are now pets at shelters and rescue groups all over the country, and not all of them left an easy-to-follow paper trail as they moved through the rescue system. We are working to ensure that www.Petfinder.com's list is as complete as possible, and easy for families looking for pets to use. The system is improving daily. A team of people at The HSUS has been working every day since Katrina struck to develop a system for pet owners to reunite with the pets they lost. The central components of that system are the Animal Emergency Response Network at www.Petfinder.com and our Disaster Call Center number, 1-800-HUMANE-1.
How to Start Searching for Your Animal...
If you are looking for a pet lost during the Gulf Coast hurricanes, click through to Petfinder's Animal Emergency Response Network, and perform the following steps:
Click on "I am looking for my pet."
Enter as much information as you have, and search.
Look at the photographs carefully! Most were taken in bad lighting or at night. Many are of animals in cages, or positioned in a way that makes identification difficult. Look for your pet's identifying marks—unusual spots, markings, signs of aging, colors.
Read the information included. If you see a cat that kind of looks like yours, and you know your cat was wearing a green collar, check to see if there is a mention of a collar anywhere in the animal's record. (But don't exclude an animal from your search based on the lack of a collar or ribbons or any other accessories—many of these were lost in the ordeal.)
If you don't get any results, try leaving off parts of what you know. For example, if you're looking for a male Irish setter lost in New Orleans, start by including all of that. Then try different variations: Include the breed, but leave the field for gender at "All." Try the zip code with just the species. Try the species with the gender.
Not everyone knows animal breeds well. Even if you know your animal is a Papillion, don't just search under that breed. Search the King Charles spaniels. Search all the smaller dogs. This is especially relevant if your animal is a mixed breed; even if you're certain the animal is half shepherd and half poodle, rescuers probably won't have listed it that way.
Unless your pet was wearing a collar and a tag with his/her name on it, searching under his/her name will probably not get results. Even if your animal had a tag, he may have lost it in the storm. Don't give up because you can't find an animal named Fluffy—broaden your search and keep looking.
If you see an animal who looks like your pet, check to see if there is any contact information attached to the record. Many organizations are posting their phone numbers and e-mail addresses so that owners can get in touch. If you can't find any contact information for the animal, call 1-800-HUMANE-1. We may be able to trace the group that has the animal now.
Keep checking the web site. Many groups are still in the process of getting their animals loaded onto the site. Check back often for your animal.
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