Every time I see a thread about one of our members that have lost a dog my heart just sinks. I found some great information about making LOST DOG posters and thought I would share with everyone.
How to Create a Lost or Found Dog Poster
[URL="http://www.missingpetpartnership.org/recovery-posters.php"]Missing Pet Partnership has discovered a creative and highly effective tool for recovering lost pets with a method that we call the
"FIVE + FIVE + FIFTY-FIVE RULE." At any typical intersection, you only have five seconds and five words to get your message across to drivers who are passing through the area where your pet is missing. We have had success in recovering lost pets several weeks after they disappeared by helping people create posters using the following rules:
First you need to create a flyer:
FLYERS
8 1/2" X 11" sheets of paper to hand out to neighbors and place in key locations like veterinary offices, pet shops, groomers, post offices, and outside supermarkets in your area. You will need to make plenty of lost pet flyers (at least 75 to 100 initially). 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 nonbreed 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.
Use the best picture of your pet, preferably a color photo the larger the better.
Place the photo in the center of the flyer.
Details to include:
1. Breed
2. Coloring
3. Hair length
4. Wearing a collar or not
5. Location and date last seen
6. If he is timid, add that information to your flyer.
7. Phone number where you can be reached in
big, bold numbers and encourage calls anytime day or night.
*Change the recording on your home phone machine to refer people to another phone number such 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.*
Now make your posters:
1. Make them GIANT so that people driving by cannot miss them.
2. Make them FLUORESCENT so that the color attracts the attention of everyone.
3. Put them at major intersections near where you lost your pet (and in areas of sightings).
4. Keep them BRIEF and to the point.
Items Needed:
At least 10 giant (28" X 22") fluorescent orange poster boards
1. 2
large black permanent markers (do not buy water soluble markers)
*Do not use thin markers they are too hard too see
2. 10 sheet protectors
3. Duct tape
4. 10 flyers with color photo of your lost pet
*Use flyers created above
Creating the Posters:
See pictures below
Hang it vertically (not horizontally).
1. TOP in 5-inch black letters, print the word REWARD.
2. Center of the poster, use clear packing tape to secure a plastic sheet protector. This is where you will slip in your FLYER and then seal the top portion with more tape to protect it from weather.
3. BOTTOM in 5-inch black letters, print the word LOST.
This is what the finished sign should look like and how it should be hung. I've included a picture of what is should NOT look like as well.