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Lost Pet Recovery Training By Kat Albrecht

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Intersection Alerts

Since 2008, Missing Animal Response Network members, under the leadership and training of Kat Albrecht, have conducted hundreds of Intersection Alerts. This technique is not guaranteed to be successful, but in many cases it has been the key factor in recovering a lost dog. Below is an article by Pet Detective Jim Branson, owner of Three Retrievers Lost Pet Rescue (www.3retrievers.com) in Burien, WA.

Intersection Alerts: How, Why, When, & Where

by: Jim Branson (used with author’s permission)

What is an “Intersection Alert”?

An Intersection Alert is basically an advertising campaign, except instead of trying to get people to vote for your candidate, come to your fundraising car wash, or shop at your mattress store you are advertising a lost dog. Not only are you making people aware that a dog is missing, but you are also conveying how much your dog means to the owner, and how motivated they are to get their dog home. Generally speaking, people want to be helpful, but they are more likely to offer help when they see all of the effort that is being put into the recovery effort.

How to Conduct an Intersection Alert

To conduct a successful intersection alert, you will

  1. Coordinate and schedule a group of volunteers, family, and friends to help you for several hours.
  2. Make 4 to 10 large, neon signs and hundreds of 8.5″ x 11″ flyers (handouts).
  3. Choose an intersection location and time based on local traffic and based on the circumstances of the dog’s disappearance.
  4. Conduct your intersection alert in a safe manner, reaching the maximum number of people while managing risk.

Although you could do this with just one person if that’s all you could muster on short notice, it is best to have at least four people. Eight people per intersection would be ideal. If you have lots of people who want to help, then you can spread them out in groups of four to eight at strategic intersections. With more people, it may be handy to stay in touch with two way radios, but at least make sure everyone has each other’s cell phone numbers.

When to Conduct an Intersection Alert

Depending on how many people you find and what time they are available, schedule your intersection alert at a busy time, at an intersection near the point your dog was last seen. Specifics of choosing an intersection are below. You can use children to do this work, if a parent or guardian is with them, but your team should consist of adults, mostly, since you will be active at a busy intersection. Tell people to dress in layers and bring gloves because your hands can get really cold holding that sign for three hours. We’re often asked if Intersection Alerts could be used for lost cats. The answer is yes – Intersection Alerts can be used for any species. However, in most cases cats are less visible because they’re trapped, injured, or hiding in fear and the most effective recovery method for lost cats is to conduct a physical search as suggested on our Lost Cat Behavior page. The reason that Intersection Alerts work well for dogs is that dogs travel farther, they are noticed by people, and they are picked up and “rescued” by people who often tell friends and family about the “abandoned” dog they found.

How to Make the Signs

You can purchase the large, neon poster boards at many grocery stores, Walmart, or craft supply stores. To make the large black letters, we invest in a stencil and an ink roller because we make so many of them, but you can accomplish the same lettering with a thick black marker. Make the lettering large, thick, and legible. You may wish to rough out the letters in pencil before going over it in marker. The object is to have those simple words, HELP FIND LOST DOG, visible from a great distance. As people drive closer, they will be able to read the smaller text. For the text and the picture, you will want to buy two plastic sheet protectors for each sign. Tape them onto the signs in the middle, side by side, with clear, thick tape. Also, tape them on with the openings down, in case it rains. After the paper is in, you hold it in with a small piece of tape on the bottom.

For the picture, choose the largest, simplest, color picture you can find of your dog. You want people to see the picture of your dog from a distance. You may have better pictures, perhaps of your dog in a field or by a stream, or wearing a funny hat, but for the purpose of this sign, you want a picture that is simple and clear. Spend a little extra money on getting a good quality print on good paper.

For the text, you want to choose a large font (Arial font, size 85 to 90 or larger) and just a few words. Use Kat Albrecht’s suggestion to create giant, neon posters. State the breed and the most distinguishing characteristics in the fewest words possible. It seems like half the missing dogs in the world are black labs with no distinguishing markings, which makes things difficult, so if your dog is wearing a distinctive collar, then mention that in your description. If you have a breed that would be unfamiliar to the general public, like a Plott Hound or a Catahoula, you are better off just saying Large Hound, because most people won’t know what a Catahoula is.

Posters

Finally, your phone number should be in a large font as well, so people can enter it right into their cell phones and call you with a tip instantly. Your sign is ready to go with the large letters, plastic sheet protectors, clear picture, and readable flyer. If you have time, you may wish to improve the sign with cardboard taped to the back for rigidity, and a stick to hold onto. Wire “H” frames used for real estate signs are handy because you can stick your sign in the ground if you need to go off to talk to someone or take a short break.

Finally, your phone number should be in a large font as well, so people can enter it right into their cell phones and call you with a tip instantly. Your sign is ready to go with the large letters, plastic sheet protectors, clear picture, and readable flyer. If you have time, you may wish to improve the sign with cardboard taped to the back for rigidity, and a stick to hold onto. Wire “H” frames used for real estate signs are handy because you can stick your sign in the ground if you need to go off to talk to someone or take a short break.

Printing up Flyers (Handouts)

In addition to your large signs, you will want to print up several hundred flyers to hand out to people who stop for information. Your flyer can have more detail than the sign because people will be able to take it home and read it at their leisure. Include your cell phone number, rather than your home number, if possible. If someone reports a sighting of your dog, you will want to keep that person on the line and have them keep watching your dog from a safe distance while you drive to meet them.

How to Pick THE Intersection

The best intersection at which to conduct this exercise will depend on where and when your dog went missing. If you know the exact time your dog was last seen, it is best to conduct your intersection alert at about the same time, so you will catch the attention of people who move through the area at a regular time of day, perhaps commuting to work, on a delivery route, or walking their dogs at their usual times. Choose an intersection near the point last seen, or near your home if your dog escaped from home at an unknown time. Pick an intersection where all directions must stop for a light or a sign. If the main street goes through without stopping, you will find it too difficult to get people’s attention or hand them a flyer. Some intersections with traffic lights can be too large because you are far away from the other side and hard to see. Ideally, you want a 4-way stop sign near the point last seen that has constant traffic at a certain time of day. A 4-way stop that gets only one car every five minutes won’t be as useful, even if it is near the point last seen. If your neighborhood was designed with basically one way in and out, then that will make sure you catch the attention of any person who might have seen your dog. If you have plenty of volunteers, you can choose two or more intersections, and you can cover the various possible directions your dog might have travelled.

Keep Safety as Your #1 Priority!

Once you have made your signs and flyers, enlisted your volunteers, and selected a location or locations, you are ready to begin your intersection alert. If you have the ideal number of eight people per intersection, set up four teams of two, one holding the sign and one handing out flyers. Safety is your highest priority. Many people are so desperate to find their missing dogs that they stop taking common sense precautions to protect their own safety. You can’t find your dog if you are in the hospital recovering from being hit by a car. You aren’t doing your dog any good if you don’t keep yourself safe. Also, while you do want to catch people’s attention, you don’t want to cause an accident!

Intersection Alerts

Conducting the Alert

With safety in mind, each two person team should set up facing a lane of travel, near the stop sign or stop light. If you have a child on the team, he or she should hold the sign, up on the sidewalk away from traffic, and an adult can hand out the flyers. Hold the sign so people can read it, and you may wish to slowly rotate the sign as people roll up to the stop light so they can see it most easily. If someone rolls down her window, hand her a flyer if you can do so without disrupting traffic or putting yourself at risk. One person can hold the sign and hand out flyers if necessary, but ideally you want two people per corner. If no traffic is approaching from your direction, turn so people on the other side can see your sign until more traffic comes along for your lane. Most people won’t have specific tips on your dog, but they will take the flyers home and call you if they see something. At most Intersection Alerts, you will get a few leads. Ideally, someone has your dog, and they can lead you right to him. More often, you will get a tip that your dog was seen at a certain place and time. If you do get such a tip, you can send one person to investigate, or it may be appropriate to move the whole Intersection Alert Team to a new location and start fishing for tips there.

If NO LEADS Come In

If you get no leads at all after three hours of waving signs, that doesn’t mean no one has seen your dog. You can try this again at another time in the same location, or try your luck at a different location based on the probabilities of your dog traveling in different directions for different reasons. Quite often, dogs go missing when they are new to a family or new to a location. If you can’t predict your dog’s direction of travel based on past history in the neighborhood, you can still generalize based on your dog’s breed, personality, and physical traits. At a minimum, you can be certain your dog will want water, so you should be aware of all possible water sources in the area.

For Further Assistance

A volunteer or a professional (for-profit) pet detective may be able to help you choose the best location for your intersection alert based on their MAR training and years of experience finding lost companion animals. For assistance, visit our Pet Detective Directory and contact a resource located in your area.

Disclaimer: Initially posted on Missing Pet Partnership’s website (which was developed by MPP Founder Kat Albrecht), the following lost pet recovery advice is part of MAR Network’s 8-week and 10-week Missing Animal Response (MAR) Course and is posted on this site both to help train volunteer and professional lost pet recovery resources and to benefit pet owners needing advice. Feel free to link to this page so that this info may be shared in order to educate pet owners in your community.   

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Testimonials

2nd Chance

When I first contacted Tracey, my cat, Chance had been missing for 4 weeks. We had just moved into a new townhouse and at 5:30am I let him outside to go to the bathroom. I accidentally fell asleep while giving him “a minute.” When I woke up around 6:10 I panicked and searched the bushes… Read more “2nd Chance”

Thank You

I met Tracey through a mutual friend on July 12th. I coordinate a transport for Mary Ann Morris Animal Society out of Bamberg SC and we had a dog get loose on transport on April 21st – Luci. We were all devastated and desperately tried for the next 4 and a half months to get… Read more “Thank You”

Thank you!

I met Tracey through a mutual friend on July 12th. I coordinate a transport for Mary Ann Morris Animal Society out of Bamberg SC and we had a dog get loose on transport on April 21st – Luci. We were all devastated and desperately tried for the next 4 and a half months to get… Read more “Thank you!”

Suzanne Scott

LOST PET HELP LEADS TO THE RECOVERY OF DUKE

Just wanted to say thank you for posting the information about lost cat behaviour on the web. It was instrumental in finding my cat Duke who suddenly vanished into thin air (or so it seemed) last Tuesday. I did the usual – stuffing lost cat flyers into 200 plus mailboxes in my area, talking to… Read more “LOST PET HELP LEADS TO THE RECOVERY OF DUKE”

The Adventures of Pi and Loki

I rescued these brothers in October of 2016. Both these cats are Curious/ Clowns, however Pi is a little more shy and reserved. They both settled in to farm life beautifully. I did often worry about them because they like to get into vehicles if a door or window is open…….. then on October 23… Read more “The Adventures of Pi and Loki”

2 Lost Cats

A week my 2 indoor only cats got out through a broken window screen. You advised in an article that I should thoroughly search close by neighbors properties and I found them within an hour hiding in a delapetated shed at the back of my neighbor’s property just two houses away. They were completely quiet… Read more “2 Lost Cats”

By Grace Alone

Tracey is a naturally gifted pet detective, mentor, and friend. Her passion for locating missing animals is evident when you work with her. She is motivated, driven, and focused on the MAR techniques essential to successfully and humanely recovering beloved missing pets. Recently, we worked together to capture a male mixed breed hound named Fred… Read more “By Grace Alone”

Susan to the Rescue

Susan Long quite simply saved the day. There is so much emotional baggage tied up in that dumb, lovable, exasperating dog (and now he’s even more expensive). From the moment Susan answered the phone, she was all in on our behalf, arriving a few hours later to galvanize us into action. Oliver was found within… Read more “Susan to the Rescue”

TRANSPORT ESCAPE

On June 30th, 2018 I was devastated to find out that Tashi, my 1-and-a-half-year-old Lhasa Apso, got loose at the Granville North Carolina rest stop, from a dog transporter who was supposed to drive him from our old home in Northern VA to our new home in Tampa, FL. The County Humane Society, Animal Control,… Read more “TRANSPORT ESCAPE”

By Grace Alone

Dear Kat, I am writing you in response to my interactions with Tracey over the last few weeks. Tracey is a naturally gifted pet detective, mentor, and friend. Her passion for locating missing animals is evident when you work with her. She is motivated, driven, and focused on the MAR techniques essential to successfully and… Read more “By Grace Alone”

It Takes A Village

I met Tracey Dreibelbis on day seven trying to catch Fred whom had escaped from my neighbor’s boarding facility. She was very professional and informed me of Fred’s patterns over the past few days. She came up with a plan to catch Fred using my fenced in yard. We baited my yard with McDonald cheese… Read more “It Takes A Village”

Jamie McCallum

Every Shelter or Animal Rescue Group Should Take This Training Course

I had already been helping my wife Tracey with MAR work and she had won the MAR course during one of Kat’s training seminars. So I decided to take the course and fill in the gaps of what I had already learned and what I was missing. To my surprise I had opened a door… Read more “Every Shelter or Animal Rescue Group Should Take This Training Course”

Jeff Chopick, Kingston PA
Luzerne County Pet Recovery Services

You Helped Me Save My 2 Lost Cats

A week my 2 indoor only cats got out through a broken window screen. You advised in an article that I should thoroughly search close by neighbors properties and I found them within an hour hiding in a delapetated shed at the back of my neighbor’s property just two houses away. They were completely quiet… Read more “You Helped Me Save My 2 Lost Cats”

JD Lowery

Instumental In Finding My Cat

Just wanted to say thank you for posting the information about lost cat behaviour on the web. It was instrumental in finding my cat Duke who suddenly vanished into thin air (or so it seemed) last Tuesday. I did the usual – stuffing lost cat flyers into 200 plus mailboxes in my area, talking to… Read more “Instumental In Finding My Cat”

Alison Headland

Changed My Life – Traci M Durango

I took Kat’s on line course and it changed my life. Even if you choose to not have a search dog you will learn the science behind how, where and why animals go missing and what you can do to help

Traci M Durango, Colorado

I Couldn’t Wait Until the Next Week’s Lesson Arrived – Susan L.

I took the class expecting it to be superficial information that I already knew. I couldn’t have been more wrong! This class is in depth, research based, and very professional. I couldn’t wait until the next week’s lesson arrived. I highly recommend it for anyone that is helping to recover lost pets.

Susan L.

An Incredibly In-Depth and Informative Course – Sharon M

I had the opportunity to take the MAR 10 week course with Kat Albrecht over the winter. I found it to be an incredibly in-depth and informative course. Not only in the volumes of well thought out but professionally presented information she presented but also in the weekly telephone support she provided. Kat is truly… Read more “An Incredibly In-Depth and Informative Course – Sharon M”

Sharon M - Pembroke, NH

Kat is a Gem as A Teacher, You Will Be Learning From the Best! – Karin N.

I had bought Kat Albrecht’s books wanting to have more information in “Search and Rescue” comparing it with “Map Dowsing” the way I search for missing animals. I was happy when I found out about the Mar 10 week certified course “Kat Albrecht” was teaching. I sure was looking forward to my first class and… Read more “Kat is a Gem as A Teacher, You Will Be Learning From the Best! – Karin N.”

Karin N.

One of the Best Courses I Have Ever Taken – Judene D.

After many years in lost pet recovery, I found this course still taught me a great deal. It was one of the best courses I have ever taken. Kat’s knowledge, skill, experience, humor, compassion, and dedication make this a wonderful learning opportunity. I also find the ways Kat provides for MAR graduates to communicate with… Read more “One of the Best Courses I Have Ever Taken – Judene D.”

Judene D. - MAR Volunteer and Maine Lost Dog Recovery Volunteer, Maine

Loved the MAR Training – Jim B. Cincinnati, Ohio

Loved the MAR training and the insights from my MARs classmates. Very beneficial information in how to up my skills in searches for lost pets!

Jim B. Cincinnati, Ohio

Definitely so worth it! – Jennifer H. Comer

The knowledge I gained and continue to learn from the MAR training is amazing, I have always tried to find pets. Now I believe I am acquiring proper, proven,skills to reunite more families. The connections made, because of the MAR class, with other like-minded people, to share experiences and advice is irreplaceable. Definitely so worth… Read more “Definitely so worth it! – Jennifer H. Comer”

Jennifer H. Comer, Georgia

The Classes Were Convenient and Informative – Crystal C.

I was delighted to take a MAR training course from Kat. I was impressed with the details, depth, and the variety of materials shared with us during our course. The classes were convenient, informative and delivered with skill and an obvious passion for passing on her experience and knowledge to others so that more people… Read more “The Classes Were Convenient and Informative – Crystal C.”

Crystal C., Certified Professional Dog Trainer and MAR volunteer, Pennsylvania

Techniques learned through this course are credited for saving many lives and reuniting families

The MAR course helped me understand the behavior of a lost pet and the science of a search. The techniques learned through this course are credited for saving many lives and reuniting families.

Bonnie B.,Puyallup, Washington
Roaming Paws Lost Pet Services

Highly recommend MAR course

I found the MAR course incredibly useful and learnt and enjoyed learning about lost pet behavior as well as the behavior of owners and finders. Would highly recommend the training to anyone working in the field of lost pet recovery.

Anna R. Canberra, Australia
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