how to help get your lost pet back--foresight

Hindsight is twenty twenty.  Don't wait for your beloved pet to go missing to think about what you can do to insure that your he or she is returned safely to you.

1. Get a microchip placed in your pet by the veterinarian.  
    
2. Make sure you keep your contact information updated with the microchip data base.  
    
3. Keep a collar and a tag, with at minimum your phone number, on your pet at ALL times.  
    
4. Keep an alternate phone number on your pet's tag, so that if you are out of town, or incapacitated, someone else can still retrieve your pet.
    
5. If your pet needs daily medications, or has serious health problems, note these on a tag, also.  It will help emergency and shelter personnel to give him or her the care required if found.
    
6. Keep current photographs of your pet on your computer, cell phone, or camera, so that you can make accurate "LOST" posters, should the need arise.