Knock on wood that it never happens to you, but you want to be prepared if your dog gets loose and you can’t find him. You need to be prepared just in case this event ever takes place. We’ve prepared an emergency list of things you should do when you lose a dog.

1. Get your dog microchipped and outfit his collar with tags. If you lose a dog, you want to do both things to ensure your pup gets back to you as quickly as possible. Just in case his collar falls off, a microchip holds onto all your personal information for the lifespan of your dog. A vet or shelter just needs to scan your dog to see where he lives and who is missing him

2. Get to work, fast. As soon as you notice that your dog is missing, you should assemble the troops and start looking for him. Search a two-mile radius of where you live, go to frequent haunts like a local dog park, and hand out flyers of your pooch to people in the area.

3. Call local shelters, rescue organizations, veterinarians, pet stores and police stations. Make a list of these organizations and keep them on hand. Often, if a dog gets loose and someone finds him, people will alert shelters and the like and keep the dog with them until an owner can be located. If a shelter does have a dog that matches your description, go into to make sure that it is yours – don’t call off the search until you are sure.

To read the entire Top 10 Things To Do When You Lose A Dog, visit PetGuide.com.