If your dog goes missing
Lost dog guide: the first hour and how to get them home
A calm, practical guide to the first hour after a dog goes missing — what to do, who to call, and how a tap-to-identify Pawsport with Lost Mode helps a finder get your dog home faster.
In short
One tap brings him home.
Biscuit’s Pawsport
Terrier Mix · 4 yrs · Nashville, TN
Member since Feb 2025 · with Lauren
Biscuit is lost
Missing since September 15
Biscuit is friendly and slow-moving — he'll likely amble over for a snack rather than run. Please call rather than chase. He's microchipped and his family misses him.
If you’ve found Biscuit, please reach the owner right away.
Vet: Birchwood Animal Hospital · (615) 555-0190
Medical notes: Healthy adult Terrier Mix — no medications. Microchipped. Friendly with everyone; offer a treat and call his family.
Biscuit’s tag was just scanned
Near Riverbend Bark Park · moments ago. Owner alerted the instant the tag is scanned.
Sample dog — fully fictional. See his entire Pawsport in Lost Mode
The first hour
- Search the immediate area first. Walk the route calmly, calling your dog in a normal, happy voice — chasing or panic can push a scared dog further.
- Bring the familiar. A favorite treat, a squeaky toy, or their food bowl. Sit low and wait; many dogs come back once the commotion settles.
- Switch on Lost Mode. If your dog has a Pawsport, mark them lost — their tag now opens a recovery page with your contact and any details you choose to share.
- Check any location tracker. If your dog wears a GPS collar or tag, use it to narrow the search area.
- Alert neighbors. A few doors and a neighborhood group post in the first hour does more than a flyer the next day.
The first day
- Call local shelters and vets and file a found-dog report; many keep a list. Ask how strays are logged.
- Confirm your microchip registry has your current phone number — an out-of-date chip is a common dead end.
- Post with a clear photo and the area last seen on local lost-and-found groups.
- Keep your phone reachable. If your Pawsport is in Lost Mode, a finder can tap to call or text you directly.
How a Pawsport helps a finder
The person who finds your dog is usually a stranger holding a friendly dog with a tag and no idea who to call. A PawTag™answers that instantly: they tap it, see a clear “I’m lost” alert, and can call or text the number you set — plus any medical or vet detail you’ve chosen to show. No app, no account. See how NFC tags work.
Locate and identify, together
A tracker tells you roughly where your dog is; the Pawsport tells a finder who they are and how to return them. The two halves of a recovery — more in how Pawsport works.
Prevention beats recovery
Set up your dog’s emergency information before you ever need it, keep the microchip registry current, and make sure their tag is on whenever they’re out.
Be ready before it happens
A PawTag with Lost Mode turns any finder's phone into a direct line to you. Set it up now, and your dog carries their way home on their collar.
Membership includes your dog’s full Passport.
Frequently asked questions
- What is Lost Mode?
- When you mark your dog as lost, their Pawsport switches to a recovery view: a clear alert, the contact number you choose, and — if you enable them — vet and medical details a finder may need. You can turn it off the moment your dog is home.
- What happens if someone finds my dog?
- A finder can scan the PawTag and immediately access contact information, emergency details, and return instructions.
- Is my personal information exposed on my dog's Pawsport?
- You control what's shown. A finder sees the contact number you choose and the details you opt to share — not your home address or email. Sensitive medical and vet info is only displayed if you enable it.
- What makes a Pawsport different from a regular ID tag?
- A regular tag shows a name and a number. A Pawsport opens your dog's full identity — emergency contacts, medical alerts, vet details, and safe-return instructions — from a single tap, and you control exactly what a finder sees.
- What does a Pawsport actually do?
- A Pawsport tells whoever finds your dog who they are and how to help — your contact, medical alerts, vet, and safe-return instructions, all from one tap. It's your dog's identity, ready the moment someone needs it.
More on the Passport Center
How it works
The cornerstone: a dog's three states, and how a Pawsport gets them home.
Digital pet passport
The concept: one shareable home for your dog's identity, records, and emergency info.
NFC pet tags
No battery, no app — tap to reveal. How NFC beats an engraved tag.
Service dog credentials
Training, therapy, and handler credentials — carried digitally.
Emergency information
The checklist every dog should carry — and how to make it tap-to-view.