Lost Pet Poster

Filling in the poster quickly

1. Pick the heading. Lost dog or Lost cat tells people at a glance what to look for; Lost pet fits any other animal.
2. Add a photo. A clear, recent picture of the whole animal from the side works better than a close-up of the face. If one photo shows a special marking, use that one. Pick Top, Middle or Bottom if the crop cuts off the wrong part.
3. Describe your pet the way a stranger would see it: size, color, breed or type, markings, collar. One clear line beats a paragraph.
4. Add where and when your pet was last seen, and your phone number. The number prints large and on every tear-off tab.
5. Use the note for what helps finders most, such as "Shy, please do not chase. Call us." Then download the PDF and print it at 100 % or actual size.

In a hurry? The name, a photo and the phone number are enough for a first batch. With every field empty, the poster prints lines to fill in by hand.

Printing a poster that reads from across the street

The heading is printed as large as the paper allows, so keep it short and let the photo do the rest. Red is the default heading color because it stands out on a busy board. If you only have a black-and-white printer, choose Black, since red prints as a mid gray there.

Outdoors, paper suffers quickly. Slip the poster into a clear sheet protector or cover it with packing tape, and check it after rain. Thicker paper holds up better on a pole or a fence. Print a few more than you think you need; replacing worn or missing posters is part of the job.

Where to hang the posters

Start near the place your pet was last seen and work outward from there. Hang posters at eye level, where people walk or wait: corners with crosswalks, bus stops, park entrances, community boards and the paths dog walkers use. Shops, cafés, pet supply stores, groomers and veterinary clinics often have a notice board; ask at the counter before you pin something up.

Bring a poster in person to the animal shelters and vet clinics in your area, not only in your own neighborhood, and ask how they record found animals. Check back every few days.

Respect the rules where you post. Some towns and cities have rules about notices on utility poles, trees or street signs, so check with your local council or city office if you are not sure. Always ask the owner before you put a poster on a private fence, gate or window.

Tear-off tabs, flyers and the QR code

On the full-page poster, cut along the dashed lines between the tabs, from the bottom edge up to the dashed line across. Each tab has the name and the phone number, so someone who spots your pet later still has the number in their pocket. Replace the poster when most tabs are gone.

Choosing 2 flyers per page gives you half-page flyers without tabs. Hand them to neighbors and to people who walk or work outside in the area. A QR code is useful when you keep a public post with more photos and updates, so people can check whether your pet is still missing. Scan the printed code with your own phone before you hang the posters.

While you search, and after your pet is home

Keep your phone on, charged and with you, and answer numbers you don't know. Write down every call: where and when someone saw your pet, and what it was doing. Sightings that cluster in one area show you where to search and where to put more posters. Be careful with callers who ask for money before you have seen your pet, and meet in a public place if you have to meet a stranger. You don't need to print your home address; a phone number is enough. If your pet has a microchip, ask your vet how to check that the contact details stored with it are yours.

Keep a list of every place you put a poster. Once your pet is home, go back and take all of them down, and tell the shelters, clinics and shops you visited. Old posters can bring calls long after the search is over, and people learn to walk past the next lost pet poster on the same corner.

More tools and printables for pet owners

The image cropper crops a photo to any aspect ratio or exact pixel size, rotates and flips it, and saves it as JPG, PNG or WebP, which helps when you want a tighter crop than the poster's photo box. The QR code generator makes codes for links, contact cards and more, with your own colors and a Scan me frame, as a PNG or SVG file for other prints.

For the time after the search, the dog age calculator converts your dog's age to human years with the formula from a 2020 study and shows its life stage, and the cat age calculator does the same for cats with the chart of the 2021 AAHA/AAFP Feline Life Stage Guidelines. The free pet care log has a pet profile, a daily care tracker, vet visits and a sheet for the pet sitter.

Made by Tobias. Updated October 21, 2026.

Frequently asked questions