First: “Call all shelters within a 60-mile radius of your home,” not just those nearest your home, says Stephanie Shain, director of outreach for the Humane Society of the United States. Between 600,000 and 750,000 cats and dogs are reclaimed by owners from shelters each year. You can also try your police department and local veterinarians.

Then: “Make a flyer with a current picture of your pet that shows details of its face and the proportions of its body,” says Kari Harendorf, an animal trainer and the host of Animal Planet’s K9 Karma. “Include its sex, age, color, and weight; the date and area the animal was last seen; and your phone number, and post the flyers everywhere — schools, community centers, even the pet-food aisle of your grocery store.”