Lost and Found

Pet Search Australia is returning lost pets with their families. Meet Lee Jefferies, a real pet detective…

Anyone who’s seen the Ace Ventura films knows what a ‘pet detective’ is. What they may not know, however, is that such an occupation exists in the real world. Pet Search Australia is a nationwide company owned by Lee Jefferies, who, just like Jim Carrey’s whacky character, spends her days helping people find their lost pets – minus the crazy hair and Hawaiian shirt of course!

Dog Diaries caught up with Lee to ask her a few questions about her unique profession!

How did you get into this line of work?
I started as a volunteer with Pet Search in 2003 and about a year later the owner talked of closing Pet Search down, so I offered to take over.

What is the most valuable pet you’ve ever found for its owners?
Every pet is like a family member, so they are priceless and you can’t put a dollar value on them. Some owners have put up large rewards for their pets – some birds have had $10,000 rewards for their return.

Give us an overview of the history of Pet Search – how big is it today and how has it grown over the years?
Pet Search started in 1992 by Fiona Campbell when she lost her pet and saw that Sydney didn’t have a central place to locate her pet, so she started Pet Search to be that missing link, a place to report all lost and found pets. Pet Search has grown to now cover the whole of Australia and our work is now in demand more than ever for lost pets, behaviour advice and guidance on searching techniques. We also help owners with sorting through microchip issues and the laws in the different states. Pet ownership and registration is a complicated system and can even vary from council to council. This can affect whether a person gets their lost pet home or not, so we guide people as to what needs to be done.

We now also work on a lot more stolen pet cases than ever before.

Do you own any pets?
We have two dogs, five cats, a cockatoo and a few other birds. We foster care cats and birds with our local rescue organisation, so we always have a menagerie of pets in our home.

What advice could you give to people wondering how to find their missing pet?
Get expert help – don’t waste valuable time getting advice from a friend or a vet or even the pound, as they have probably only searched for one or two lost pets before, searching for a dog is different to searching for a bird and searching for a bird is different to searching for a cat and ferrets are different again. Pounds and vets don’t have the time to give you personalised advice, so you need to make sure you are using the right techniques for your lost pet case.

What are the most common reasons why pets go missing?
1. Not being desexed (they go in search of a mate);
2.    Changes at home (for example, the routine changes or the location changes, there are visitors or the owners are away);
3.    Accidents – doors/gate/windows left open.

Are there certain breeds/types of pets that are more likely to go missing for any reason?
Yes, non-desexed pets are more likely to go missing. Any dog or cat less than a year old could go. Birds are most likely to disappear as a result of accidents. Some other fascinating facts are: Burmese cats end up further from home than other breeds, Staffys [Staffordshire Terriers] have the highest rate of being stolen, and we have over a 90 per cent success rate in locating a pet if we are contacted in the first 24 hours of going missing.

If you discover a theft or crime, do you hand this information over to the police?
Definitely. We work with the police regularly on stolen pet cases, but also on lost pet cases as they are out on the streets driving around so they will often see a dog running around, or they may even pick it up, so we can make their job a bit easier by helping them to get the pet home.

And finally, why do you love this job?
I get to reunite lost pets with their families and the joy it brings to them and me is incredible. If I can get a lost pet home, I know they are warm and at home getting cuddles and love that night rather than being cold and lost and scared.

Images by Cindersmom ‘s Photos and dog ma