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POSTERS
Easy to read posters will greatly improve the
chance of your pets recovery.
DRIVING: 40 km - 80 km
People moving at speeds of 40
-80 km/h, or sitting in traffic more than 2
car-lengths away need to have words JUMP out
at them. At 80 km/h, if the words are big enough to
see, a person has 5 seconds to read 5 words. So,
the poster needs to be BIG and BRIGHT
to attract their attention in the first place, and
then you need to limit the important words to
five or less.
Take your 8 ½ X 11 lost
cat flyer and post it in the middle of a florescent
poster board (28" X 22") orange or yellow are the
best colors to use and they are available at most
dollar or drug stores. Print LOST at the top and CAT at the
bottom, using 5-inch black letters (these letters
MUST be one inch thick) If you wish to post a REWARD
that should also be in large letters too. Place one
or two close to the point last seen and make sure
that you place them in high traffic areas too. (see
"poster placement" below)
DO
NOT use the words "Abducted" or "Stolen" on any of
your posters or flyers, even if you think your pet
was taken! A very large portion of our population
WILL NOT get involved in such a case. It is
best to use the word LOST...people will call
and tell you that they think they saw someone with
your "lost" pet, but they will not likely call to
report the whereabouts of your stolen pet. (I
call this the "I don't want to get involved
syndrome")
You may use phrases like "loving companion of a
senior citizen" or "My best buddy is gone" but
remember to limit the large letters so that people
can read "LOST DOG" or "LOST CAT"
Ask friends, family or
pay local teenagers to help you make your posters.
Get the posters out as they are made!
Large fonts work best
and put your phone number on the bottom of the
poster so that people can tear one off and take it
with them. Bright poster board is the best for
catching people’s attention. Use this kind of
poster for getting the attention of motorists.
Tear off phone numbers
are optional and can
always be added to your posters anytime after they
are placed.
Posting a REWARD is optional
and not necessary.
Depending on where you live you
may want to use bilingual posters
(English/French) (English/Spanish) (English/Chinese)
This kind of poster works very well too. Place these about 4.5 ft from the
ground on utility polls, mail box, in store windows,
close to playgrounds, near pet stores or in vet
offices, etc. Most businesses will post one
page small flyers so have some of those on hand.
This kind of "poster" can be done with supplies that
you may have on hand. Get these out ASAP and
work on fancier posters later if you wish.
I like this style because the phone number is easily
read from a car, and you can see the message at a
glance. Remember that the message is more important than the
art work!
Use plastic page protectors to
prolong the life of your posters.
Poster
Placement
Note where you
have placed the posters and remove them when your
pet is found!
My theory is that it is best to
put out too many posters than not enough.
DO NOT plaster any one area in posters because
this will greatly increase the chances of someone
taking your posters down. Instead use these posters
in the following manner:
Place your posters on all feeder
streets going in and out of the area where your pet
was last seen, and put a few of your posters in that
area too. (Feeder streets first and inside
second)
Then EXPAND the poster
area! Some pets, especially dogs, can travel
VERY far in a short period of time. Cats can
become territory bumped or they can be transported
out of your area.
It is best to start by placing
your posters in a 5 to 6 block radius.
Take your small flyers to the
local pet food store, grocery store, gas stations
etc. People who found, or have seen your pet will either
need pet food or gas at sometime, so cover these
areas...get posters in those areas if possible.
More examples of lost pet posters below:
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