To Reward or Not?

There are mixed feelings about using rewards. If there are sightings and we know the dog is running loose, we definitely do not want the family to offer a reward. This causes people to try to catch the dog in order to receive the reward, which can keep them running scared. Scared dogs make poor decisions to get away from people such as running into traffic, onto train tracks, or onto bodies of water or thin ice.     

In cases where there have been no sightings for a longer period of time a reward is sometimes a good last ditch effort. In these cases, it is possible the dog was found and kept so a reward can be effect and often neighbors, friends or family will call.

We always advise the family NOT to list a dollar amount and warn them about known scams they will likely get. 

If they still choose to offer a reward, we let Lisa know in The Den by adding a comment on the post to get a new flyer with "Reward". 

Once the new flyer is done, you can add it to the main Facebook post comments. You can also ask for renewed awareness from the team. The family can print new flyers to distribute and post online themselves as well -- this should be encouraged since already did this once and we really discourage rewards. 

You can save the graphic to the right and share with them as well. Thanks to Kim Johnson for the idea!