Residents across the region have raised concerns after a surge in social media posts regarding missing animals.
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Furry friends made for quick escapes in the storms which ravaged the region at the beginning of December.
Since then, more and more pleas for the return or whereabouts of animals have increased.
Adoptable Pet Rescue treasurer Shae Holloway said a few things can be done to minimize pets getting out.
“Every pet owner needs to ensure their dog is micro-chipped and registered,” she said.
“This helps with identifying the animal for either the council or vet.
“There are options as well to put collars with names on them in case they are found out of hours.”
Mrs Holloway said it was important to make sure pets have adequate food and shelter.
“If their supplies are there they generally won't go searching for food, water and shelter.”
Mrs Holloway said de-sexing animals can also go along way to keeping animals safe.
“This will stop animals roaming and stay at home,” she said.
“Also knowing your animal doesn’t like thunderstorms or fireworks it makes a big difference because you can put strategies in place to keep them safe.”
Mrs Holloway said if anyone sees a roaming animal the first option is to call the pound.
“Take notice if the animal is wearing any identifying objects and make note of the colour and where you saw the animal,” she said.
Stawell resident Anthea Perry said her dog Scamper ran off at the start of December when the storms hit.
“Sadly we haven’t found our little man almost a month on,” she said.
“We’ve put the word out there and a lot of our friends have shared our plea on social media.
“It’s so strange to not hear anything at all.”
Mrs Perry said the awful thing was the disappearance with no sign of the animal.
“It's awful to have him just disappear like that and not know what happened to him,” she said.
“I was talking with friends about how strange it was to have so many animals go missing recently.
“We miss Scamper very much.”
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