Petsearch(UK) was founded in February 1990 by Paula and Harry Greaves of Solihull because some animals were being destroyed when their owners were unable to locate them within the statutory 7 days grace before death or resale.
They felt that a central point registering all information on lost or found pets was badly needed. They offered this FREE SERVICE 7 days a week but the demand escalated to such an extent that Volunteers had to be sought for other areas - and so a National Network of Petsearchers came into being.
Our principal aims are to get help for all animals and caged birds that are lost or in distress.
All our Help lines are run entirely voluntarily and NO CHARGE is made for our services - our task is to be a focal point where all missing or found reports are collated. We then follow up these reports to find a matching solution.
In addition to individual Petsearchers' own records we operate our own National Database Register of lost or found creatures who may well have strayed out of their original area or have been stolen. All Petsearchers have ready access to this useful facility.
Tracing lost pets not only involves local enquiries but can require the assistance of Petsearchers in other areas. Even a cat lost in Scotland, having got into a removal van, was traced to Scarborough and returned safely to it's owner.
In addition to keeping their own lost and found records some Petsearchers have a column in the local newspaper or a slot on local Radio. This can be very successful. We do not expect our volunteers to go out looking for missing pets, or take in strays, but inevitably some of them do from time to time.
We place our Posters in Shops,Veterinary Practices, Libraries and Police Stations and are grateful to anyone willing to take our Posters and car stickers, as publicity is vital for our cause - letting people know that we are there to help them.
Although our national network of Help lines covers many Towns in the UK we still urgently need volunteers in some areas (see our Helplines Needed listing). We are looking for people who love animals, who would be happy to take telephone calls and be at home for at least part of the day. The happiness for all involved when a pet is re-united with it's owner is very rewarding and donations do help to offset telephone costs. We all work together as a team and many new friendships have been forged.
Part of our work is just being available to talk. Some people get extremely upset when their pet goes missing - children pine and elderly people feel nervous when their pet is absent from the family home. It helps owners to know that we care, that we are doing our best to help them and that they are not alone with their problem. It is always sad when a pet is injured or dies and we all do our best to be understanding and supportive at such times.
We do not ask for ourselves but for the thousands of distressed animals that we help each year. Your gift to us, however small, is always very welcome and in some cases vital in enabling our local Help lines to continue to function.
Many charities today have become big businesses whilst groups such as ours are fighting hard to keep going.
In comparison, as a Voluntary Organisation, our administrative overheads are very modest and practically all the funds we generate are used in tracing lost pets or on animal welfare.
So please do what you can for the sake of the animals and pet birds that we all help 7 days a week, more than 12 hours each day. Even on Christmas Day we are still here to help the strays and any creature in distress.