My pet is missing. What does Pativo's lost-pet mode do?
Tap "is missing" and Pativo makes a poster from your pet's photo and details, plus a message ready to share in local groups, straight away. It shows an eight-step first-steps checklist, keeps your microchip number to hand and reminds you once a year to check the registry record. Your phone number and the chip number stay on your phone. Lost-pet mode is free.
Lost-pet mode, the poster, the checklist and the microchip reminder are free on every plan.
What happens when I tap "is missing"?
Lost-pet mode starts at once and puts the two things you need first at the top: a poster and a share message. Both work from the first second, using the photo and details already on your pet's card, and you can add more as you go.
- The poster: "Lost", your pet's photo, when and where it was last seen, distinguishing marks and your phone number, with a line asking people not to chase but to call and keep watching from a distance. It is saved as an image you can post or print.
- The share message: a short text with your pet's name and how to reach you, ending "Please share. Thank you."
- Details for the poster: last seen where (a street, park or landmark locals will know), last seen when, and distinguishing marks such as a collar, a limp or how your pet reacts to strangers. You can pick a different photo if a clearer one exists.
What should I do first when my pet goes missing?
Search close to home straight away, then widen the net. Pativo's first-steps checklist, ticked off as you go, sets out eight steps:
- Search nearby now, calling in a normal voice. Check sheds, garages, under cars and in bushes.
- Call local shelters and the council or municipal animal service, and visit if you can.
- Call vets nearby. People often take found animals to the nearest clinic.
- Report the loss to the chip registry so the chip is flagged. In Türkiye, report to the agriculture directorate within 7 days.
- Search again at dusk and dawn, when it is quiet and frightened animals move.
- Leave something that smells of home outside: bedding, a worn T-shirt, the litter tray.
- Share the poster in local groups and put printed copies up nearby.
- Ask neighbours to check their gardens, sheds and cameras.
The checklist is bundled with the app and names the guidance it is based on, including the RSPCA, the ASPCA and Türkiye's Ministry of Agriculture and Forestry.
Why does the microchip record matter?
A microchip only helps if the record behind it is current. A chip that leads to an old phone number cannot bring your pet home. Pativo keeps the chip number on your phone, checks it looks like a chip number (usually 15 digits; older chips have 9 or 10 characters), and asks you to confirm the registry holds your current phone and address.
When you tap "I checked it today", Pativo reminds you again a year later. It also shows where to check, by country:
| Where you live | Where to check the chip |
|---|---|
| United Kingdom | Check a Chip, then the database it points to; only databases listed on GOV.UK meet government standards |
| United States | The AAHA lookup, then the registry it names |
| Europe | Europetnet, which links national pet databases |
| Türkiye | PETVET, through your vet or the provincial or district agriculture directorate; there is no public lookup |
How can I get ready before anything happens?
Set it up on a calm day, so it takes one tap on a bad one. Add a clear photo to your pet's card, enter the chip number, check the registry record and add your phone number. The same screen links to short preparation checklists for fireworks nights and earthquakes, when frightened animals are most likely to bolt.
What happens when my pet is found?
Tap "is home" and lost-pet mode closes with a short list for the next day: look over paws, coat and skin and see a vet if there is a wound, a limp or no appetite; tell the shelters, vets and registry you contacted that the search is over; take down posters and update your posts. There is also a "home safe" message to thank everyone who shared.
If your pet comes back hurt or unwell, run a symptom check or go straight to the emergency signs.
How is this different from posting in a group myself?
You still post in groups; Pativo just removes the twenty minutes of making a poster while panicking. The details are already on file, the checklist stops you forgetting the vets and the chip registry, and the yearly chip reminder keeps the record behind the chip current, so a scan leads back to you.
What does it not do?
Pativo does not track your pet's location, it does not alert other app users, and it does not search chip databases for you. It is not connected to any registry. Its job is to get the right information out quickly and to keep you from missing a step.
Is it free, and what stays private?
Lost-pet mode is free on every plan and always will be; nothing that protects an animal's safety sits behind the paywall. See pricing.
Your phone number, the lost report and the microchip number are kept on your phone, not on Pativo's servers. Nothing leaves the phone except what you choose to share. They are included if you export your data, and the sitter sheet carries the chip number for whoever is caring for your pet. More in the privacy policy.
Questions owners ask
Does Pativo send my phone number anywhere?
No. The number you add for the poster is kept on your phone only and never sent to Pativo's servers. It appears on the poster and message only when you choose to share them.
Can Pativo look up my pet's microchip?
No. It stores the number on your phone and shows where to check it: Check a Chip in the United Kingdom, the AAHA lookup in the United States, Europetnet in Europe, and PETVET through your vet or agriculture directorate in Türkiye.
Does lost-pet mode work without a connection?
The poster, the message and the checklist are made on your phone. You need a connection only to share them.
What happens when my pet comes home?
Tap "is home". Pativo shows what to check over the next day, a reminder to tell the shelters, vets and chip registry the search is over, and a message thanking everyone who shared.