I can say from experience that there is nothing worse than that panicky feeling you get when your pet has somehow gotten away from you. When I was a kid I had a cat that escaped the house and never came back. Yes, I am still traumatized. So on the few occasions when my current kitties have gone missing, or that time last summer when Ruby escaped through the fence at the off-leash park - I've freaked right out, imagining the worst possible scenarios. If any of my pets went missing I would definitely consider hiring a private pet detective. An interesting article came up on Reuters.

Driving around in vehicles resembling police cars with the words "Missing Pet Search Team" emblazoned across the front, Watkins and his uniformed team are available for hire to crack the trickier cases of animals gone missing or even stolen.

This is such a great idea. I would even add it to my company's list of services however I don't think Ruby would make such a good sniffer dog.

In case you don't have a private pet detective in your area, here are some tips from "Canada's leader in lost pet recovery", Pet Detective Inc.

Would you hire a private pet detective?