# Making a lost-pet poster in a minute Published October 27, 2026. Updated October 27, 2026. By Kallos Labs LLC. Canonical URL: https://pawcrew.app/guides/lost-pet-poster-in-a-minute > A good lost-pet poster has one recent photo, the pet's name, the microchip number, a single phone number and a QR code that calls or texts that number. In Paw Crew the lost-pet card is made on your iPhone in one tap, as a PDF or an image, and nothing is uploaded. ## What should a lost-pet poster show? A lost-pet poster should show only what helps a stranger recognise your pet and reach you: one clear photo, the name, the microchip number and one phone number. People read a poster from across the street or for a few seconds at a bus stop. Every extra line makes the important ones harder to see. - **One clear, recent photo.** Face and markings visible, in good light. A photo from this year beats a better photo from three years ago. - **The pet's name.** A pet may come when called by name, and the name makes the poster personal. - **The microchip number.** A vet or a shelter can scan the chip and match it to the number on the poster. - **One phone number.** The number someone will answer at any hour. Two numbers make people hesitate over which to call. - **A QR code that calls you.** Someone can scan it and reach you without typing the number. Leave out your home address. A phone number is enough to get your pet home. ## How do you make the poster in Paw Crew? In Paw Crew the lost-pet card takes about a minute, because the photo, name and microchip number are already on the pet's profile. 1. **Check the pet's profile.** Make sure the photo is recent and the microchip number is filled in. You can edit both from the pet's page in the Pets tab. 2. **Open the lost-pet card.** From the pet's page, make its lost-pet card. Paw Crew lays out a Lost poster and a smaller pocket card from the profile. 3. **Choose the phone number.** Pick the one number people should call or text. It is the only contact detail on the card. 4. **Choose what the QR code does.** It can hold a contact card with your chosen name and number, or a link that calls or texts that number. Nothing else. 5. **Export it.** Save the poster and the card as a PDF to print, or as an image to post or send by Messages or AirDrop. 6. **Share it with the household.** Send the image to everyone who is out looking, so they can show it to neighbours on their phones. The lost-pet card is free, for every pet. ## What does the QR code contain? The QR code holds only the contact you chose: a contact card, or a call or text link to your number. It never holds a link to us or to any website. That means the code works without the internet, opens straight into the phone's own Phone, Messages or Contacts app, and keeps working even if pawcrew.app did not exist. Anyone who scans it sees the number you chose, which is the point of a poster, so choose a number you are happy to have on a lamp post. ## Is anything uploaded when you make the card? No. The poster and the pocket card are made on your iPhone, and nothing is uploaded to us or anyone else. The file goes only where you send it. Your pet's profile lives on your iPhone and in your own iCloud, like everything else in Paw Crew. The [privacy first](https://pawcrew.app/privacy-first) page explains where each thing lives. ## What should you do before your pet goes missing? Make the card now, while you are calm, and keep a copy where you can find it fast. - **Keep the photo current.** Update the pet's photo every few months, or after a haircut or a change in coat. - **Check the microchip details.** Make sure the chip is registered to your current phone number with the chip's database. The number on the poster only helps if the chip record matches. - **Print a few pocket cards.** Keep one in a wallet or a bag, and give one to your sitter. - **Save your vet and emergency vet.** Add them to Paw Crew's contacts so they are one tap away. Vets and shelters are among the first places to call. If you share your pets with the household, everyone can make the card from their own iPhone. [Household sharing](https://pawcrew.app/household-sharing) explains who sees what. ## Frequently asked questions ### Does the lost-pet card cost anything? No. The lost-pet card is part of the free version of Paw Crew, for every pet, and it does not need Paw Crew Pro. ### Can I put my address on the poster? Paw Crew puts only the phone number you choose on the card. A number is enough for someone to reach you, and it keeps your home address off a public poster. ### Does the QR code need the internet to work? No. The code holds the contact card or the call or text link itself, so a phone can read it and call or text you without going online. ### Can someone else in my household make the card? Yes. Anyone you share the pet with can make the card from their own iPhone, with the phone number they want people to call. ### What if my pet has no microchip? Leave the microchip number out and make the card with the photo, the name and your phone number. Ask your vet about microchipping when your pet is home. ## Where to go next - Everything Paw Crew does, in [Features](https://pawcrew.app/features). - Where the profile and photo are stored, in [Privacy first](https://pawcrew.app/privacy-first). - Sharing a pet with the people looking for it, in [Household sharing](https://pawcrew.app/household-sharing). - The words used in this guide, in the [glossary](https://pawcrew.app/glossary). ## Related pages - [Features of the shared pet care log](https://pawcrew.app/features) - [Privacy first: your pets' data stays in your iCloud](https://pawcrew.app/privacy-first) - [Household sharing](https://pawcrew.app/household-sharing) Paw Crew doesn't provide veterinary advice. Always consult your vet.