Finding lost pets...
Although finding a lost animal often seems to depend on luck, it is luck you can help make. There are no guarantees, but there are things people who find their pets do that make a difference.
Time is of the essence
Be aggressive in your search
Check around your house
Look under your house, outbuildings, crawlspaces or anywhere your pet may be hiding if hurt and confused or sick.  If your pet is very small, check drainpipes and any small opening he/she may be caught in.
Familiar scents
Leave items with a familiar scent outside your home. A litter box, pet bed, or a sweatshirt recently worn by a loved one can attract a pet who has strayed and become disoriented.
Knock on doors and talk to people in the neighborhood
Most people walk the streets around their home and call their pet, this is good, but people who knock on their neighbor's doors and ask if anyone has seen their pet instead of just calling are more likely to find it.
Hand out fliers with your pet's picture on them and your phone number
Fliers need only have a clear photo and description of the animal and a telephone number that someone will answer or that is hooked to an answering machine.
Go to all the local shelters and the government agencies charged with picking up stray and lost animals and look for yourself, at least every other day
Calling the animal control department or shelter on the phone is not very effective. Your pet may not yet be listed in the records at the front desk, and the way you describe your pet may not be the way a shelter describes your dog. Any animal may become dirty, matted and neglected looking very quickly, and you must visit the shelter, even if your pet was wearing tags when it was lost. You will need to go to the shelters at least every other day. Few shelters can keep animals for more than 72 hours. Sometimes it takes more than a few days for a pet to be picked up and brought to a shelter. It's important to visit all the shelters within 20 miles of where your pet was lost. In many areas stray animals are picked up by a government agency which holds them for a period and then turns them over to a shelter. If someone took your pet in for a few days hoping you would knock on their door and ask about it, they might later drop your pet off at the shelter that's most convenient for them, rather the one that's closest. Combining these three things is most effective.
Don't forget the children
Kids love animals and animals love kids.  Hand out your flyers to children in the neighborhood, at bus stops and playgrounds.  Post flyers around school yards.
Knocking on doors and handing out copies of your flier to your neighbors and to the staff at all the local shelters is the most effective way of looking for your lost pet

What to do next...
Unfortunately, the next most successful way of finding a lost animal is through checking the with the highway departments and the shelters' dead lists. Even if your pet is wearing tags and the highway maintenance department is supposed to send a list to animal control, you should check with them directly. There are usually several departments that cover roads in your area. You'll need to check city or town, county and state roads departments, as well as the animal control agencies. Pictures or a copy of your flier should be left with each department. Again, calling is seldom successful, and actually visiting the department is the best way. You should check back once a week.
Put an ad in the local paper
Also include the papers in surrounding areas. Some people only look in the newspaper to locate an animal's owner. Advertising in the paper can also be important to establish you were actively looking for your pet in case someone were to claim it you meant to give it up or didn't want it.
Ask businesses to help
Ask any business that is likely to be used by local residents to put up a copy of your flier. This includes gas stations, fast food restaurants, taverns and convenience and grocery stores. Ask if you can put a copy of your flier up in the pet food aisle. If someone picks up your animal and holds it for a few days hoping you will find them just as your pet did, they will need food.
Local workers
Don't forget to distribute your flyer to postal workers, delivery agents, landscaping crews and work crews.  They are in your neighborhood on a regular basis, and would be likely to notice anything unusual.  Also hand out to fire and police departments.
Contact local rescue organizations
Give them copies of your flier. People who are afraid animals will be euthanized if they turn them over to the shelter might contact a rescue, and rescue people often go through local shelters looking for animals they can help place in new homes. Ask the shelters if they know of anyone doing rescue in the area, even if they don't work with them.
Veterinarians, groomers, trainers and pet stores
Give them copies of your flier and ask them to put them up.
People that walk their dogs in the area
They're more likely to spot animals than most people. Give them a copy of your flyer.  If you go to the parks early, you may find people who regularly walk their dogs together as an informal group. Dogs on leash notice and want to investigate all kinds of things, even strange birds, lizards and turtles.
Submit your ad to the Missing Pet Network
Listed below are additional sites that will list your lost/found pet.  Please consider listing at these locations also.

ONE LAST THING:
PLEASE KEEP US UPDATED ON THE STATUS OF YOUR LOST OR FOUND PET.
BEST OF LUCK

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MPN Lost & Found For States Other Than Illinois

Pet Action League - Advise for finding a pet
Flealess Market - List your lost pet for free
SherlockBones - List your pet for a fee