Lost and Found Animals

If Your Pet is Lost

Call your local animal control agency.
Immediately post signs in the area where the pet was lost.
Talk to as many people in the area as possible.
Ask children in the area. Be aware that children usually try to help, but they are not always clear about what they have or have not seen.
Call all the shelters, even other counties that surround the area where the pet was lost.
Actually go to all the shelters as often as possible and look at the impounded animals. Shelter employees may not describe your pet the same way as you would.
Check with local veterinarians.
Post signs at pet supply stores, grocery stores, schools, etc.

If You Find a Lost Pet

Call your local animal control agency.
Take the animal to Foothills Animal Shelter or another local shelter. People that find pets may not turn them in to a shelter, erroneously thinking the animal will be euthanized. However, euthanasia is not the goal of shelters; reuniting pets with pet owners is the goal of the shelters and Animal Control agencies.
If you find an animal and are interested in keeping the animal, take it to the shelter for the holding period and fill out an application on the animal.
At the very least, advise the shelter that you found the dog and post signs in the neighborhood where the animal was found. You may also place a "found" ad in the newspaper(s). Found ads are usually run at no cost to the finder.

Found Animals are Usually Someone's Lost Pet
If the animal is not taken to a shelter, the pet owner may have given up hope and the "good deed" may actually have done more harm than good. The pet may or may not get adopted; although it probably had an owner that would be devastated to know where the pet ended up. For more information, visit the Foothills Animal Shelter website.

Last Modified: Oct 29, 2010 12:21 PM