If you have lost a pet, please visit your local animal shelters as soon as you can. Local shelters receive animals every day and one of them could be your pet! Most shelters are required to hold stray animals (animals that do not have an identified owner) for three days. After this three day holding period, typically any stray animal can be put up for adoption, transferred to another shelter, sent to rescue, put into a foster home, and in some cases, euthanized.
While visiting shelters is important when searching for your pet, it's also important to check with neighbors & report your pet lost so that if a finder does not bring them to a shelter, you still have a chance of being reconnected.
While visiting shelters is important when searching for your pet, it's also important to check with neighbors & report your pet lost so that if a finder does not bring them to a shelter, you still have a chance of being reconnected.
TIPS FOR FINDING YOUR LOST PET
Within the First Hour
- Alert your neighbors
Immediately alert your neighbors about your lost pet by using the methods your community utilizes most to communicate. This could include Nextdoor, a Facebook group, or a neighborhood email list. Be sure to include a description of your pet (color, size, gender), last known location (or closest intersection), and a photo. - Contact the microchip company
If your pet has a microchip, contact the microchip company right away to report them as lost, and update your contact information as needed. If you don’t know what company your pet’s microchip is registered to, visit the AAHA website which will allow you to enter your pet’s microchip number and identify the microchip company. If you don’t know your pet’s microchip number, contact the facility that microchipped your pet and they can provide information.
Within the Next Few Hours
- Start searching Petco Love Lost
Upload your lost pet’s photo to Petco Love Lost, a Lifeline of Galveston County partner that provides free facial recognition software to reunite lost pets with their owners. Your pet’s uploaded photo will be scanned against photos of found animals at shelters and those reported by the community. - Set up a Pawboost Alert
- Make flyers and walk the neighborhood
PetFBI has an easy online lost pet flyer template that you can print from home! Then, walk the neighborhood, speak with neighbors, postal carriers, UPS/Amazon drivers, landscapers, and tell them about your missing pet.
Within the First 24 Hours
- Visit your local animal shelter to look for your pet
You are the best person to identify your pet, and it’s imperative that you visit the shelter to walk through the kennels and see if your pet has been found. Shelters may not recognize your pet from flyers, so be sure to visit the shelters as frequently as you can. We recommend every 2-3 days minimum. - Hang lost pet posters
Hang posters with duct tape at major intersections within a 3-mile radius of where your dog was lost or a 1-mile radius of where your cat was lost. - Look for your pet frequently on Petco Love Lost, 24PetConnect, Local Facebook Pages, Nextdoor, etc
If you see your pet’s photo, call the shelter or reach out to the finder immediately.
