Lost & Found Pet Resources

Lost your pet?

Follow these steps as soon as you realize that your pet is missing:

• Act fast! Don’t waste days hoping your pet will come home. The sooner you begin your search, the better the odds of finding him or her.
• Contact local animal shelters, animal control agencies, and police departments. File a lost pet report with every shelter within a 60-mile radius of your home. If there is no shelter in your community, contact the local police department. Provide these agencies with an accurate description and a recent photograph of your pet.
• Fill out a found pet report on Petco Love Lost.
• Visit local animal shelters regularly.
• Put out an item that smells like home. Indoor pets can become disoriented when they get outdoors. Leaving out an item with a familiar scent, such as a favorite bed or a piece of your worn clothing, can help a lost pet find their way back home.
• Search the neighborhood. Walk or drive through your neighborhood several times each day.
• Ask neighbors, mail carriers, and neighborhood children if they have seen your pet.
• Post on social media. Make posts on local community groups and local lost pet groups in addition to posting on your own profile. Post often (if the rules of the group allow), but be careful not to post too frequently or you could risk being removed from the group.
• Advertise. Post notices at grocery stores, community centers, veterinary offices, groomers, dog parks, and other locations. Also, place advertisements in newspapers and with radio stations. Include your pet’s sex, age, weight, breed, color, and any special markings. When describing your pet, leave out one identifying characteristic and ask the person who finds your pet to describe it.
• Don’t give up your search. Animals who have been lost for months and sometimes even years have been reunited with their owners.

Found a Pet?

If you’re able to hold onto the pet while searching for the owner:

• Contact local animal shelters, animal control agencies, and police departments. File a found pet report with every shelter within a 60-mile radius of where the pet was found. If there is no shelter in the community, contact the local police department. Provide these agencies with an accurate description and a photograph of the pet.
• Fill out a found pet report on Petco Love Lost.
• Scan for a microchip. Any shelter or veterinary clinic will be able to scan pets for free, but it is recommended to call the clinic or organization before taking the pet in.
• Ask neighbors. Most pets don’t wander far from home. Ask neighbors, mail carriers, and neighborhood children if they recognize the pet.
• Advertise. Post notices at grocery stores, community centers, veterinary offices, groomers, dog parks, and other locations.
• Post on social media. Make posts on local community groups and local lost & found pet groups in addition to posting on your own profile. Post often (if the rules of the group allow), but be careful not to post too frequently or you could risk being removed from the group.

If you’re unable to hold the pet:

• Call the local animal control agency. Protocols differ by agency, so a call to the animal control agency that services the area where the pet was found will help you determine the next steps.
• If the pet was found in the Humane Society of Jefferson County’s service area, please call 920-674-2048. If you have found the pet after hours please call your local law enforcement agency’s non-emergency number.