Don’t have time to go to the animal shelter? Here is an easy way to search the listings of found stray dogs and cats anywhere in the U.S.
When a pet goes missing, the most important step is to start searching right away. Don’t assume he ran away or will return home later. Don’t give up and assume he was stolen, hit by a car, or eaten by a coyote.
I encourage you to read my other articles on effective (and not so effective) search techniques for finding a lost dog or cat. One of those techniques is searching in your local animal shelters, pounds, humane societies, or whatever they are called in your area. Stray hold periods vary across the country, but they can be very short. Here in CA, a pet with no ID is only held for 72 hours! After that they can be adopted, sent to rescue, or even put down.
Visiting in person is very important, but realistically not everyone can go to a shelter or shelters every day. You have work, family, and other responsibilities. The shelter may be 25 or 50 miles from your home, as it is in my city. Fortunately, most shelters now post photos and information on found stray pets online, so you can search from home. Here is a step-by-step tutorial on how to find a lost dog or cat online. You can view the steps live in the video above.
In the US, there is a website called 24 Pet Connect that connects with many of the shelters in the country.
- Go to www.24petconnect.com
- Click LOST MY PET
- Click DOG or CAT
- Click CHANGE FILTERS. Type in your ZIP code and search radius. I recommend at least 50 miles. I don’t recommend selecting any of the other filter options as it will limit your results too much. Shelters sometimes get the gender and age wrong, and breed is a matter of opinion, especially with a mix.
- Click CONFIRM/SEARCH
- Scroll down to view the results. If you think you see your pet, click on the picture for more info. The window should show the name of the shelter, the found date, and the contact information.
- Call the shelter right away. If you can’t get a hold of anyone, go to the shelter’s website to check business hours and other possible contacts.
I hope this helps you bring home your lost pet quickly!
24 Pet Connect is a great tool, but it is not a foolproof system. Not all shelters list found pets online. Shelters may not update their listings in real time. Found pets may be at a veterinarian or in a foster home. This is a good place to start, but don’t stop there. Keep expanding your search and leave no stone unturned.