Lost & Found Pets

FOUND PETs

If you’ve found a pet who you believe to be lost or stray, unfortunately, The NOAH Center cannot help in any direct way. We are unlicensed to accept owner surrenders or stray animals and can only transfer animals from shelters.

Stray animals (or owner-surrendered animals) should be taken to your local county shelter. Pet owners with a lost companion will check these local shelters and are able to leave flyers.

ISLAND COUNTY

Camano Animal Shelter Association
198 Can Ku Rd, Camano Island, WA 98292
360-387-1902
www.camanoanimalshelter.com

Reuniting A Lost Pet With Their Owner

Be Cautious
When/if approaching a stray animal, they may be frightened, injured, or aggressive. Often, when an animal is afraid, they are in fight or flight mode causing their senses to shut down. They may not fully hear you, see you, or smell you. If you feel comfortable and are confident the animal is safe and won’t harm you, attempt to leash and recover the animal. You can also call your local animal control and let them take over.

Call Around
Call your local shelters, animal control agencies, and vets to check if anyone has been calling about a missing animal, and to report the found animal.

Scan For A Microchip
Take the animal to a local vet or animal shelter to have the animal scanned for a microchip. Most vets and shelters will provide this service for free.

Post Bold and Bright Flyers
Create bright eye-catching posters with big, bold letters. Make sure to post flyers around the area you found the stray animal. You can also post the flyers around your town at grocery stores, veterinary clinics, shelters, gas stations, etc. Be sure to include the location you found the pet and a contact number on the flyer.

Use the Internet
Place an ad in your local newspaper and/or on petfinder.com or craigslist.com. Check on the Nextdoor app, and consider searching for Facebook groups for lost & found pets in your area. 

Tips For Finding a Lost Pet

Act Fast & Stay Calm
A lost dog, in particular, can travel a good distance on foot quite quickly and tend to keep running when they spook. If you notice your dog is missing, get out and look for them right away, and try to stay calm. Calling loudly in an angry tone can keep a dog from returning out of fear of punishment. Call calmly and even playfully for your dog. 

Search Your Neighborhood
Walk or drive through your neighborhood and surrounding area for your pet (a one to a two-mile radius from your home) several times a day. Call for your pet, ask neighbors, pedestrians, postal carriers, etc. if they have seen your pet or to keep an eye out.

Advertise
Post flyers around your neighborhood and community. Place the flyers at local grocery stores, gas stations, community centers, veterinary clinics, shelters etc. Place an ad in the classified section of your local newspaper. Consider offering a reward to encourage more people to look for your pet. Make sure to include a current picture of your pet and a phone number where you can be reached.

Contact Local Shelters
Call all humane societies, animal care and control agencies, and animal protection organizations in your area to check if your pet is there and to file a lost pet report. Continue to call and/or visit the shelters daily to search for your pet. See above for local county shelters in our area.

Contact Pet’s Microchip Company
Call the provider of your pet’s microchip. Microchip companies will report your pet as lost and search their database for any corresponding found pets that have shown up at shelters or veterinary offices. A list of microchip companies can be found below:

HomeAgain

public.homeagain.com
1.888.466.3242

Use the Internet
Check petfinder.com and the lost and found section on craigslist.com to see if anyone has found your pet, you can also list your lost pet on these sites. You should also use social media such as Facebook or Nextdoor to get more people involved in your pet search.

Search For Cats At Night
Cats tend to get lost by accident and hunker down as soon as they realize they don’t know where they are. This is often quite close to the home; in a bush, under a porch, inside a wheel well of a car, inside sheds or garages. Walk around your home at night with a flashlight and calmly talk to your kitty. You may just hear her meow for you. 

Take Advantage of Your Pet’s Sense of Smell
Leave your pet’s bedding, toys, or litter box outside on your lawn or patio; the familiar scent and their strong sense of smell might lead them back to your home.

Don’t Give Up
Continue searching even when you have little hope left. Animals have been reunited with their families months after they’ve gone missing.

PREVENTATIVE MEASURES

1. Always keep a collar with an ID tag on your pet with your address and phone number.

2. Keep your pets indoors when not supervised, especially cats and small dogs.

3. Keep your pets securely contained when outdoors (i.e. on a leash or properly fenced in yard).

4. Spay or neuter your pet. Unnuetered males, and unspayed females in heat tend to wander away in search of a mate.

5. Microchip your pet. The average cost of microchipping ranges from $20 to $50, and can done at any veterinary office and some shelters, including The NOAH Center through our Spay & Neuter Clinic.

6. Keep updated photos of your pet on file in the event he or she goes missing.

7. Avoid putting your pet in a situation where they may be likely to bolt; where there may be yelling, fireworks, thunder, or other loud sounds.