Lost a Pet?
Lost your pet?
Check Area Animal Shelters
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Check the animal shelters that provide service to your area and surrounding areas (sometimes just crossing the street can mean that your lost pet would find his way to a different shelter). Search both online and in-person frequently for your lost pet. Our lost pet listings update every hour, but it is not enough to rely on web listings alone. Technical issues or glitches may pervent a found pet listing from being shown.
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While visiting area shelters, take time to complete a lost pet report. Bring photos to include if possible.
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We recommend making a physical visit to the shelter everyday until you are reunited with your pet. If this is not possible, visiting every 3 days will help prevent you from missing your pet if it comes to the shelter. We hold pets for a minimum of 3 days for their owners to find them before making them available for adoption.
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Reuniting lost people with their pets is the best possible outcome and we work hard to facilitate this but do not rely on the shelter team to contact you if your pet is found. Occasionally microchips are not read by our scanners, ID tags fall off or are too worn to read and contact information may not be up-to-date. Be proactive in finding your missing loved one.
Update Your Contact Information
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If your pet is microchipped, call the microchip company to ensure it is registered and that the contact information is correct and up-to-date. You can also register any brand of microchip on free databases such as foundanimals.org. Do not assume that the veterinarian, breeder, rescue or shelter that implanted the chip has registered it.
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Contact your pet licensing agency and veterinarian to ensure that your contact information is on file and accurate.
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Check your e-mail and answer your phone. In this age of frequent solicitation phone calls, many of us opt to screen unfamiliar callers. When you pet is missing, the finder may try only one call. If the caller cannot leave a message your opportunity to be reunited with your pet may have been lost.
Post Signs
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Post highly visible signs around your neighborhood or in the area that your pet was lost. Often well-meaning people assume that stray pets have been abandoned, and will take them home. Colorful, large posters with your pet's picture can reach passive or low-tech good samaritans.
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Think beyond traditional places you might post lost pet notices. Your car can serve as an excellent mobile billboard.
Utilize Social Media and Other Online Resources
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Nextdoor is a fantastic resource for reuniting lost pets with their families. Facebook is also a great tool. Check and post on missing pet pages focused in your community or neighborhood.
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Visit Missing Pet Partnership for more detailed pet recovery tips and links to pet detectives.
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Petco Love Lost uses facial recognition technology and searches found pet postings from participating shelters throughout the country to locate missing pets.
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Don't give up! Some pets go missing for weeks before they are found. Pets can wander very far or be transported by well meaning people who found them, so search as far and wide as you can.
Here is a list of all the animal control agencies in Santa Clara County including the cities they serve. If you think you see your pet on their lost pet pages, contact them immediately!
