I Need Help With a Lost Pet.
Losing a pet is a scary feeling. Review the instructions below to learn what you can do to find your missing pet.
First steps.
- Your microchip company. Many veterinarians and animal shelters microchip pets. Microchips are tiny implants used for pets’ identification. They are about the size of a grain of rice and are typically implanted between the pet’s shoulder blades. Oregon Humane Society microchips all shelter animals that we adopt out.
- If your pet is microchipped, call the company to have them add a “lost or stolen” alert to your pet’s tag. If the pet is found and their microchip is scanned by a shelter or veterinarian, they will know that a concerned owner is looking for that pet.
- Verify the contact information on your pet’s microchip is up-to-date.
- Your veterinarian.
- Your pet’s rabies tag number can be traced to your veterinarian.
- Ask family, friends, and neighbors to help you search for your pet.
- Search every hiding spot around your house & yard. Walk through the neighborhood multiple times per day and call out their name.
- Place clothing, toys, litter box, and other items familiar to your pet outside in your yard where your pet might smell them.
- Post your missing pet’s photo onto online forums (see below).
- Put signs around the neighborhood or area where your pet was last seen. Include a photo and description of your pet, your phone number, and when your pet disappeared.
- Important Tip: For your neighborhood posters, leave out one identifying feature in your pet’s description, such as a splotch of color on the nose or extra toes. This protects you from pet-recovery scams and is a sure way of verifying that someone definitely found your beloved pet.
These links are provided as a resource only. These are outside organizations/companies, not affiliated with nor endorsed by Oregon Humane Society.
Next steps.
Check the county where the animal was lost to see if your pet was brought to their shelter.
