It is important that you act quickly and comprehensively in your approach to finding your pet; utilizing as many of the following recommended strategies as you can.  I can not emphasize enough the need to visit your local shelters as often as their staff recommend since animals without ID can be legally freed for adoption or euthanized after being held for 48 hours. 

In the busy city shelters, this law will hold true due to the sheer volume of intakes. 

Visit the Women's Humane Society prepared to take your pet home every three days.  If the animal was friendly and healthy at the time of surrender, we will ask for a redemption fee of $25.00 to cover the vaccines and wormer that was given at the time of intake.  If the animal was injured, sick, or too overwhelmed to be safely handled at the time of surrender, no vaccines would have been given during the vet exam so a donation of your choice would be welcome, but no fees due. 

The Women's Humane Society has hundreds of lost pet reports on file, taken via phone from owners.  Many of these animals have returned home and no one has called to let us know to remove the report.  The majority will not pass through our doors for a variety of reasons. 

Each day Zachalert, Lostandpound.com, HomeAgain and other internet entities fax or email lost pet reports.  Sadly on many of them, critical information is missing; including a photo, the accurate contact information or details that allows us to distinguish one surrendered stray from many anothers with the same description, especially with cats. 

Also each day, lost pets are reunited with their owners who have taken the time to visit our shelter or made a phone report to our front office staff within hours of a finder surrendering the pet or reporting it as found via phone. 

When a shelter worker takes a lost report within hours of the intake or report of a found animal, the connection is a fresh one.  When there are days and hundreds of animals in between the two things, it is much more difficult to make the connection- even with the best of intentions and protocols. 

Matching lost pets and their owners is one of many priorities in a busy shelter environment; it is up to you to make finding your lost pet your top priority by visiting shelters as often as recommended. 

The majority of the stray animals surrendered to us remain unclaimed by owners, even after being posted as available for adoption or moved to the Success pages following adoption.  

Sadly, some households are conflicted when it comes to reunification with a missing animal.  We've placed calls to a number on file only to be hung up upon or told not to call back.  We sometimes wonder whether other messages even get to the reporter of the lost animal.  Yet others make multiple promises to come for their pet that remained unfulfilled for week after week.  If the animal is a danger to others because of a contagious illness or aggression, this wait and the actions surrounding efforts to reunite the pet and owner are a risk to others. 

Again, visit our facility every three days to search for your pet and come prepared to  take your pet home.  If the pet was vaccinated, we will ask for the fees to cover the vaccines and care.

We scan all surrendered stray animals for a microchip and strongly encourage you to have t his procedure performed on all your pets.  The cost through our clinic is $40, plus the exam fee that can be found on our Clinic/Hospital page.  Register and keep your information up to date.

If your pet has been missing for several weeks before reaching out to local shelters, there is a good chance that your pet has come and gone through that facility; either through adoption or euthanasia.  The legal hold period for stray animals is only a few days and varies depending upon whether they had identification.  Shelters do not have the resources to check old records for a potential match if you are making a report a month or more after your pet went missing.  Some shelters do not have the space to hold unclaimed, unadoptable animals beyond the legal hold period.

Zachalert is a dedicated group of volunteers in our area that can assist you in your search.  Reach out to them and utilize the recommendations contained on this page.  I hope your pet is home safe and sound soon.

- Kelly VanValkenburgh