Lost & found

 

The Lost Dogs' Home offers free lost & found pet services. Visit lostdogs.com.au for more information

Lost your pet? Found a pet? We provide a free message board dedicated to lost and found animals within Australia.
Please visit lostdogs.com.au for more information.

What can I do if I've lost a pet?

1. Search the neighbourhood: take a reasonable area around where the pet was lost, and conduct a complete door-knock and letter boxing describing your pet and giving a phone number for contact. You and your neighbours should search sheds, garages, buildings, reserves, parks, schoolyards, beaches, rivers, and creeks.

For cats: inside ceilings should be investigated, also building works, trees, etc.
For 'entire' male dogs (not desexed): enquire about bitches in the area that are, or have recently been, 'in season' or 'on heat'.
The Local Neighbourhood Watch group may help. Put notices in shops etc.

2. Advise local police of the lost pet: give a full description of your pet, where and when lost, with name and contact telephone number. Have it read back to you. Ask if a pet of that description has been brought in or reported found (irrespective of sex or locality). Obtain phone numbers of possible finders.

3. Check local councils: check further by personal visits to Council Pounds and animal welfare shelters, taking such documentation as council registration receipt, pedigree papers, vaccination certificates, photographs, a statutory declaration if necessary.
Contact:

• Ranger/s
• Pound/s
• Depot/s - pet may have been killed on the road and brought in by council vehicle
• Road Patrol Depots

4. Check vet clinics: consult Veterinary Surgeons Locality Guides in the Yellow Pages.
Extend inquiries to at least 20 km if necessary. An animal could be picked up by car and taken out of the area in any direction for some distance.

5. Check animal shelters: phone all the Animal Shelters in your area/city. We have a list of animal shelters on our Finding a lost pet page.

6. Newspapers/Radio: advertise in and check thoroughly relevant daily and weekly newspapers. Check all columns dealing with animals as well as 'Lost and Found'. Also use the free announcements on your local radio stations. The best approach is to merely report the lost pet and ask help in finding pet.

What can I do if I've found a pet?

If you have found a lost pet you should contact your local council. You should always be cautious when approaching strange animals, so don't try to look for a phone number on a tag. A lost animal may be afraid and attack, so leave any contact to professional animal control officers