Lost and Found

Lost an Animal

Here are some things you should try to help you find them quicker:

• First: put in a lost animal report with the City of Mobile Animal Services. You can do this online here, by calling (251)208-2800, or by coming to the shelter in person.
• Contact your microchip registry. If your pet is microchipped, your registry will be on the lookout and contact you immediately if your pet’s microchip is scanned and checked. This will also allow you to update your contact information with the registry in case any of it has changed.
• Check out the various local lost and found pet groups on Facebook.com and NextDoor.com. Citizens often post to one of these platforms when they see a loose animal.
• Set up an account with PawBoost. PawBoost will help you market your lost pet in various ways, such as making a missing pet flyer for you and sending out a notification to its members to be on the lookout.
• Hang Lost Pet Flyers with a picture of your pet and your contact information at places where your dog was lost. 
   

Found an Animal

First, identify whether or not the pet could be a missing pet from your area or a stray. Most missing pets are healthy, have collars, and seem to be well up kept. Strays could be malnourished, flea-ridden, and overall unkempt. If you believe the animal is someone’s lost pet, check to see if it has a collar with identifiable tags! Rabies tags have the prescribing vet’s information, and dog licenses are registered with your local animal shelter. You can read the information on the tag and call the necessary facility to help you locate the animal's owner! If the animal does not have a tag, don’t worry! Start by reaching out to your neighbors! Seventy percent of missing pets are found within one mile of their home! Talk to your neighbors to see if they may recognize the animal and who its owner might be! If you live in an apartment or dorm, contact your manager and see if they have an animal matching that description in the list of current pets at the residence! 

No luck talking with your neighbors? Take the animal to the nearest vet or animal shelter to get it scanned for a microchip! Veterinarians typically do not take in found pets, and animal shelters take in animals based on the space available. However, getting every animal scanned for a microchip is the next best thing! Microchip companies keep records of owners and their information! You can ask your local shelter to scan for a chip and help reach out to the owner!

No microchip? Reach out to the community! Social media has made it easier to find pet owners! You can reach out to the community to ask for help with the sights listed below! Make sure to take a good picture of the pet before posting to social media!

• PawBoost: A lost and found Mobile app dedicated to reuniting lost and found pets with their owners! As a perk, it uses GPS in the location the pet was found and sends a notification to all nearby citizens with the mobile app! It also automatically posts on the PawBoost Facebook page!
• Nexdoor: Nexdoor is a mobile app used as a resource to communicate with your surrounding neighbors. You have quick and easy communication with those neighbors who might be a street or two away but close enough to possibly know where a missing pet came from!
• Facebook Lost and Found: There are so many Facebook lost and found groups that you can connect with! This resource can span not only your direct community but surrounding cities and counties as well!

Flyers: It may be old school, but printing flyers with the pet’s picture and information about where the pet was found can go far! You can ask local shelters, vet offices, and pet stores to post your flyer!

Next step: Unfortunately, a lot of shelters are over capacity right now, but you can still contact your local shelter and ask for help! They can help put you in touch with rescues that may be able to help! You can also consider fostering! Shelters rely on the community to help do their part when finding a lost pet! Fostering allows for the animal to stay in a safe, loving environment while being fully sponsored by the shelter! You can ask your local shelter if you could borrow a crate, bowls, and even food to help you take care of the animal in your care! 

Following these guidelines will help strengthen the pet’s possibility of reuniting with its owner!