What to do if You've Lost Your Pet
- Contact your local police department
or animal control.
- Start searching immediately. Search by car and on foot.
Animals are found weeks, even months after they're lost. Search small obscure
spots in and around your home, even spaces you think are too small.
Comb at least a 20-block area around your home. While searching, call
out your pets name loudly and often. Shake a food or treat jar as you
call out if that's how you call them.
- Look in your local newspaper under "found" animal
ads.
- Place a "LOST" ad in your local newspaper.
- Check your local animal shelters.
Visiting the shelter in person is better than calling. You know your
animal better than anyone. Descriptions are not always sufficient
for a stranger to recognize your animal. Check the shelter every
3 days for several weeks to insure that your animal is not euthanized
in a shelter. Shelter employees can not be held responsible for calling
to let you know an animal that fits your animalšs description
has shown up. They are very busy and see hundreds of animals everyday.
If you do file a "Lost Pet" report with a shelter or animal
control officer, please notify them if you find your lost pet so
they can note that in their log.
- Place dated "LOST" posters with a recent
photo of your animal all over town. Click here for sample
posters.
It is helpful if you refresh your poster weekly with new dates
and the words "Still Missing". Be sure to remove the
posters when your pet is found.
- Check with the Emergency Vet Clinic. Animals that
are injured on week-ends or evenings may end up in an emergency clinic.
You may also contact other local vets in your vicinity to see if an
unidentified injured animal was brought in.
- Visit Petfinder.com,
a popular national website with a free classified ad section for
posting lost and found animals.
- Prevention: Help your animal find his/her way
back to you in the future! Be sure your animal wears a collar and ID
tag at all times with your phone number and address. Ask your
vet or the SPCA of Monterey County about microchipping your animal
(a tiny scannable chip injected under the skin with a number traceable
through a national database), keep your animal inside the house or
in a secure, fenced yard when you are not around.
City of Carmel Animal Control - (831) 624-6403
City of Marina Animal Control - (831) 384-2528
City of Monterey Animal Control - (831) 646-3830
City of Pacific Grove Animal Control - (831) 648-3143
City of Salinas Shelter - (831) 758-7285
City of Seaside Animal Control - (831) 394-6811
Monterey County Animal Services - (831) 769-8850, ext.1
The SPCA of Monterey County - from Monterey (831) 373-2631; from Salinas (831) 422-4721
Monterey County Animal Services Center (receives animals found in unincorporated Monterey County and the cities of Carmel and Greenfield)
160 Hitchcock Rd., Salinas
(831)769-8850
Salinas Animal Shelter (receives animals found in the City of Salinas)
144 Hitchcock Rd., Salinas
(831)758-7285
Marina Animal Shelter (receives animals found in the City of Marina)
3040 Lake Drive, Marina
(831) 384-2528
SPCA of Monterey County (SPCA takes in strays from Monterey, Seaside, Ft Ord, DLI, Pacific Grove, Soledad, and Del Rey Oaks. They are open 365 days per year and will accept strays from other areas of the county when the other shelters are closed. It is always a good idea to check with the SPCA if you have lost a pet.)
1002 Highway 68, Monterey
From Monterey (831) 373-2631; from Salinas (831) 422-4721
King City Veterinarian (receives animals found within King City limits)
890 South 1st Street, King City
(831) 385-4878
Santa Cruz Animal Services Authority (receives animals found within Santa Cruz County.)
(831) 454-7303
Has shelters in Scotts Valley and Watsonville.