Photo by Urban Cat League
Pet Lost & Found Resources
Losing your pet can be a frightening experience, but many lost animals do make it home again — especially when people work together.
NYC Lost & Found Update! On June 27, 2012, the Mayor's Alliance for NYC's Animals, ASPCA, and AC&C announced the launch of a new lost-and-found program to replace the AC&C program that was eliminated a few years ago due to City budget cuts. If you would like to volunteer for this lifesaving program, please submit a Volunteer Application and check "Lost & Found Program" under "Volunteer Interests."
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If You've Lost a Pet…
If you've lost a dog, cat, or other pet in New York City, file a Lost Pet Report on AC&C's website, and search their Found Pet database. Visit the three Animal Care & Control of NYC (AC&C) shelters listed below and look for your pet. Take a photo of you with your pet and any other proof of ownership you have, such as your pet's medical records.
Other things you should do:
Contact veterinary offices and other pet-related businesses in your area.
Post "lost pet" flyers, featuring a photo of your pet and your phone number, throughout your neighborhood, at veterinary offices, pet supply stores, and other businesses.
Search for your lost pet on the lost and found websites below.
If You've Found a Pet…
If you've found a dog, cat, or other pet in New York City, we hope you will care for the animal until his or her owner has been located.
To locate the owner:
Check for ID tags, dog license, or other forms of identification.
Take the dog or cat to a vet's office or shelter and ask them to scan for a microchip. If the pet is microchipped, contact the microchip company, which will locate the pet's owner.
Visit the AC&C website to file an online found pet report or to search their lost pet database..
Check the pet lost and found websites listed below to see if the pet you found has been listed as lost. If the pet is not listed as lost, you should list the pet as found.
Post "found pet" flyers, featuring a photo of the pet and your phone number, throughout your neighborhood, at veterinary offices, pet supply stores, and other businesses. Withhold a distinctive piece of information about the pet (unique markings, eye color, etc.) to screen bogus calls claiming to be the pet's owner.
If you cannot locate the pet's owner and are prepared to take on the responsibility, we hope you'll consider keeping the pet as part of your family.
If you cannot keep the pet yourself, then contact a local rescue groups or shelter to see if they have room in their adoption program for the animal. These groups will only take in animals that they can accommodate. View a list of Mayor's Alliance participating rescue groups and shelters.
If you cannot care for the animal until you can locate his or her owner, you can bring the animal to the nearest Animal Care & Control shelter. Dogs and cats without identification will be held at the shelter for 72 hours.
Animal Care & Control (AC&C) Shelters
Manhattan Animal Care Center
326 East 110th Street
Brooklyn Animal Care Center
2336 Linden Boulevard
Staten Island Animal Care Center
3139 Veterans Road West
You should visit all three AC&C shelters to search for your lost pet.
Pet Lost & Found Websites
You can list your lost or found pet on the websites listed below:
AAHA Universal Pet Microchip Lookup America's National Lost & Found Pet Database> Animal Care & Control of NYC: Lost and Found |
Prevention
Now more than ever it's important to microchip your dogs and cats…and license your dogs.
Having your pet microchipped is one of the best ways to increase your pet's chances of getting home if he or she is lost or stolen and winds up at an animal shelter or veterinary office. Unlike dog tags and collars, which can fall off or be removed, microchipping is a more permanent form of identifying your dog or cat.
New York City law requires that you license your dog, and update the license each year. When you license your dog, however, you're doing something more than simply complying with the law. You're giving your dog a ticket home in the event that she or he becomes lost.
Articles
New Program Aims to Get More Lost NYC Pets Back Home by Lisa L. Colangelo, New York Daily News Tuesday, July 10, 2012 New program will help find lost NYC pets by The Wall Street Journal Friday, June 29, 2012 City Launches Program to Help Find Lost Pets by NBC New York Friday, June 29, 2012 New Program Aims To Help New Yorkers Find Lost Pets by Susan Richard, 1010 WINS Friday, June 29, 2012 New program to help Staten Islanders find lost pets by Staten Island Advance Friday, June 29, 2012 |
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Innovative Lost & Found Program Hastens Pet/Owner Reunification in NYC Press Release by the Mayor's Alliance for NYC's Animals Thursday, June 28, 2012 What You Don't Know About Lost Pets Can Hurt Them by Kathy "Kat" Albrecht, Missing Pet Partnership May 2012 by Nikki Moustaki, HomeAgain May 2011 Where's Boo Boo? I Wish I Knew. by Evon Handras, Out of the Cage! Tuesday, August 9, 2011 |