Thank you for saving this pet’s life!  I hope his/her owner is found soon.        

The ultimate goal is to get this baby home safe.  To do that, you need as many people as possible knowing that you found this pet. Here are some tips to help you find the owner.

  • Always assume the pet is lost and the owner is looking for it.  

  • Bring the animal inside to keep it warm and safe.  Do not leave the animal outside to fend off predators or to run off.  If you cannot keep the animal inside, please ask for help and someone on the links I listed below may be able to help you keep the animal safe while the owner is found.

  • If the animal is very hungry, feed them small amounts of food for the first day or two.  Feeding large amounts of food can cause serious health issues.

        

  • If the animal has a name tag, call the number on the nametag, if the number is not in service or is not current, try Googling the address or owner’s name.  See if you can find them on Facebook and contact them that way.

  • If the dog has a collar and rabies tag, note the id number on the tag and call the vet’s number on the tag and have them look up the owner’s information.

        

  • If the dog has a collar and license, call the county animal control where the license was issued and give them the id number and have them look up the owner information.

        

  • Take the animal to a vet to see if the animal is chipped.  Use a carrier to transport the cat and a leash to transport the dog.   Ask for help on the Facebook sites listed further down in this document if you do not have a carrier for a cat or a leash for a dog.  If the animal is chipped the vet will contact the owner.  There is no charge for this.  If the chip is not registered or the contact information on the chip is outdated, ask them to ask the chip company to tell them who implanted the chip. The vet can contact the rescue or vet that implanted the chip and get contact information for the owner that way. There are multiple 24 hour emergency vets where you can take the animal after hours. Dove Lewis , Tanasbourne Veterinary Emergency , Emergency Vet Clinic Of Tualatin

  • If the animal is injured, take the animal to a local vet ASAP.  Dove Lewis - 1945 NW Pettygrove St, Portland, OR 97209 will treat an injured pet and not charge you a fee if you leave the pet with them.  

  • Call your local animal control and report the found pet.

Washington County - Bonnie Hays (503) 846-7041

Multnomah County (503) 988-7387

Clackamas County (503) 655-8628

  • If you are not able to keep the cat or dog until the owner is located you can take the animal to the local county shelter, but animals are frightened there and can be exposed to illness and stress.  If you take the animal to the shelter they are required to hold the pet for a certain amount of time (3 days for Bonnie Hays) and may be different for different counties.  After the holding period, the animal is released to be adopted unless there are reasons the shelter feels that the animal is not adoptable.

  • Post a large FOUND sign, with a large picture of the pet and your phone number, in your front yard so if the owner walks or drives by they will see the sign.  Omit some details about the found dog from the sign and make sure the owner can accurately describe the missing details.  That way you know the person claiming to be the owner is actually the owner.

  • Call the vets in the neighborhood where you found the animal and notify them that you have found the animal.  Also bring FOUND flyers (see below under create flyers) to post in their waiting area.

        

  • Talk to people and give them a flyer or have them take a picture of it with their phone. Knock on neighbor’s doors, talk to the mail delivery / UPS/ FedEx person, talk to people walking in the neighborhood.  Someone may know who the pet belongs to.

  • Post FOUND notices to the following locations below.  Some links are specific to certain locations. If you are on the border of two locations, post in both places. The FaceBook pages require you to join the group, as does nextdoor.  When writing your post, describe the animal, but leave out one unique characteristic so the owner can tell you this characteristic and you will know it is their animal. You can also ask them to send you pictures of the animal to verify it is their animal.  List day, time and location the pet was found.  Include your phone number.

  • Link to additional tips

Facebook Lost and Found Groups - Please note groups are added all the time and there are more groups than listed here.

https://www.facebook.com/groups/376990969428007/ Oregon

https://www.facebook.com/groups/LostPetsPDX/  Portland Metro

https://www.facebook.com/groups/lostandfoundpetsinportland/ Gresham area

https://www.facebook.com/Hillsboro-OR-Lost-Dogs-Cats-Pets-1865762783687510/ Hillsboro

https://www.facebook.com/groups/110844576264911/about/ Tigard, Tualatin, Wilsonville

https://www.facebook.com/LostAndFoundPetsOfSalemOregon/ Salem

https://www.facebook.com/LostandFoundPetsofWoodburnOregon/ Woodburn

https://www.facebook.com/lafpondo/ Newberg - Dundee

https://www.facebook.com/search/top/?q=lost%2Ffound%20pets%20-%20washington%20county%20oregon Washington County

https://www.facebook.com/search/str/multnomah+county+lost+%26+found+pets/keywords_search Multnomah County

https://www.facebook.com/search/top/?q=lost%20and%20found%20pets%20clackamas%20county - Clackamas County

https://www.facebook.com/groups/441824919293060/ - Yamhill County

https://www.facebook.com/LostPetsOfClarkCounty/ Clark County WA

https://www.facebook.com/groups/ClarkCountyLostandFoundPet/about/ Clark County WA

https://www.facebook.com/groups/lostandfoundpetsvancouver/about/ Vancouver, WA

On Facebook search for “Lost and Found Pets (your County or City)” for additional FB pages

Other webpages and groups

https://www.pawboost.com/ National website - Click the Report Pet button on the upper right corner of the page - be sure to search through the lost reports to see if the owner has reported the pet as lost

https://petfbi.org/  To report a found cat or dog and search matching lost cats and dogs - receive emails with potential matches and get advice on how to find the owner

https://www.lostmykitty.com To report a found cat and search for a lost cat report

https://www.lostmydoggie.com/ To report a found dog and search for a lost dog report

https://multcopets.org/search-lost-found-reports Multnomah County Animal Control

https://web3.clackamas.us/dogs/found.jsp  Clackamas County Animal Control

http://petharbor.com/ National website used buy Washington County Animal Control - Shelters use to report found pets and you can also report found pets and search through the reported lost pets

https://whs4pets.org/lost-found-pets/  Willamette Humane Society Lost and Found website

https://marioncountypets.shelterbuddy.com/  Marion County online lost and found search

http://nextdoor.com - This is a great neighborhood website where people post info related specific to their neighborhood.  They have a Lost and Found section. You have to join to post.

http://craigslist.com – be careful of people responding to your craigslist post who claim they are the owner or will “take” the animal if you don’t find the owner.  There are some not so nice people responding to found ads that want to do some not so nice things to animals.

https://www.helpinglostpets.com/ Lots of good info and links to read through on this page. Post your pet as found in the appropriate state and cat or dog link on the FB page the link takes you to. Oregon only has a lost dog page, but cats are also posted there.

https://petfbi.org/ For more info on what to do

https://www.fidofinder.com/ Post found dogs and search for matching lost dogs

https://lost.petcolove.org/ Post found cats and dogs and search for matching lost cats and dogs

https://www.findtoto.com/ Search the lost pet posts

https://www.pawmaw.com/lost-found-pets Post found cats and dogs and search for matching lost cats and dogs

  • Check all the above websites for lost pets whose description matches the animal you found.

  • Create flyers

Put up as many flyers as you can (Big picture of the pet with the words FOUND and your number in large print, put plastic sheet covers on them and seal all sides with clear packing tape to make them somewhat water resistant), using the packing tape, tape up the flyers everywhere, at major intersections, on stop signs, mailboxes, poles, and trees (use a staple gun on the trees – I saw someone use tacks once and that worked too except you can’t tape over the tack like you can the staple to keep the water out) where your pet was last seen. The more people that know, the better chance you will get a call from the owner.

Returning a pet to an owner

  • Please do not return a pet without being 100% sure the person claiming the pet is the owner.

There are people who will pretend to be the owner to get a free animal and possibly use as dog bait in dog fighting rings and other horrific situations.  

Make sure the person claiming to be the owner can provide the following:

  • Description of the pet, sex, neutered, spayed
  • Description of any collar/tags or “clothing” the pet is wearing
  • Pictures of their lost pet that match the pet you found
  • Vet records for their pet

The pet’s reaction when they see the person is also a good indication as to whether they are the owner.

Adopting out a found pet

  • Before you can legally find a new home for a found pet or adopt it yourself, you must wait the required hold time (90 days in Washington County) and that time differs by each county.  In addition, each county has additional requirements, when looking for a pet’s owner (in Washington County you must advertise (it is free) in the Oregonian twice).  Please check with your county shelter to understand their requirements before you can adopt out a found animal.

After the pet is reunited,

  • Update all the postings on the websites with “REUNITED”,
  • Call the shelter to tell them the pet has been reunited with its owner
  • Delete the craigslist post
  • Take down all the flyers you posted

Good luck!  Let me know if you need any help or have any questions.