Lost or Found a Pet?

Losing a pet is any pet owners nightmare. While every pet owner should take every step to ensure your dog or cat does not get lost, accidents do happen. So what do you do? Act Fast. Don't wait. Start your search right away.

On the flip side, have you found a pet roaming the neighborhood? You can help return them to their owners or search for your lost pet with our tips below.

Suggestions if you have lost or found a pet:

1. If you have found a pet, please have the dog/cat scanned for a microchip. Any vet will scan (free of charge). Including the emergency vet (open 24 hours). Lafayette Vet Care Center.

If your lost pet is microchipped, contact the microchip company right away.

2. Put a BIG sign in the area where you found the dog/cat, or in your front yard, if you've taken in or if you have lost a pet, in case someone is driving around looking for their lost pet or for the owner of a pet they found.

If your lost pet is a cat, put their litter box, food, and water outside.

3. Put fliers all around the area and at vet's offices, for a pet you've lost or for a pet you've found.

4. Post on Lafayette, Louisiana-Lost Dogs, Cats, and Pets (https://www.facebook.com/LostPetsLafayetteLA/) and similar FB pages in your area.

Be sure to check other posts on the page, to see if someone is looking for a pet you've found, or if someone has posted about a pet they found, that you lost. On some pages, this is under "Visitor's posts".

5. Get the Nextdoor app, and post on it.

6. Make your Facebook posts PUBLIC so people can share. And check the comments. Someone may have information.

7. Include your CONTACT INFORMATION in your posts (your phone number). It does not do any good without contact information. We are not all "friends" on FB and cannot contact the finder/owner.

8. Include EXACTLY where the pet was found or lost. City, street name and specific area of the city or parish.

9. GO TO the animal shelter and look for your pet or hang a flier about a lost/found pet. Don't call - the front office staff cannot help you. Go there and bring a flier with the pet's photo and your phone number.

10. Check the Lafayette Animal Shelter and Care Center's website. Click Lost and Found and then Search the Shelter to see the animals who are there now. Is your pet there? (It's always better to go there in person, if you can, and speak with someone and see the animals there. Sometimes the photos are not great, especially of a scared cat or dog.)

Thank you!

What to do if a found pet has a microchip but is not registered?

Sometimes a microchip will be inserted into an animal but unfortunately never registered to the owner. If this happens, here is what to do:

Ask the microchip company representative who bought the chip--a shelter, rescue, veterinarian, etc.
With that information, contact them to see if they can get the information about who they sold the chip to.