Found Pet Tips (Southern Nevada)

WARNING: You may have criminals contacting you claiming the pets is theirs. It is easy to fake “support animal” profiles online or send you photos stolen from the internet. So, please be cautious. 

  1. MICROCHIP SCAN. Have the pet SCANNED FOR MICROCHIP to identify the owner. Any PetSmart or veterinary office can do it for FREE. Please ask the technician to scan all over and twice. Chips move or become weak. Emergency vets can scan “after-hours.” Please also ask them to write down the chip number for you if there is one. Often, we can find out additional info that the vet may have overlooked. If you are given the Microchip number, you can see where it is registered and contact the appropriate company at:  http://www.petmicrochiplookup.org/. 
  2. ANIMAL FOUNDATION/HENDERSON SHELTER. You can report to the shelter systems on this page https://24petconnect.com/BreedRequest/Found. In Henderson you must report a found pet by law. See https://www.cityofhenderson.com/government/departments/animal-control/lost-and-found
  3. NEXTDOOR. Free ad on nextdoor.com or their phone app
  4. CRAIGSLIST. Check for a matching pet on craigslist in the lost and found and pets sections. We don’t necessarily suggest you place an ad, however, as many scammers are working the listings. http://lasvegas.craigslist.org/search/laf
  5. FLIERS. MOST EFFECTIVE. Posting fliers around the neighborhood could really help. Not everyone is internet-savvy.
  6. PAWBOOST Post a flyer with Pawboost.com(free and paid options). Just ignore the paid options and the ad still gets posted.     
  7. FACEBOOK GROUPS. Post in “Lost Dogs of Las Vegas” or “Lost Cats of Southern Nevada” and others. It will be reshared from there to many other groups.
  8. DOG WALK. Put on a secure harness and leash and let the dog lead you in the neighborhood. They might lead you to their home. There also have been some reunions just due to you walking the neighborhood and the owner is out looking.
  9. Post on Petco’s https://lost.petcolove.org/
  10. Post on the Ring Neighbors app. You don’t need to be an owner of a Ring doorbell to use it
  11. Make sure to give your mail carrier a flyer. They see and hear a lot.

Notes: Don’t assume that if a pet looks malnourished or unkempt that the owner is unworthy of the pet’s return. The pet may have an underlying medical condition or may have been lost on the streets for an extended time. Also, we sometimes find that the last caretaker who lost the pet wasn’t the rightful owner either. DO NOT GIVE THE PET TO ANYONE OTHER THAN THE OWNER OR THE MUNICIPAL SHELTER OR A LEGITIMATE RESCUE.  Giving the pet away instead of bringing it to the shelter could cause you to have legal liabilities.

Notice: None of this information should be construed as legal advice from the authors