Lost Animals

Lost Animals

Having your animal microchipped and tagged is very important and useful if it gets lost! If your pet was wearing a tag or was implanted with a microchip when it was lost, call the veterinarian, microchip company, or other tag issuing agency to make sure your contact information is current and correct.  If you did not previously register your microchip, register it as soon as possible with the microchip company or other universal pet microchip databases.

Basics for Finding Your Pet

• Talk to your neighbors.
• Search the neighborhood and surrounding areas.
• Create a Lost Dog/Cat poster to post in these areas.
  • Making sure that the poster is visible to passing cars in high traffic areas is critical. Also, use a clear photo with large fonts on a flyer to get attention, along with only pertinent information.
  • Bring flyers to vets, groomers, pet boarding facilities, and other local businesses in the area in order to maximize its impact.
• Go to Abilene Animal Services @ 925 South 25th every other day to search the kennels. You may check their website but definitely be sure to check in person.
• File a report with Abilene Animal Services
• Utilize the many online services available including facebook groups, petfbi.org, missionreunite.org, and pawboost.com are just a few of the online resources available to help reunite lost pets.

The Dos and Don’ts for Success

Finding your lost pet can take anywhere from a few hours to, in extreme cases, months or years. Human behavior can be an impediment to finding a lost pet.

• Do start searching immediately: The first few hours are critical for getting back a lost pet.
• Do be proactive: Approaching strangers or businesses is necessary for getting information out there.
• Don’t make assumptions: These can cloud judgment and hamper efforts in finding your pet.
• Don’t give up too quickly: Some lost pets are found quickly, while others are not. This all depends on many different factors, so keep trying everything that you can.

Found Animals

Can you take a pet I found?

We receive calls daily from people asking us to take a pet they have found.

Lost pets are generally owned by someone. Therefore, don’t keep or adopt out an animal without first making a real effort to locate the owner.

Take the found pet to Abilene Animal Services or nearest veterinarian to have them scanned for a microchip.

Report the found animal online at Abilene Animal Services

Found animals may be taken to the City of Abilene Animal Services located at 925 South 25th.  Please call them for current stray intake hours at 325-698-0085..  Most owners check with Animal Services first when an animal is missing, and hundreds of cats and dogs are reunited with their owners through Animal Services each year.

If you find the owner, meet them in a public place, such as an animal shelter or police station, and never meet them alone.

Rehoming a pet

We do not generally take in animals from the public.  If you need to rehome a pet, you can try using social media sites (many facebook groups exist), internet sites like getyourpet.com, or surrender to your local municipal shelter if needed.