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Lost & Found Pets
Have you found a pet?
If you have found a pet, there are several steps you can take to help get it back to its rightful owner:
- City Ordinance requires all individuals who find an at-large pet to report such finding to Animal Services within 24 hours. Reports of found pets can be made by calling 972-769-4360 or submitting a found pet report. Animal services officers will either pick up the pet and house it at the shelter, or allow you to keep it until its owner can be found.
- Please click here to visit our Virtual Lost and Found Opens a New Window. to see if an owner has submitted a lost report matching the pet you've found. If you find no matching “Lost” report, you will need to submit a found pet report. It is very important to include a picture with your found pet report if at all possible. If you are unable to take a picture of the found pet, please bring it to our shelter Opens a New Window. anytime during our regular hours and we will take a picture of it for you. Found pet reports are kept on file for two weeks. If the animal is returned to its owner during this period, please send us an email informing us of the outcome so we can take the found pet report down. The map is updated once daily, Monday through Friday, so check it regularly to ensure a listing is not missed. All information is subject to open records requests as required by state law.
- If the pet was found outside of Plano, please contact the local animal shelter Opens a New Window. to file a found pet report with them. You may also want to submit a found pet report at FidoFinder Opens a New Window. or TabbyTracker Opens a New Window. .
- If the pet's collar includes the owner's contact information or a number to a vet clinic, animal shelter or microchip registry, please call them as soon as possible and report finding the animal.
- If you choose to keep the found pet, please take it to the Animal Shelter or any local veterinary clinic to be scanned for a microchip. If one is found, please call us at 972-769-4360 to see if we have it in our records. If not, visit the Pet Microchip Lookup Opens a New Window. website to see if the chip is registered to an owner. If the owner's information is not found, please call the microchip distributor listed to see if more identifying information can be obtained.
- Talk to your neighbors so they are aware you have found a pet. If HOA and city regulations allow, place found pet flyers/signs with photos of the pet near the entrances of your neighborhood. Make sure you leave out at least one key identifying characteristic so you can verify callers are actually the pet's owner. Ask local businesses, especially vet clinics and pet supply retailers, if you can post a found pet flyer in their businesses.
- If you find the owner, meet them in a public place, such as an animal shelter or police station, and never meet them alone.
Please be advised according to City Ordinances, you are presumed to be the owner of said animal after 72 hours of it being in your possession and will be responsible to abide by all City Ordinances and State Laws, including rabies vaccination and city registration requirements.
Have you lost a pet?
If you are missing a pet, there are several steps you should take to help your pet return safely to your home:
- Visit any shelters Opens a New Window. your pet possibly could have been taken. This is especially important if you live close to the borders of another city since pets will usually be taken to the shelter of the city where they are found. An owner should check each shelter in person as you are the only one who can identify your lost pet. Animal Services staff cannot provide any information over the phone about animals that are impounded for being at-large.
- Please click here to visit our Virtual Lost and Found Opens a New Window. * to see if a caring citizen has found your pet and is taking care of it until its owner is located. If you find no matching “Found” report, you will need to submit a lost pet report Opens a New Window. . Please include a picture in your lost pet report if possible. Lost pet reports are kept on file for two weeks. If the animal is found during this period, please send us an email informing us of the outcome so we can remove your lost pet report from our system. The map is updated once daily, Monday through Friday, so check it regularly to ensure a listing is not missed. All information is subject to open records requests as required by state law.
- If the pet was lost outside of Plano, contact the local animal shelter Opens a New Window. to file a lost pet report with them. You may also want to submit a lost pet report at FidoFinder Opens a New Window. or TabbyTracker Opens a New Window. .
- 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 with FoundAnimals Opens a New Window. , Free Pet Chip Registry Opens a New Window. , PetLink Opens a New Window. , Home Again or other universal pet microchip database.
- Search your neighborhood and let your neighbors know you are looking for a missing pet. If HOA and city regulations allow, place lost pet flyers/signs with photos of your pet near the entrances of your neighborhood. Ask local businesses, especially vet clinics and pet supply retailers, if you can post a lost pet flyer in their businesses.
- Beware of pet recovery scams! Never give or wire reward money to someone who makes money a condition of returning a pet. Meet finders in a public place, such as an animal shelter or police station, and never meet them alone.
- Keep checking the shelters at least once every other day they are open. Persistence can pay off as pets have been reunited with their owners after long periods of time.
- If you've lost a cat, put its litter box outside as they can smell it from up to a mile away and find their way home. For more tips on finding lost pets, visit the Missing Pet Partnership Opens a New Window. .
For detailed information about finding a lost dog, please click here Opens a New Window. . For information about finding a lost cat, please click here Opens a New Window. .
*The Virtual Lost and Found will list the animals currently in our shelter on stray hold and where they were impounded by Animal Services staff as well as all reports of missing or found pets in Plano. This map is intended to make it convenient for owners to search for lost pets but is in no way meant to replace an actual in-shelter visit. It is still the owner's responsibility to visit the shelter to identify pets even if the animal is not listed. Remember, pictures can be misleading so if there is any possible way a pictured animal might be your pet, please come to the shelter as soon as possible to verify its identity. The Virtual Lost and Found is updated Monday-Friday only, allow 24 to 48 hours for your listing to appear on the map.