Guides for every stage of a search
Cats and dogs go missing differently, and a found pet needs a different process again. Start with the guide that matches your situation.
Halloween and Lost Pets: Keep Them Safe
Halloween can be a stressful evening for pets: costumes, lights, decorations and a constant parade of strangers can frighten some animals.
5 min readRead the guideFireworks and Lost Pets: A Canada Safety Plan
Fireworks combine loud noises, bright overhead displays, unfamiliar odours and rapid, unpredictable movement.
5 min readRead the guideStray hold periods in Canada
How long a found or stray pet is held before an owner loses the right to reclaim it depends on the municipality.
6 min readRead the guideHow to Find a Lost Cat
Cats hide in silence, usually close by. A slow physical search beats a wide one.
8 min readRead the guideHow to Find a Lost Dog
Temperament decides how far they run. Never chase, and never call a panicked dog.
8 min readRead the guideYou Found a Pet. What Now?
Get them scanned, report to the right shelter, and use the free databases first.
6 min readRead the guideMake a Lost Pet Poster That Actually Works
One huge word, one identifying feature, and a phone number readable from a moving car.
5 min readRead the guideYour indoor cat got out
Terrified and silent. Almost always hiding within 500 metres of the door.
4 min readRead the guideYour outdoor cat didn’t come home
Usually shut in a garage or shed, trapped, or hurt inside its own territory.
4 min readRead the guideYour cat went missing away from home
A displaced cat hides within metres of where it escaped and will not answer to its name.
4 min readRead the guideYour dog slipped out the door or gate
Curious, not frightened. Stays fairly close, and is very likely to be picked up by someone.
3 min readRead the guideYour dog bolted in panic
In flight mode a dog can cover many kilometres and will run from you. Do not chase.
4 min readRead the guideYour dog took off on the trail
The chase ends long before the dog knows where it is. They often circle back to the trailhead.
3 min readRead the guideYour pet was lost in an emergency
Injured and badly frightened. They hide within sight of the incident, and vet clinics see them first.
3 min readRead the guideYou think your pet was stolen
A different process entirely: police report, case number, registry flags. Never meet a caller alone.
3 min readRead the guideNot sure which one you need?
If your pet went missing in the last few hours, skip the reading and work the checklist instead. It puts every step in order, from the first hour through to week two, and saves your place as you tick items off.
Come back to the guides once the urgent calls are made. They go deeper on the search technique that actually recovers animals.
Every page carries a last-reviewed date
Shelters move, numbers change and bylaws get rewritten. If something here is out of date for your city, tell us and we will re-verify it.
Who should you call, where you are?
Three questions — what you found, where, and the situation — and this page names the organisations that cover that area, in the order to try them.