Lost & Found Pets

Looking For A Lost Pet?

If your pet has gone missing, click HERE and fill out a lost pet form. It’s a great idea to update a picture of your pet to help people identify them in public.

*Picture Guidelines:

• The picture is clear and not blurry.
• There are no other animals in the picture.
• The picture is focused on the face and front half of the animal.
• If the animal is a darker color, try to find a picture that is taken in front of a light background.
  

MHS posts all of the found animals brought into our care on our Facebook Page and many of them on the TenThousandEyes Page. We recommend checking both pages frequently. You can also contact MHS directly to see if your pet has been brought in as a found animal. Phone: (603) 352-9011

In addition to filling out a lost pet form and checking the pages mentioned above, we also recommend the below resources for other action steps you can take to find your lost pet:

• How to Find a Lost Cat Video
• How to Find a Lost Dog Video
• Lost Cat Behavior
• Lost Dog Behavior
• Granite State Dog Recovery
• NH Lost Pets
• Craigslist
• Facebook (utilize your town list or lost pet groups)

Found A Lost Pet?

If you’ve come across a lost dog or cat, please follow the suggestions below.

Found Dogs: 

Most dogs who are found loose outside have families that are looking for them. Your goal is to help find and reunite them with their family. Do not keep a dog that you found–they deserve to be with the family that loves them.

If you find a lost dog, check with people in the surrounding area to see if they recognize the dog. If the animal appears injured, contact the local police department for assistance. The local police department can also help in locating the dog’s owners. If an owner cannot be located, the police department may be able to assist in transporting the dog to a holding facility for lost pets, such as MHS. You can also call MHS for assistance if you have found a lost pet and need to bring it in to us.

All dogs brought in as strays need to be held for 7 days per NH state law in order to find the dog’ s owner. After 7 days, ownership of the animal transfers over to MHS and we will move forward with getting the dog ready for adoption

Found Cats:

Many people believe that if they see a cat outside, then it must be lost or have no family. It is natural for pet lovers to want to help an animal in need. However, the majority of outdoor cats have access to go in and out during the day, and having loving homes they return to. Use the steps below to determine if the cat you’ve spotted, needs your help.

What to do if you find a cat:

1. If the cat is healthy and friendly, leave them alone. Do not feed the cat or bring it into your home.
2. Put a paper collar on the cat with your information. If the cat goes home, hopefully the owner will contact you to let you know the cat has a home and family. Wait a week. If you still see the cat coming around after this time, contact MHS.
3. Post on your local town social media page to see if you can find an owner. Talk with neighbors to see if anyone recognizes the cat. 
4. Check the website tenthousandeyes.org to see if this pet has been posted as “Missing”. You can also post this pet as a “Found animal” on this website along with a description and picture.
5. If the animal has an open wound, is bleeding, has discharge from their eyes or nose, or is a kitten, contact MHS or your local police department.
6. If you have done all of the above and the cat is still on your property for over 1 week, call MHS to discuss next steps. 

There is no holding period for cats without identification like there is dogs in NH. MHS works hard to reunite all pets and people. Most found cats brought into MHS are friendly and social, which means they are likely someone’s pet. Unfortunately, most of the found cats brought into MHS never get reunited with their family. Only 17% of cats brought into MHS go back home to their original owners. Our goal is to keep people and pets together.