Lost a Pet?
What to do immediately to find your lost pet
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Physically Search
Take a walk around the neighborhood, knock on doors, and check nearby parks.
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Post on social media while you walk
- Facebook Group: Elk Grove CA Pets Lost and Found
- Facebook Group: Elk Grove Pets Lost and Found
- Nextdoor App
- Ring Neighbors App
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Update your contact information
Add emergency contacts on your pets microchip account and digital license tag account, if they have them.
- Find the microchip companies contact information by entering the microchip number on the AAHA website
- Find the Pet Hub tag number on the physical tag or by calling the shelter you licensed with.
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Create lost pet profiles on websites such as:
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Check local shelters’ websites for your pet’s photo and file a lost pet report.
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Create a lost pet flyer
Put the flyer on the doorsteps of homes on your street and surrounding blocks, and post flyers around the neighborhood. The flyer should include:
- A clear photo
- Pet’s colors, age, breed
- “Lost From” closest cross streets
- Contact information
- Any medical or behavioral considerations
Keep looking and reposting!
Our shelter often sees pets reunited over a month after they go missing!
Lost Pet Prevention
- Your pet should always wear a visible ID tag, even if they never go outside. Visible tags are the #1 way to get a lost pet home within 24 hours!
- Keep your pets microchip information updated: phone numbers, email address, and physical and mailing address. Add emergency contacts; one phone number is not enough!
- Spay and Neuter! Unaltered pets have hormonal instincts that increase their ability to escape to find a mate.
- Learn the location of your local Animal Shelters.
- Houdini Proof Your Home
- Escape Proof Your Yard
- Create a lost pet tool kit Be prepared if the worst shall happen!
Found A Pet?
Help a pet reunite with their family in 48 hours or less!
If the dog is not friendly, do not approach them. Try to take a photo and call Elk Grove Police Department, Non-Emergency Dispatch at (916) 714-5115 extension 4 to request and Animal Services Officer.
Found Dog
- Check the pet for an ID tag, embroidered collar, tagged harness, etc. If information is available, call and text the phone number – most people will not answer calls from an unknown number. Include a photo of the animal in your text message.
- If the pet tag has a QR code, scan it! This pet has a digital tag to make it easy to get home.
- Snap a photo, post online, and check recent posts from others. The best places to start are:
- Facebook Group: Elk Grove CA Pets Lost and Found
- Facebook Group: Elk Grove Pets Lost and Found
- Nextdoor App
- Ring Neighbors App
- Walk the dog around the neighborhood and nearby parks to see if anyone recognizes them, most animals are less than a mile from home.
- Visit your nearest veterinary office or shelter to get the pet scanned for a microchip. Request the microchip number and company to report the animal as found. If the first name and phone number of the owner is given to you, call and text them!
- File a found pet report with local shelters and pet reunification websites:
- Make a found pet flyer to distribute on neighbors’ porches, local businesses and post on mailboxes, here is a helpful template.
- While you are waiting for the owner to be found, provide the pet with food, water, and a safe place to stay. Most shelters have a pet pantry that may provide pet food and/or other supplies.
- No luck in finding the owner? Contact an animal shelter to learn which location to take the animal. Not all shelters accept animals from any location.
Found Cat
Elk Grove Animal Services accepts kittens (see our Kitten Guide below) and adult cats that are sick, injured, or have owner identification (microchip* or collar with tag).
Healthy adult cats are accepted only if shelter capacity allows, and we recommend that healthy adult cats be left alone. Since it is legal to have outdoor cats within the City, healthy adult cats who appear like strays may, in fact, live nearby or be cared for by one or more people in the area.
If you are concerned for a cat’s welfare and are unable to contain it, please call non-emergency dispatch at (916) 715-5115 extension 4 and request an animal services officer. Learn more about keeping outdoor cats safe and healthy.
*Microchips do not guarantee they are an indoor or owned cat. Microchipped adult cats may be returned to the area from where they came after the appropriate hold period.
Found Kitten
Support kittens in their best chance of survival by following this flow chart:
Found Wildlife
Elk Grove Animal Services cannot accept wild animals. Please contact the wildlife care association at (916) 965-9453 for assistance.
Animals Elk Grove Animal Services accepts that are unique, but not wild:
- Banded birds, pigeons, cockatiels, budgies, ect.
- Reptiles such as iguanas, tortoises, bearded dragons, ect.
- Rabbits, guinea pigs, chinchillas, ect.
- Domestic farm animals such as chickens, pigs, ducks, ect.
If you see a unique species that can not safely be contained, contact Non-Emergency Dispatch at (916) 714-5115 extension 4 and request an animal services officer.
Turkeys
The California Department of Fish and Wildlife’s recommendations for discouraging wild turkeys from becoming too comfortable on your property:
- If turkeys begin feeding under hanging bird feeders, remove the feeders until the turkeys leave the area.
- If turkeys are causing problems in your yard, install motion detecting sprinklers.
- Wild turkeys typically will not enter yards with dogs.
- If confronted by a wild turkey that has lost its fear of humans, an open umbrella may help steer it out of your path.
- Depredation permits are required to kill wild turkeys that are causing property damage. To get a depredation permit, contact your local Department of Fish and Wildlife office.
- For more information visit the California Department of Fish and Wildlife's Human-Wildlife Conflicts Toolkit
Bats
Per the California Department of Fish and Wildlife:
- Do not pick up or touch live or dead bats with your bare hands
- If you are scratched or bitten by a bat, or are in contact with saliva of a dead or live bat, contact your local public health department
- Do not disturb roosting bats by entering their roost site, if possible. Avoiding roost sites also will help prevent the spread of diseases such as White-nose Syndrome”
For more information or to report a bat colony, sick or dead bat, visit wildlife.ca.gov
Red Eared Sliders
California Department of Fish and Wildlife instructs, “do not take live RES from the environment unless you are prepared to keep it in captivity for the remainder of its lifespan.”
More information can be found at wildlife.ca.gov.