Lost & Found Pets

Lost and Found Pets ~ Prevention

Cat
"If I had an ID tag, I'd be home already!"
One of the most important things you can do for your pet is to buy him/her a tag with current contact information. 

Lost animals wearing identification tags with current information almost always find their way back home.

Lost animals without tags could end up being adopted to someone else, or even worse, euthanized... just because no one knew how to contact the pet's owner.

We strongly urge all pet owners to purchase ID tags for their pets to wear!

Lost & Found Posters
Provide Posters to Shelters & Vets

Lost Pets ~ Damage Control

If you lose your pet, you need to take action immediately to increase your chances of finding him/her. What you can do:

  • Search for your pet in the area where you lost him/her.
  • Call Watauga County Animal Control at 828.262.1672. If they are closed when you call, leave a message on the answering machine stating your name and phone number and a very brief description of the animal you lost. Make sure you call them when they are open so you can talk to someone about your missing pet. Animal Control is open on Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays from 8 a.m. to 12 noon, and on Tuesdays and Thursdays from 12 to 4 p.m. You may also want to visit them during their operating hours to make sure your pet isn't there, because sometimes people describe animal characteristics differently. Remember, at Animal Control, stray animals are held for 3 days and then are put up for adoption.
  • Call Watauga Humane Society at 828.264.7865 between 12:30 and 5 p.m. to place a Lost Pet Report. We keep a notebook with Lost and Found animal listings. Don't forget to call us when you find your pet so we can take your Lost Report out of our listings. We keep lost and found reports for four months, then discard them.
  • Call local vets to make sure that your animal was not found injured and taken to the vet.
  • Call The Mountain Times (828.264.1881) and Watauga Democrat (828.264.3612) to place a free Lost Pet advertisement.
  • Call WATA radio (828.264.2411) to get the animal into the Pet Patrol Report, this runs daily at 4 p.m.
  • Put up flyers around town with photos of your lost pet and when/where it was last seen.

Lost Pet Listings On Our Site

Watauga Humane Society is happy to announce that we are now able to list LOST pets on our website ~ but ONLY with a digital photo.

List Your Lost Pet Online (Instructions) .
We cannot list LOST animals without photos at this time.

Watauga Humane Society greatly appreciates donations so we can keep helping pets and owners. Donations can be paid at the shelter, online via PayPal, or mailed to LOST PET LISTING, 200 Casey Lane, Boone, NC, 28607.


If you want your LOST pet listed on our website, you MUST carefully follow ALL of the instructions . If you do not follow the instructions precisely, your LOST pet will not be listed.

Disclaimer: It is your responsibility to be cautious when meeting someone who claims to have found your lost pet. For your own safety, we strongly advise that you meet in a public place to reunite with your lost pet. Watauga Humane Society is not responsible for any negative repercussions caused by listing your Lost Pet and contact information on our website. By requesting this service, you accept full responsibility and understand any risks involved in this process.

View our current Lost Pet Listings:
Lost Cat Listings
Lost Dog Listings

 

Found Pets ~ What You Can Do

If you find a stray pet without tags:

  • Ask people around the area where you found the animal if they know who the animal belongs to.
  • Call Watauga County Animal Control at 828.262.1672. If they are closed when you call, leave a message on the answering machine stating your name and phone number and a very brief description of the animal you found. Make sure you call them when they are open so you can talk to someone about the found pet. Animal Control is open on Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays from 8 a.m. to 12 noon, and on Tuesdays and Thursdays from 12 to 4 p.m.
  • Call Watauga Humane Society at 828.264.7865 between 12:30 and 5 p.m. to place a Found Pet Report. We keep a notebook with Lost and Found animal listings. Don't forget to call us if you find the pet's owner so we can take your Found Report out of our listings.
  • Call local vets to make sure someone hasn't called them missing their pet.
  • Call The Mountain Times (828.264.1881) and Watauga Democrat (828.264.3612) to place a free Lost Pet advertisement.
  • Call WATA radio (828.264.2411) to get the animal into the Pet Patrol Report, this runs daily at 4 p.m.
  • Put up flyers around town with photos of the found pet and when/where it was found.

Abandoning an animal is a misdemeanor, punishable by a fine of up to $1,000.00 and imprisonment for up to 6 months.

Do NOT abandon the animal at Watauga Humane Society's gate. It is illegal to abandon animals at our gate, and Watauga Humane Society will press charges if you violate this law. If you think you can bypass our waiting list by abandoning an animal at our gate please know that any animal left at our gate will be taken to Animal Control within 24 hours without exception.

Animal Control has holding cages outside of their shelter building. If you must take the animal somewhere immediately, proceed directly to Animal Control and make use of their outdoor holding cages.

If you would like to keep the animal until we can take it, you can call us and get on our waiting list, and we will call you when we have room to take the animal. Read more about surrendering an animal to our shelter.