Gloucester Mathews Humane Society
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Lost Pet Tips

If you've lost a pet, the following tips may help you recover them. 
Search the area thoroughly
  • Start searching in the area where your pet was lost immediately after you realize they are missing. Do not delay the search.
  • Call the pet's name repeatedly.
  • Use a favorite food or toy to entice the pet. Shake a box or bag of treats or use any other familiar noise such as the rattle of your keys.
  • Stop periodically to listen for your pet - a bark, a meow, a rustle in the leaves.
  • Think like your animal. Search low, under sheds, in tight spaces, and search up high as well.
  • Ask neighbors if you can search their yard or property.
  • Place something your pet may recognize by scent outside: dirty clothes, bedding, favorite toys, odorous food such as tuna, mackerel, liver, chicken. Placing a litter box outdoors may assist in recovering a lost cat.

Make Flyers
  • Put a good quality color or black & white photo of your pet on each flyer; use 8 1/2-inch by 11-inch paper; using colored paper will draw more attention.
  • Include your pet's species (cat, dog, etc), breed or breed mix, sex (including whether it is spayed/neutered), age, weight, color, markings.
  • Leave out one or two distinguishing marks or characteristics - a floppy ear, a stubby tail, a missing canine tooth, one blue eye), so you can determine whether someone claiming to have found your pet, actually has.
  • Do not put your name or address on the flyer; include your phone number instead.
  • Offer a reward, but withhold the amount.
  • Post as many flyers as possible within a one-two mile radius of where your pet was lost. Drop flyers at veterinarian offices, local shelters, and local animal control shelters.

File a Lost Report with GMHS
  • Email GMHS at information@gmhumanesociety.org to file a lost report. Also call your local animal control, as well as shelters and animal control shelters in surrounding jurisdictions and file a lost report. 
  • Visit local shelters often - every day or two - to look for your pet. Remember that your description may not match someone else's description, so in-person visits are important. 
  • Provide the shelter with a flyer containing pertinent descriptive information and a photo in case your pet is turned into the shelter.
  • Virginia law requires municipal shelters to hold animals for five days if found without a collar; ten days if found with a collar. Do not depend on a shelter to hold your lost pet indefinitely.

Call Local Veterinarians
Don't forget to call and/or post flyers at veterinary clinics, to include emergency facilities, in case your pet is found sick or injured. 

Contact Local Rescue Organizations
  • Circulate flyers to local rescue organizations that can spread the word through their network of animal welfare contacts.
  • The Virginia Department of Transportation (VDOT) picks up animal remains, including pets, found on the road. Call your local VDOT office about animals killed on a roadway.

Use newspapers, the internet, the radio to assist in your search
  • Place an advertisement in one or more local newspapers.
  • Xtra 99.1 FM will announce lost pets on the radio.
  • Take to Social Media! The following Facebook groups post found/lost pets:  Gloucester, Mathews, and Middlesex, VA Lost & Found Pets; Gloucester County Pet Connection; and Gloucester County Pets Lost, Found, And Looking For Their Forever Homes.
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Hours of Operation:

Monday: Closed
Tuesday to Sunday: 12 PM to 5 PM

Contact Us

6620 Jackson Lane  (Physical)
P.O. Box 385 (Mailing)
Gloucester VA 23061
Phone: 804 693-5520

FAX:  804-693-2009
information@gmhumanesociety.org

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  • Home
  • About GMHS
    • Mission
    • Our Board of Directors
    • Our Leadership Team
    • Annual Statistics
    • KultureCity Sensory Certification
    • Humane Business Partners
    • Contact Us
  • Donate
  • Adopt
    • Adoption Process
    • Available Dogs
    • Available Cats
    • Available Small Animals
    • Available Rabbits
    • Available Birds
    • Available Dogs at Gloucester Animal Control
    • Available Dogs at Middlesex Animal Control
    • Senior Pets
  • Volunteer
    • Volunteer Program
    • Foster Care
  • Support and Services
    • Outreach & Humane Education
  • For the Love of Paws Gala and Auction 2023
  • News
  • Events
  • Lost Pets