Lost & Found Services
Animals wearing an identification tag, collar, chain, or tattoo will be held at the shelter for 12 days before they will be evaluated for adoption.
Pets without identification (collar, chain, tattoo etc) will be held at the shleter for 7 days before the animal will be evaluated for adoption.
HHS will charge a $35 impound fee upon arrival and $15 for each additional day they are sheltered.
Your Pet’s Ticket Home
Your dog or cat should always wear a rabies tag and an I.D. tag with your current address and phone number. The collar should fit so that you can insert just two of your fingers underneath it, between the collar and your pet’s neck. Puppies and kittens need to have their collars adjusted as they grow.
In addition to wearing current tags, you may also want to have an identification microchip implanted in your pet. Your veterinarian can provide you with information about microchipping. In an effort to reunite more lost pets with their families, the Heritage Humane Society can scan lost pets for microchips.
Who to Contact:
Heritage Humane Society |
221-0150 |
James City County Animal Control |
565-0370
|
York County Animal Control |
890-3601 |
Peninsula S.P.C.A |
595-1399 |
Finding a Lost Pet
Why Pets Stray
One of the most common reasons a pet will stray is because it isn’t spayed or neutered. An “intact” pet will look for another animal with which to mate. Additionally, a spayed or neutered pet is more likely to be attentive to you and the training you provide.
Visit Every Shelter
It’s important that you visit every shelter in the area to look for your pet because animals can often wander great distances. They also have the opportunity to travel in cars. Sometimes a person who finds an animal might not take it to the closest shelter in the area, but instead take it to a shelter they are familiar with, or one that is located near their home or office.
It’s necessary for you to personally look for your pet in every shelter because the description you give of your pet over the phone may not be the description that another person would provide that animal. For instance, what one person considers a black dog with white markings may appear to be a white dog with black markings to someone else. If you don’t find your pet a t a particular shelter, be sure to fill out a lost report and leave a current photo of your pet with the staff there.
Act Fast
Check each shelter daily until your pet is found. Don’t assume that a shelter will house your animal any longer than five days.
Check with Other People
Notify people who are familiar with your pet that it is lost. Newspaper and mail carriers and neighborhood children commonly identify pets with their homes. You may also want to check with area veterinary offices.
Newspapers, Fliers & Websites
Someone may already have found your pet. Read the “found” advertisements in the Virginia Gazette and the Daily Press. Check our website often, take out a “lost” ad in the local newspapers and, if your neighborhood permits it, post fliers. Check our website and that of surrounding shelters routinely, as well as check the links to other sites on our homepage.
Don't Give Up!
Some pets are found after months of searching!
