Advice if You Lose or Find a Pet This Week

For Immediate Release: Monday, July 02, 2012

Found a lost pet?

• Talk to your neighbors. Kids are especially likely to know where a lost pet lives.
• If a dog has a Washington County license, you can look up the owner on your home computer. Just go to www.WashingtonCountyPets.com, click on "Lost and Found" and click on "License Look-Up." When you type in the dog's license number, you'll get the phone number of the owner. This is a new service that the County is providing this year. Multnomah County has a similar service.
• Bring the pet to your local county shelter. In Washington County, that's the Bonnie L. Hays Shelter in Hillsboro. "This is the place that people come to find their lost pets. It's the best bet for reuniting an animal with its owner," says Deborah Wood, manager of Animal Services for Washington County. Shelter staff actively looks for owners.

Lost a pet?

• Check on www.WashingtonCountyPets.com (click on "Lost and Found" then "View Lost Pets"). Photos of each pet brought into the shelter are posted on the web site within an hour of intake. Other local county shelters have similar ways to look for pets on their web sites.
• Talk to your neighbors to see if they have found a pet.
• Post fliers with your pet's photo on it.
• Check with local veterinarians, since people may bring an injured pet to a veterinary clinic.
• Check shelters throughout the metropolitan area. "Sometimes animals that started out miles away end up being found in our county – and animals who live in Washington County find their way to other communities," says Wood.

The Bonnie L. Hays Small Animal Shelter will be open July 4th from 9-5 to intake stray animals and reunite lost pets with their owners. The shelter is located at 1901 SE 24th Avenue in Hillsboro. It's just off the Tualatin Valley Highway by Lowe's and Home Depot. Phone: 503-846-7041.

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