Help and guides

In the first hour, search where your pet was last seen, call nearby shelters and animal services, and check that your microchip registry has your current phone number. Then start a private search with your pet’s photo, last known location, and when they went missing. Add distinctive details, then review pets that could be yours. You can also browse public reports and use our guides for practical next steps.

Yes. You can begin without an account or a photo. Add the location, timing, species, and appearance you know. A clear photo can help compare possibilities; you can add one later. Save an email address with your search so you can return through a private access link.

Check your photos and description, then choose Share publicly in your search so people can send sightings or messages. If we email you a link, open it to share your post publicly.

Once your report is public, use its sharing and flyer options. Share the public report with neighbors and local groups. You can also make a flyer at any time, before you publish anything: add a photo, then print it or save an image to share. Keep your private recovery link to yourself: it gives access to manage your search.

Yes. Searching, posting and alerts are free.

Use a found-pet report if the pet is safely contained or in someone’s care. Use a sighting if you saw the pet but it is still loose. Add where and when you found or saw it, a photo if you safely took one, and any distinctive features. If we email you a link, open it to make your post public.

Keep yourself and the animal safe. A veterinarian, shelter, or animal-control agency may be able to scan for a microchip. With the microchip number, our microchip check helps you look up which registry to contact. Our guides explain next steps for found dogs and cats. Do not publish the address where the pet is staying or full tag or microchip numbers.

Open the public report and use its sighting or messaging option. Include when and where you saw the pet and the direction it was moving. Do not chase the animal or enter private property. Follow the contact instructions shown for a shelter listing.

We compare photos, looks, place and timing across posts from neighbors, shelters and rescues. A possible match is a lead for you to check, not proof.

Open it and compare the photos, markings, place and dates. To ask for more details, use the options in your search. For a pet at a shelter or rescue, follow that organization’s steps to ask about or claim the pet.

We look at posts from neighbors and at the shelter and rescue listings we can reach. Coverage varies by area, so keep checking local shelters and community groups. Your pet may not be posted yet.

Check the last known location and date, add clear photos, and update distinctive details such as markings and size. Add your pet’s sex if you know it; that field is optional. Review your search area and return to check new possibilities. No results does not mean your pet has not been found.

Choose Find my searches and enter the email address connected to your search or report. Open the link from that email on the device you want to use. Anyone with the link can manage your searches.

Check your spam or junk folder and confirm you used the email address connected to the search. Request a fresh access link if the old one no longer works. If you are waiting for the email that makes a new post public, use the help on its confirmation page. Contact us through feedback if you are still stuck.

Open your existing search to update its pet details, photos, or search area. For a public report, use its management or edit options. Update the existing search or report instead of creating another for the same pet.

In your search, choose Is your pet home, or would you like to stop the search?, select Home safely, and confirm. You can also end a search for another reason. We pause looking for new leads and new public replies, and your history stays available. Use Reopen search if you need to resume.

Your private search includes a Delete search option. Read the confirmation carefully before proceeding, especially if a public report is connected. For other removal or privacy requests, send feedback with an email address where we can reach you and verify the request.

My searches is in the menu, and once a search is open in your browser it also appears at the top of every page. It lists your searches and the reports you have shared. The bell beside it, Updates, shows new sightings, replies and possible matches across all of them; choose one to open that pet’s search. On a new device, use Find my searches first.

A public post shows photos, a description, the general area, dates, and status. Your email and phone number are never shown on it. Anything you type in the description can be seen and shared, so leave out contact details, home addresses, and microchip numbers.

Use the messaging or contact options shown on the report or possible match. Review what the form says will be shared before sending. Sending a message, agreeing to share contact details, or both of you confirming it is the same pet can share information with the other person; it does not make your contact details public.

Ask for distinctive details and credible photos or records before handing over a pet. If ownership is uncertain, ask a veterinarian, shelter, or animal-control agency for help. Arrange the handoff at a safe public or trusted professional location when practical.

Do not send money, gift cards, verification codes, or account credentials to someone claiming to have your pet. Send us the public report link and a description of the concern through feedback. Do not include private access links. For immediate danger, contact local emergency services.

Following a pet sends updates about that individual search, including when they’re home safe. On a missing pet’s page, choose Follow under Stay in the loop. Follow is offered on missing-pet reports people post on FindLostPets, not on imported or shelter listings. Pet Watch sends email alerts about newly reported missing pets in areas you choose. You can join Pet Watch without an account or a missing pet of your own.

Use the management or unsubscribe link in the relevant email. For Pet Watch, you can change your areas and distances, pause an area, or stop all Pet Watch emails. Following a pet and Pet Watch are separate subscriptions; stopping one does not stop the other.

My pets is a private place to keep your dog’s or cat’s photos, microchip number and identifying details while they are safe at home. Sign in with your email address to use it. It is private to your account: nothing there is shown publicly or shared unless you choose to share a missing-pet post later.

Open that pet in My pets and choose Start a private search. The search starts with the photos and details already there, so you do not have to enter them again. Like every search, it stays private until you choose to publish a report.