Searching for a Lost Pet
Start by browsing the photos of stray animals recently brought in to the shelter. Nobody will recognize your pet faster than you will, so keep checking the online listings for new arrivals.
If you do not see your pet, file a lost pet report with our online lost-and-found pet service and with other shelters in the area.
Found Someone's Pet?
Someone may already be searching for the animal you found, so post it on the online lost-and-found pet service or let Animal Services know right away.
A veterinarian or a pet supply store can also scan the animal for a microchip.
When a microchip turns up, the clinic may be able to reach the owner directly.
Online Lost-and-Found Pet Service
Animal Services partners with an outside lost-and-found service that uses community networks to help bring pets and their families back together.
Whether you have lost a pet or found one, create a free post on the service's website.
More Ways to Search
Contact Nearby Shelters
Your pet may have ended up at a shelter in a neighboring community. A free national shelter search website lets you look through recovered pets and adoptable animals at many nearby shelters at once.
Spread the Word Online
Post a missing pet notice on your neighborhood's private social network.
Browse lost-pet groups on social media, such as:
- Lost and found animal groups for Fredville, Cedar Bluff and Millbrook
- County-wide lost and found pet groups
- Regional and statewide lost pet groups
- Groups dedicated to lost cats or lost dogs in Texas
Ask Your Mail Carrier
Mail carriers cover the whole neighborhood every day and can keep an eye out. Hand them a flyer or a current photo of your pet.
Make Flyers
Post flyers around the neighborhood. Several free lost-pet websites let you register your missing pet and print a letter-size (8.5 by 11 inch) poster, including sites that focus on lost dogs or lost cats.
Microchips
A microchip is a small electronic chip roughly the size of a rice grain. A vet places it under the skin between the shoulder blades with very little discomfort. Each chip carries a unique number that shelters and veterinarians can read with a scanner, and that number links to the owner's contact details in a registry.
My pet wears an ID tag. Does it still need a microchip?
Yes. Tags often fall off when a pet gets loose, and the microchip may then be the only way to identify the animal.
What does it cost?
The Fredville Paws Adoption Center will microchip your pet for just $12 per animal, and registering the chip in a national pet registry is included at no extra charge. Walk-ins are welcome; no appointment is required.
The Fredville Paws Adoption Center strongly encourages every pet owner to have their animals microchipped.
What Happens to Stray Animals
Strays with an ID tag or microchip
When an officer in the field picks up an animal that has identification, staff will do everything possible to take it home, as long as an owner is there to receive it or it can be safely secured in the back yard. Otherwise, the animal is brought to the Fredville Paws Adoption Center, and staff will keep trying to reach the owner.
Strays without an ID tag or microchip
Animals without identification that are brought to the Fredville Paws Adoption Center are kept for at least 72 hours. Days the shelter is closed, such as Sundays, Mondays and holidays, do not count toward that time.
Animals still unclaimed after 72 hours become City of Fredville property and, when suitable, are made available for adoption.
Stray Cats
Found a stray cat? Here is what to do next:
- If you found the cat outside Fredville, ask the shelter or rescue groups in that city for help.
- If the cat is hurt or ill, call (555) 010-4930 to arrange intake. Depending on its health, the cat may not qualify for trap-neuter-return (TNR) and may instead be adopted, transferred or humanely euthanized.
- A healthy cat with a notched ear is a Community Cat that has already been spayed or neutered and vaccinated against rabies.
- If the cat is healthy and its ear is not notched, call (555) 010-4930 to schedule spay or neuter surgery. To collect the cat afterward and return it outdoors, specifically ask for TNR services. Otherwise staff will evaluate the cat for TNR, and if it does not qualify, for adoption, transfer or humane euthanasia.
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