Lost and Found

Search for Lost Animals at SVACA

Lost Animals

Losing a member of your family is a very stressful and upsetting event. Try to stay focused and organized about what steps you need to take to recover your lost animal.

1. While your animal is missing, you can also search for your animal at other shelters. However, please do not rely solely on the website photos as picture quality can vary. Animals are often hard to distinguish from one another, especially solid-colored animals who often look alike. Please note it is often difficult to sex our incoming cats therefore when searching for your cat, do not indicate a preference for the gender.
   • If your animal is wearing I.D. with your phone number, make sure you can be reached by someone who may find your animal.
   • If your animal has a microchip, make sure the information is current.
   • Search the neighborhood surrounding your home as your animal may not have traveled very far.
   • Ask your neighbors (especially children who often notice stray animals when they're out playing) if they have seen an animal matching your animal's description.
   • You should also contact the shelters in neighboring communities such as San Jose Animal Care, the Santa Clara County Animal Shelter (unincorporated areas), Pets In Need Palo Alto and the Humane Society Silicon Valley. Click here for a map of neighboring shelters.
   • Make "Lost Animal" signs and post them on bulletin boards. Be sure to follow all laws regarding the legal postings of flyers. Include your animal's name, description and photograph. Make sure to post Lost Animal signs at each shelter you visit. 
   • There are many sites on the internet you can check. Just type in "Lost Pets" or "Missing Pets" to your favorite search engine. Craigslist, Nextdoor, and social media sites such as Facebook are also frequently used sites for lost and found pets. 
2. Register your lost pet on Pet Harbor:

• Lost dog
• Lost cat
• Lost "other" animal

Please note: Pet Harbor forwards all lost pet registry information to SVACA when you select Silicon Valley Animal Control Authority. In order to upload your information, the form must be accurately completed. Though not a required field, detailed information regarding your pet’s description is essential. Photos are especially helpful.

Don't give up hope! Some animals go missing for weeks, sometimes even months, before they are found by their guardians.

Found Animals

Thanks for finding a lost animal. Here’s what we can do to help locate the owner: 

1. Animals found in Campbell, Los Gatos, Monte Sereno, Mountain View and Santa Clara can be brought to SVACA at no charge. We will make them available for immediate viewing.
2. If you are unable to transport the animal, or feel that to do so may endanger your safety, you can call us to pick-up the animal from you during regular business hours.
3. You can shelter the animal yourself and try to locate his/her family by doing the following:
   • If wearing a rabies tag, call the phone number on the tag to locate the owner. 
   • Take the animal to a local shelter or veterinarian to be scanned for a microchip. 
   • Post a "Found Animal" advertisement on Craigslist, Nextdoor, social media sites such as Facebook, which are frequently used sites for lost and found pets.
   • Look under "Lost Animal" ads and see if there are any matches. 
   • Register a found animal at Pet Harbor. 

• Found dog
• Found cat
• Found "other" animal 

Please note: Pet Harbor forwards all found pet registry information to SVACA when you select Silicon Valley Animal Control Authority. In order to upload your information, the form must be accurately completed. Though not a required field, detailed information regarding the found pet’s description is essential. Photos are especially helpful.

       4.  Post "Found Animal" signs around the area the animal was found. Be sure to follow all laws regarding the legal postings of flyers.

Reclaim Fees

Any person who needs to reclaim an animal from the Animal Care Center will need to pay the following fees and any applicable penalties before the animal can be released. Qualifying animals will also need to be licensed. All fees are retained by SVACA and used to offset the cost of our operations; simply said, fees directly help the animals.  

Proof of ownership will also need to be provided. Please contact us at staff@svaca.com for more information.

Fees

Veterinarian fees dependent upon services provided.

*Pursuant to Senate Bill No. 573 (California Food and Agricultural Codes 31108.3. and 31752.1.) a public animal control agency shall not release a dog or cat to an owner seeking to reclaim the animal unless microchipped with current contact information.