Lose or find a pet in Phoenix? Here are the resources you should know about

Losing a beloved pet is something that no owner wants to experience. For owners looking for their lost animal, there's more they can do besides make flyers and talk to neighbors.

The Maricopa County Department of Animal Care and Control reported returning nearly 2,000 pets safely to their homes in 2023 and shared its resources and advice on how they did it.

Here's what to know if an owner loses their pet or finds a stray.

How to look for a lost pet

MCACC encourages owners to visit their west shelter in Phoenix or east shelter in Mesa to look for a lost pet in person.

Owners can also fill out a Lost Pet Form, allowing shelter officials to see if the information on the form matches an animal already in the shelter.

MCACC does not impound cats, however, so the form cannot be used to locate a missing cat. Owners can report lost cats by adding them to its Stray Animal Map.

Users can access the Stray Animal Map to post or locate where a stray dog or cat was found. Animals posted to the map will only stay visible for five days.

All animals found by MCACC are also listed on the 24PetConnect.com website. MCACC shelters only keep animals without identification, such as licenses or microchips, for 72 hours. After that, the animals can become available for public adoption.

Other online resources like Petco Love Lost, Facebook, and other local pages, are available to help owners find lost and found pets in the area.

If a pet is microchipped, owners should check with their microchip company immediately.

MCACC also recommends spreading the word with flyers or social media posts to increase an owner's chance of finding their pet quickly.

Found a pet? Here's what to do

MCACC advises contacting a local agency, using online resources or scheduling a stray dog intake appointment to reunite a lost pet with its owner.

Call 602-506-PETS to retrieve the owner's contact information if the dog has a Maricopa County tag. If the dog does not have a tag and can be safely contained, contact the appropriate agency to report the lost animal and arrange to have the dog picked up.

Using MCACC's online form to report a lost dog or cat is strongly encouraged.

Stray dog intake appointments are available to make at both MCACC shelters, which allow shelter officials to properly determine what resources the pets need to return home safely.

Ill or injured pets, however, should be reported to the Arizona Humane Society.