Lost Pet Recovery Checklist

Losing a companion animal can be devastating to a family. The following are some guidelines to help you search for your beloved cat, dog, or other animal.

• Visit the View RHS Stray Pets page. This page is regularly updated with any stray animals that arrive at the Shelter.
  Record the ID number of any animals you would like to learn more about before contacting the RHS.

• Submit a Lost Pet Report, It is best to upload a detailed photo of your lost pet and provide as much detail about them as possible including tattoo and microchip numbers.

• Once a Lost Pet Report is filed, a lost poster will be automatically generated for your missing pet. These are beneficial to hand out to neighbours and mail carriers. Effective lost posters and social media have proven to be two of the most effective ways of reuniting pets with their owners. While the automatically generated lost posters from the RHS are sufficient for handing out to people directly, it’s ideal for making publicly posted lost posters more colorful and attention-grabbing.

• Visiting the Regina Humane Society Lost and Found Department on a regular basis (we recommend every two days) to view all shelter pets is of paramount importance even if your pet has identification. It is important to note that the stress of being in a shelter environment may cause any animal to become unsafe to handle inhibiting RHS staff’s ability to check lost pets for identification in a timely manner in order to contact potential owners.

• Look around your neighbourhood right away. Check with neighbours, the mail carrier, and children playing in the area. Ask homeowners to check garages, under decks, around sheds, greenhouses, etc.

• Leave food, water, and something familiar to your pet (such as his blanket, bed, or favourite toy) outside near the door. An unwashed piece of your clothing may help your pet pick up the scent of you and your home. Animals may return on their own when no one is home, and having food, water, and something familiar may encourage them to stay in the area.

• If your address or phone number has changed since your pet was tattooed, microchipped, or licensed, ensure contact information is updated with the appropriate agencies.
  • Microchips: Contact the microchip company directly to update contact information.
  • Tattoos: Contact the Veterinary Clinic that administered the tattoo, as well as the RHS, to update contact information.
  • City License: Contact the City of Regina to update contact information registered to a city pet license. (306) 777-7000
  • RHS Adoptee: Contact the RHS Lost and Found Department directly and provide updated contact information.

• Create a Lost Profile for your pet and check Found Profiles* at the following:
  • Regina Lost and Found Dogs
  • Regina Lost and Found Cats
  • Kijiji
  • Used Regina
  • Regina Leader-Post
  • Local Animal Rescues Groups
    *Please note this is not an exhaustive list of online pet recovery pages

How long are lost/stray pets held for?

Under the Regina Animal Bylaw, the Regina Humane Society is required to hold stray dogs and cats for 72 hours if they have no form of identification or 10 days if they do have identification. Identification is defined as a microchip, a unique identification tattoo, or a city license. It is important to note that collars containing tags can fall off, so they are not the most reliable form of identification and with time, tattoos can become difficult to read. The most reliable form of identification is a microchip. After stray animals have completed the legal holding period, they become the property of the RHS and may be placed for adoption.