Lost your pet?
1. Check our Found Animals page. If you see your lost pet listed, call us at (510) 535-5602 between 11am-4pm, 7 days a week. Even if you don’t see your pet the first time you look, keep checking this page regularly.
2. Be sure to check for your lost pet on Petco Love Lost as well as there may be additional pets listed there. This community board is not managed by OAS. Someone may post a found animal here without bringing that animal to OAS.
3. If your pet is microchipped, contact your microchip company immediately to inform them your pet is lost and ensure your contact information is up to date. When animals are brought to OAS, we will always scan for a microchip and contact the person to whom the chip is registered.
4. Email a completed Lost Animal Form and a recent photo your lost pet to oas@oaklandca.gov. Use the subject “lost pet form” on your email.
5. Contact all of the animal shelters in and around the area that your pet was lost and file a lost animal report with each shelter. Nearby shelters are:
- Berkeley Animal Care Services
- Hayward Animal Services
- Contra Costa Animal Services
- Friends of the Alameda Animal Shelter
6. Register your lost pet on:
7. Post on Nextdoor and Craigslist
8. Post to the Facebook pages of local pet groups: Oakland Lost and Found Pets, Point Isabel Dog Owners (PIDO), North Oakland Dog Owners, Oakland Dog Owners Group (ODOG).
9. Notify your neighbors and search the area thoroughly especially in the evenings, since pets become frightened and hide during the day. Door-to-door canvassing may provide leads in finding your lost animal. Leave a contact number in case your animal is found.
10. Check with your local veterinarians, as injured pets may have been taken to a vet by a concerned resident.
11. Place posters in the vicinity where the pet was lost. Include a photo as well as a description of your pet’s color, size, age, gender, and any special markings. Indicate the date when your pet was lost and the cross streets closest to where the pet was last seen. Remember to remove the posters once you have found your pet.
You can find more resources at Missing Pet Partnership.
Don’t give up too soon! Many animals have been missing for weeks or months before being brought into a shelter or otherwise found.
When you find your pet, be sure to microchip your pet and place an animal license tag or ID tag on your pet’s collar. Always keep your contact information with the microchip company up to date.
Found a pet?
The law requires that you report any stray dog or cat that you find in the City of Oakland to Oakland Animal Services. While we encourage you to try and find the pet’s owner by calling the phone number on their tag, asking your neighbors, putting up flyers, posting on social media, scanning for a microchip (which can be done at any veterinary clinic or animal shelter), etc., you must also report the lost pet to Oakland Animal Services.
If you have found a stray animal, please call us at 510-535-5602 between 11am to 4pm, 7 days a week, to make an appointment to bring the animal in to the shelter. You may bring the animal you have found to OAS, between 11am to 4pm, 7 days per week.
It is important that you bring the dog or cat into the shelter so that we can obtain information about them to post to the found animals page on our website. This is where many pet owners look for their lost pets. In some circumstances, you may be asked if you are willing to take the pet home with you and hold the pet in your home while we try to locate the pet’s owner.
