Stay calm!
​​1. Contact the Adams County Humane Society with the info about your missing pet by completing a Lost Pet Report.  We will post the info and picture on our Facebook page. Please provide a picture, if possible, the animal's name, color, age, male or female, if it is spayed or neutered, if it has a collar and the color, the closest cross streets to area animal was lost and who to contact. If you do not have internet but have a picture of your missing pet, you can come into ACHS and we can scan your picture to post online. 
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We do all we can to find the animal's owner and get him or her home, including posting to Facebook and tracking down all leads we have.  

As dictated by state law, ACHS holds animals for a stray hold period of 4 days, plus 1 for the day the animal was taken into our custody. After that hold, an animal can be made available for adoption. If the animal cannot be placed due to unsafe behavior, or due to medical conditions that are not able to be treated, we will hold that lost animal for up to 7 days, plus the day of impoundment. Unless we are in contact with an owner who needs more time to come in and reclaim an animal, we will not hold animals as unclaimed longer than necessary. For this reason, it's crucial that you contact local animal control facilities as soon as you know your pet is missing.
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2. Search your house thoroughly from top to bottom​
  • Check all closets, cupboards and anywhere else where your animal may have gotten trapped. Retrace your steps and look in any place that he or she may have followed you or other members of the family.
  • Animals can get into some pretty tight places; don't leave any space unturned! Go in, under and behind washing machines, closets, furniture, beds, crawl spaces, cabinets... you get the idea!
  • Move outside to garages, sheds, barns, trees, vehicles, porches or any other good hiding places for a frightened animal with your flashlight for dark spots. Don't assume he is not there just because he is not responding to your voice. Most animals in unfamiliar territory will try to make themselves invisible and may not respond to you calling his name.

3. Place strong scented articles outside of your home to attract your pet.​
  • Items such as a cat's litter box, bedding or favorite toy.
  • An item of clothing that you have worn but not washed.
  • Smelly food such as tuna, chicken, hot dogs (or lettuce and carrots for herbivores) or other delicious treats.

4. Create a flyer and share online​
  • Lost Dogs of Wisconsin and Lost Cats of Wisconsin offer free resources to people who have lost their pet, and they help make reunions possible often through their great social media reach, especially on Facebook. You can also post on a Facebook page called Adams County, Wis. and Surrounding Areas, Lost, Found and 
    Adoptable Pets as well. The more you can get the info and picture out there the better chances you have of finding your pet.    We highly recommend using a flyer generated through their website for all of your posts.
  • Create a detailed listing on sites like Craigslist, Nextdoor, and any online message boards. Be sure to include recent photos of your animal, a written description of their looks, when and where they were last seen, whether or not they're microchipped, and if they were wearing a collar and/or leash when they went missing. Don't forget to list your phone number!

5. Print and post your flyers​
  • After you've created a flyer through Lost Dogs or Cats of Wisconsin, print as many as possible and put them up within a two-mile radius. Make sure you have your cell phone charged up at all times or your phone has a working answering machine to take messages when you are away. If you want to offer a reward, don’t list the amount.
  • A reward is not essential, but it may motivate someone to contact you instead of keeping the animal. Always withhold at least one important piece of information so that you can verify that the animal is really yours if and when you receive calls. Make sure you expressly state that reward will only be given after the pet is safely returned.
  • When it is time to meet someone to be reunited with your animal, ask to meet at a police department and never go alone.

6. Walk around the neighborhood​
  • Before you leave the house, grab a flashlight and a leash or a carrier to contain your animal. He might be too afraid to come to you or he might try to run away again. Take your cell phone and another person, especially if it’s dark in case you need help.
  • Talk to neighbors; let them know that your companion is missing.
  • Make some noise. Shake a bag of their favorite treats while calling their name, squeak their favorite toy, or any other familiar noises that they will know.
  • Dogs are often good at locating a lost animal. If you can take a dog with you, it might be helpful.

Don't give up hope! Keep looking! The best chance you have of finding your lost animal is to continue your search in your neighborhood, online, and at animal control.

Click on the button below to complete a Lost Pet Report.

Things to do to help get your pet home quicker if they become lost

Get your pet microchipped!

You can have your pet microchipped at ACHS for $25.  We will even register it for you. 
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A microchip is about the size of a grain of rice and it goes under the skin on top of the shoulder blade area. If you go through a vet clinic ask them if they register the chip or if you need to register it yourself.

A microchip is not a tracking device, it is a permanent form of identification. If the pet is found and goes into an animal shelter or vet clinic they will be scanned for a microchip. The facility will then call the microchip company and be able to contact you in about 10 minutes. 

A microchip also comes in handy when you need to prove ownership.

The 2  biggest mistakes people make with microchips are:
1) They forget to register the microchip if the clinic does not do it.
2) They move or change phone numbers and do not change the info with the microchip company.

If a microchip does not have the update information it makes it almost impossible to find the owners.

Keep a collar with tags on your pet.
Do you have problems keeping tags on your pet? There are a couple of things you can do:
1) Get an embroidered nylon collar with the dogs name and phone number on it (you can order them online).
2) You can buy little pouches that go on the collar and hold all the attached tags together so they do not get ripped off as easily (you can order them online).

Do you have a hard time keeping collars on your dog?
You can buy a collar on line and in some pet stores called martingale collars, it is a flat collar that they can't back out of. 

Other ways to keep them safe:
Always go out for playtime or potty breaks with your dog. This can help in many ways; it can help them to not be stolen, will help you be able to stop them from eating something they shouldn't, help them not run off and there are many other benefits to this as well.