Losing your furry family member is heartbreaking. Here are some tips on how to find them:

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• Search Lost Pets in the Shelter

  View stray animals at HSWC. We also strongly recommend that you come to the Humane Society of Washington County in person as soon as possible. Stray animals are held a minimum of five working days. We can assist you in filing a lost report. 

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• Search Found Pets in the Community

      Finders have the option of keeping found pets at their home after filing a   

      Found Report. View them here. Animals staying in finders' homes are held

      for at least 30 days. 

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• Fill Out a Lost & Found Report

  Complete a Lost & Found report using the on-line form here and attach a photo. We will cross check the report sent with what we have on file. Reports are held for one month, unless we are notified otherwise.

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• Post Flyers in Your Neighborhood
  Flyer templates can be found on many websites, such as Pawboost, Canva, Adopt-a-Pet, 24PetWatch, and PetFBI. (HSWC does not endorse any specific website; they are provided for reference only.)

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• Get the Word Out on Social Media

  Use Facebook, NextDoor, Lost & Found Furbabies Washington County, MD, and Craigslist to notify the public that your pet is missing.

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• Make Sure the Microchip is Registered

       If you have your pet's microchip number, make sure it's registered to you.

       Check the AAHA Universal Microchip Lookup to confirm. It's a good idea

       to call the shelter and make sure we have your current information. 

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Other Resources

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• Check neighboring animal shelters: 

  • Frederick County Animal Control - Frederick, MD​

  • Antietam Humane Society - Waynesboro, PA

  • Cumberland Valley Animal Shelter - Chambersburg, PA

  • Berkeley County Humane Society - Martinsburg, WV

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• Canvas your neighborhood, tell your friends, neighbors, mail carriers, etc. that your pet is missing and post Lost Pet Notices around your neighborhood.

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• Check out these tips for finding a lost or missing pet from Cats In The Bag or Mission Reunite. 

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• Upload your animal's picture to Petco Love Lost. Petco Love Lost is a pet facial recognition software that will scan the photos of animals in participating shelters, including HSWC. Please note that Petco Love Lost is a new service and is still optimizing the way that they get information from our shelter software. Not all of the stray animals that come into HSWC are listed on their site. If you believe that your animal may show up at HSWC, please check the See Our Strays gallery directly.

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Reclaiming your Pet

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Proof of ownership is required in order for you to reclaim your pet from an animal shelter.  Proof of ownership can include veterinary records, dog license or pictures that document ownership (i.e. puppy/kitten through adult pictures).  Please bring identification such as a driver’s license, passport or other I.D.  A person over the age of 18 has to reclaim the pet. 

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Fees for reclaiming a pet may apply. Any pet being reclaimed for the first time will have a $25 reclaim fee.  If the pet has been impounded by a Field Services Officer more than once, there will be an additional $25 citation and that will increase with each incident. A $100 citation will be charged for a second incident and a $250 citation will be charged for the third offense. If an animal has been impounded after hours, a $75 fee will be charged.  Boarding fees may also apply and are calculated based upon the number of days the pet is housed and cared for at the animal shelter.  The boarding fee is $15 per day or $20 per day for a quarantined/Potentially Vicious and Dangerous/Vicious and Dangerous animal.  Also, a $10 vaccination fee will apply if the pet has been vaccinated.

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Pets can be reclaimed during normal business hours.  Please note the shelter opens at 1 p.m. on Wednesdays and is closed on Sundays.