Have you found a stray animal?
Here are some things to try before bringing the animal(s) to the shelter:
For stray animals, our goal is to get them home before they come to the shelter. Less than 2% of cats and only around 15-20% of dogs will return home once brought to a shelter.
If you have found a stray cat and it appears healthy, is not sick or injured, and is not a newborn kitten, then chances are that it lives nearby. SVASC recommends leaving the kitty outside and monitoring for an owner. If the cat is sick, injured, or is a kitten that appears to be in distress, we recommend contacting animal control for your locality.
If you have found a dog, please try to secure the animal until an owner can be located or until animal control for your locality can come by.
Follow these steps when trying to locate an owner for a found animal:
- Contact SVASC and make a found report. You can email us at staff.svasc@gmail.com OR text us at (657) 229-5227. Include a picture of the animal, if you can, as well as any distinguishing information, like if the animal is male/female, spayed/neutered, wearing a collar/harness/tags/leash/etc, color of the animal, approximate age (is it old, a baby?), possible breed, etc. We will also need to know when and where it was found. Lastly, we will need your contact information.
- Have the animal scanned for a microchip. This can be done by animal control or by any vet clinic.
- Post the animal in groups like Spot A Pet and LOST/FOUND PETS! Staunton, Waynesboro, and Augusta Co. Virginia with a picture, along with relevant information, like when and where the animal was found
- Make a public post on your Facebook page and encourage friends and family to share. Make sure your settings allow sharing
- Tag SVASC Lost and Found in your postings to ensure that staff/volunteers see your post.
- Notify local vet clinics, groomers, boarding facilities, and daycares - one of them may recognize the animal as belonging to one of their clients.
- Post fliers up of the found animal including a picture and relevant information.
- Check with your neighbors and ask around. Remember that animals can travel quite a ways and sometimes are several blocks or even miles away from their families.
- Post on websites like Craigslist and on Nextdoor, including pictures and relevant information.
Animal Control numbers are as follows:
Waynesboro - (540) 942-6701
Staunton - (540) 332-3842
Augusta County - (540) 245-5635
Struggling to keep your pet?
If you are in need of financial assistance to keep your pet or in need of food or veterinarian resources, please check out our local resources page. We encourage people to keep their pets as much as possible.