IF YOU HAVE LOST YOUR PET

At a minimum, you should contact the Sunnyvale Animal Control Unit at (408) 730-7178 to add your pet to our lost pet log (provide your name & phone number, your pet’s name, date & place last seen, and full description of your pet - breed, color, size, collar, markings, etc.) AND visit the local animal shelters:

HUMANE SOCIETY OF SILICON VALLEY

901 Ames Avenue, Milpitas - (408) 262-2133

PALO ALTO ANIMAL SERVICES

3281 East Bayshore Road, Palo Alto - (650) 496-5971

SAN JOSE ANIMAL CARE CENTER

2750 Monterey Road, San Jose - (408) 578-7297

SANTA CLARA COUNTY ANIMAL SHELTER

12370 Murphy Avenue, San Martin - (408) 683-4186

SILICON VALLEY ANIMAL CONTROL AUTHORITY

3370 Thomas Road, Santa Clara - (408) 764-0344

At each shelter, fill out a lost pet report and look in every single kennel. Recheck shelters in person at least every other day. (Pets with identification tags are held at most shelters for 10 days before being made available for adoption. Unlicensed strays – or strays without identification tags or microchips - are only required to be held for 72 hours).

For more tips to help you find your pet, check out the Humane Society of Silicon Valley's Lost & Found page.

IF YOU HAVE FOUND A PET

Use common sense when encountering a stray animal. If you do not feel it is safe (for you and/or the animal) to approach – then DON'T. Call our Animal Control Unit at (408) 730-7178 with a description of the animal (size, color, breed, sex, etc.) and the location and direction of travel of the animal so we can locate and contain the animal as soon as possible.

If you choose to take a stray animal into your custody, please attempt to contact the owner if possible. If you cannot contact the owner, please do not assume the animal has been abandoned. Contact Sunnyvale Animal Control and Humane Society of Silicon Valley as soon as possible, so that we can check our logs for a matching description of the animal. (Sunnyvale Municipal Code requires anyone taking possession of a found animal to notify Animal Control within 6 hours).

BEFORE YOUR PET GETS LOST

Take the following precautions to help minimize your risk of loss and facilitate your pet’s return:

Licensing - A current license tag attached to your pet’s collar allows our Animal Control Officers to contact you immediately and reunite you with your pet without the added stress, time and cost of a trip to the animal shelter.

Identification Tags - Pets with license tags or identification tags are held at most shelters for a full 10 days before being made available for adoption. (Unlicensed strays are only required to be held for 72 hours). Identification tags also serve to remind people that your pet is not stray or abandoned and provides a way for them to contact you.

Confinement - The best way to prevent your pet from becoming lost is to make sure it doesn’t get loose in the first place. Keep your pet inside or in an enclosed kennel run when you are not home. If you do keep your dog in your yard, periodically check its perimeter for possible escape routes.

Obedience Training - A well trained pet is easier to control and more apt to respond to you.

Spaying and Neutering - Spaying and neutering reduces your pet’s stress and eliminates the need to wander and find a mate.

Microchipping - Having your pet microchipped will help identify your pet in the event that its collar comes off. All local shelters scan each stray animal to check for microchip identification.