This is a list of resources and suggestions to help find your lost pet, or to reunite a lost pet with it’s owner, specifically in the Jefferson City/Cole County area:

• Submit a lost or found report online through the Jefferson City Animal Shelter. Here is a link – JCAS Lost/Found Report. If it is a found pet, use Found as the pet’s name on the report.
• If you are unable to keep a found animal until its owner is located, please call the JC Animal Shelter and schedule a time to drop it off 573-634-6429. The JC Animal Shelter can only accept animals from within Cole County.
• Any citizen missing their pet is welcome to go to the Jefferson City Animal Shelter and view their stray holding areas during normal business hours (Mon-Fri 8am-5:30pm). They are located at 2308 Hyde Park Rd, Jefferson City, MO.
• If a lost pet is taken to the JC Animal Shelter it is held for a period of time to allow an owner to reclaim it. Pets with no identification are held for 5 business days before becoming property of the shelter, while pets with an ID tag or microchip are held for 10 business days before becoming property of the shelter. Once a pet becomes their property and is adopted into a new home there is no way to get your pet back, so please make sure to have a report on file with them, and check in periodically.
• Have a found pet scanned for a microchip as soon as possible! Any vet clinic, or the animal shelter will scan for a microchip for free, with no appointment necessary.
• Use social media! Make posts and check online, especially on Facebook and the Nextdoor app. Here are links to a few popular local lost and found pet Facebook groups. Cole County Missouri Lost & Found Pets, Jefferson City MO Lost & Found Paws, and Holts Summit MO Lost & Found Paws. Include one or two clear pictures if you can, and be sure to include the area of town the pet was lost or found.
• Hopefully your pet is wearing identification. We do sell custom ID tags at the JC Animal Shelter for only $5.00. Stop by and make a tag during business hours (Mon-Fri 8am-5:30pm).
• Make some flyers! Along with a great photo, be sure to include where your pet went missing and the best way to reach you. Keep the text simple and use large bold font (example below). Place them around your neighborhood and be sure to talk to your neighbors, and mail carrier. Fliers hung on stop signs or telephone poles last much longer if they are laminated. You can send your flier to Staples to be printed, and have them laminated for a minimal expense. Here is a link to do so (select Professional Print) Staples Document Printing
• Let your vet know! Call your veterinarian (and others in the area) to let them know you pet is missing. Better yet, stop by in person so they can display your lost pet flyer.
• If your pet is microchipped contact their microchip company to report them missing, and to make sure your contact information is current.
• For lost dogs, leave some of their bedding on your porch or patio. The familiar scent may lure them back home. Only call for them from our own yard. If you call for them while driving or walking the neighborhood it can confuse them further.
• For lost cats, search your yard and your neighbors’ yards. Check crawl spaces, in/under sheds, and shrubs. Cats tends to stay very close to home. You can often spot them at night by catching the glow of their eyes with a flashlight. If you have a garage, leave the door cracked overnight, and place their litter box inside. Cats are most likely to sneak back in on their own late at night when it is dark and quiet. Sometimes a live trap may be needed to secure a lost scared cat. You can borrow a trap from the JC Animal Shelter. Use familiar food to bait the trap, and cover it with a towel or blanket that smells like home.
• For either cats or dogs, sit outside in the evening and talk in your normal tone of voice. Stop periodically to listen for them.
• Don’t give up hope! Pets have been reunited with owners months after going missing.