Lost and found advice

If you have found or lost an animal then we recommend that you visit Pets Located an online resource to reunite owners with their missing pets, to register the dog as found and see whether its owner has reported it as lost.

Advice on Stray dogs:

The RSPCA and other animal welfare charities cannot pick up stray dogs or accept them from people who find them.  Instead, we direct people to their local authority. 

To arrange for a stray dog to be collected, please contact your local authority dog warden. Your local dog warden can be contacted on 01253 477477 or for Wyre 01253 891000.

If you're not in the Wyre Council area, find contact details for your local council dog warden on the Directgov website.

We can only deal with a stray dog in an emergency, for example, if it is in imminent danger of death or severe suffering.

The Clean Neighbourhoods and Environment Act 2005 (section 68) makes your local authority solely responsible for dealing with stray dogs.  The Department for Food and Rural Affairs (Defra) have useful guidance notes on local authority responsibilities for stray dogs.

The RSPCA continues to promote responsible dog ownership initiatives to local authorities to reduce the number of stray dogs, particularly through joint education, microchipping and neutering schemes.

You can contact the local Centre on 01253 703000 regarding any of these things. We are not licensed at Longview to accept stray dogs so you must ring your local dog warden if you have found a stray.

For concerns over stray cats here is some guidance for you:

Unfortunately RSPCA do not have the resources to collect healthy strays but you can follow a few tips below:
If you have concerns about a sick or injured stray cat you can report it to national RSPCA on 0300 1234 999

1. Is it a stray or a feral cat? 

If the cat is not friendly and approachable, it may be a feral. These cats are able to look after themselves. So long as a feral cat is healthy, they will live happily outside. We support the trapping and neutering of feral cats where local charities have the capacity to do so.

If the cat is approachable and friendly it may be a stray cat that belongs to someone.

2. Finding the owner of a stray

If a stray cat is not feral the best thing to do is try and find its owner: If a stray cat is not feral the best thing to do is try and find its owner: To find out if the cat has an owner follow these steps: 

1. Cats roam over a wide area, so ask around to see if anyone knows who it belongs to.
2. If you can safely transport the cat to a vet, you could have it scanned for a microchip.
3. If this isn’t possible but you can get close enough to put a collar on it, then download our Paper cat collars [PDF 36.5KB]. Take precautions when approaching the cat and fixing the collar. 
4. You can also download and print a Found poster [PDF 10.7KB] and Lost and found contact list [PDF 20KB].
5. We also recommend you visit Pets Located, an online resource that reunites owners with their pets.

ANIMAL SEARCH UK - search service and website for missing pets
4 Elm Road, Credenhill, Hereford HR4 7DR
Helpline: 01432 266 900
Website: www.animalsearchuk.co.uk – complete online form
BATTERSEA DOGS AND CATS HOME - report missing pets via website or by phone
4 Battersea Park Road, London SW8 4AA
General: 0843 509 4444 Lost & Found: 0901 477 8477 (premium rate number)
Website: www.battersea.org.uk
BLUE CROSS
Head Office, Shilton Road, Burford, Oxon OX18 4PF
Tel: 0300 777 1897
Website: www.bluecross.org.uk
CATS PROTECTION
National Cat Centre, Chelwood Gate, Haywards Heath RH17 7TT
Tel: 03000 12 12 12
Website: www.cats.org.uk
DOGLOST.CO.UK - national online database of lost and found dogs – register on website
Tel. 0844 800 3220
Website: www.doglost.co.uk
DOGS TRUST - fill out the web form on the Dogs Trust website
17 Wakley Street, London EC1V 7RQ
Tel: 0207 837 0006 (Monday to Friday)
Website: www.dogstrust.org.uk - complete online form
DOG WARDEN / LOCAL AUTHORITY
See local phone directory for dog warden at your local council or use search facility on Direct.Gov
website
KEEPSAFE - pet registration and lost & found service
Halifax House, 4 Station Court, Station Road, Great Shelford, Cambridge CB22 5NE
Tel: 0870 60 500 Website: www.keepsafe.co.uk
PETLOG – national lost and found database for microchipped pets
c/o The Kennel Club, 4A Alton House, Gatehouse Way, Aylesbury, Bucks HP19 8XU
Tel: 0844 4633 999 (Monday to Friday, 9am – 5pm)
Website: www.petlog.org.uk
PETSLOCATED.COM - an online resource to reunite missing pets with their owners
Website: www.petslocated.com - complete online form
NATIONAL MISSING PETS REGISTER - information, resources and assistance in making the
most of the internet to reunite missing pets with their owners.
Website: www.nationalpetregister.org- complete online form