Lost and Found

ARF can help you find a pet you lost or find the owner of a pet you found. 

Lost Pet?

If you have lost a pet, ARF recommends that you post information about your pet on Facebook.  Include pictures of the pet and the last location where the pet was last seen or located.

When posting on Facebook, information you should include in addition to the pictures and location last seen is: the pet's name, gender, age, and if the pet will come to a person if its called by name, if the pet is microchipped or altered, and if there is any reason the pet should not be approached by a stranger. All posts should include the owner's contact information. Once the pet is located the owner should update their Facebook post to indicate the pet was found.

If you will send the same information to ARF, ARF will post that information on ARF's Facebook page with requests for community members to share the post to help locate your lost pet. If you ask ARF to also post the information, please notify us if the pet is found/returns.

Found Pet?

Very rarely is ARF able to take a pet that is found. Finders of pets who pick up the animal need to be prepared to house the animal until either the owner is located or a foster home can be located to take the pet.

If you have found a pet ARF recommends you or someone you know post information on Facebook including pictures of the pet and where the pet was found. If you think the pet is lost, and the pet will not let you approach it, take pictures of the animal and post those pictures with the location where you saw the pet. If the pet will come to you then find out if the pet is wearing a collar, boy or girl, guess at age, if male, is the pet neutered and does the pet know any commands. If possible, the finder of the pet should take the pet to a veterinarian to be scanned for a microchip. If ARF is contacted about the found pet, ARF will post the information and pictures of the pet on Facebook.

ARF also can scan a pet for a microchip and may be able to locate the owner through the microchip company with whom the pet's microchip is registered.

Guardian dogs are often free roaming. Unless the animal is clearly in distress or is creating an unsafe condition, guardian dogs should be left on the property upon which they are found. Pictures of them should be posted on Facebook if there is concern the dog is abandoned or has roamed far off its normal range. Guardian dog breeds in Idaho and Lewis counties include Great Pyrenees, Anatolian Shepherds, Border Collies, Blue and Red Heelers, and Australian Shepherds.

ARF also recommends lost or found pets should be posted on PETCO Love Lost. Please remember to update any Facebook posts or website posts that you have created.