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  3. Emergency Services
  4. Animal Services
  5. Report a Lost/Found Pet

Contact Information

  • Catawba County Animal Control
  • (828) 466-6814
  • (828) 465-8919
  • Contact via email
  • Main Location:201 Government Services Drive Newton, NC 28658
  • Hours:Monday-Friday 8 a.m. - 5 p.m.
  • Animal Cruelty Hotline: (828) 465-7945
  • Animal Cruelty Email

Report a Lost/Found Pet

Lost Pets
If your pet becomes lost, don't delay your search and act quickly! We suggest you take the following steps to bring your pet home safely.

  • Canvass the area where the pet went missing. Post flyers.
  • Report your missing animal to Catawba County Animal Services. Fill out a lost pet report here.
  • Engage your community and neighbors! Reach out in person and online.
  • Keep an eye on the Catawba County Animal Care and Control page on 24petconnect.com (search area code 28658). Every animal that enters our care is directly uploaded to this page. Be sure to search both the adopt and lost pages.
  • Some pets may end up at other area shelters. Be sure to check all of our surrounding county shelters for your lost pet.
  • Don't give up your search! We have seen cats and dogs reunited with their families months later.

Lost Pet Sites Online:

There are several lost and found groups and neighborhood groups on Facebook where you can post a lost pet. We also highly encourage you to create a lost pet post on Pawboost and on Petco Love Lost. Petco Love Lost is a national database that utilizes pet facial recognition technology to search thousands of pet listings from users and shelters across the country; simply upload a photo of your pet to start the search! All of these pages are routinely monitored by shelter staff in an effort to reunite missing pets with their families.

Found Pets
If you find a stray or lost animal, please contact Catawba County Animal Control immediately. ALL stray animals MUST be reported to Animal Control. The county ordinances that guide Animal Control are in place to make sure the owner has every opportunity to find their lost pet at the animal shelter.

County ordinances state that a three business-day (72 business-hour) stray hold period is in place to allow the owner this opportunity. This stray hold period DOES NOT begin until the animal comes to the shelter. Until this stray hold period expires, an owner retains all rights to that animal, no matter who may be in possession (see Sec. 6-102 and Sec. 6-103 of the Catawba County ordinances). To avoid any potential legal issues, it’s best to contact Catawba County Animal Control right away.

Upon entry to our shelter, all animals are scanned for a microchip to check if any owner can immediately be located. Lost pets are also posted on our social media pages and lost pet sites such as 24Petconnect.

In certain circumstances, Animal Services may be able to allow the finder to foster the lost pet during the stray hold period. Please be sure to advise Animal Services if you would be interested in fostering a pet that you have found. If fostered, Animal Services will retain all control over the stray animal until an owner is found or until an adoption contract is signed after the stray hold period ends.