“I Lost a Pet”

Click this link to read or download this information as a PDF
Haz clic en este link para descargar esta información en español (PDF)

STEP 1:

Come down to BARCS to look for your pet. Do not delay or wait for phone or email communication to take this step. We are open 7-days a week and will do lost pet walkthroughs any time between 11 a.m.-6 p.m. (M-F) and 9 a.m.-4 p.m. (Saturday and Sunday). BARCS is not the only shelter in the area that takes in lost animals. Please also search for your pet at BARCS and other local Baltimore Metro Area shelters. The legal hold period for a lost animal in the State of Maryland is 72 hours, so it is important that you continually visit nearby shelters to search every day. After that time, lost/found animals are eligible for any outcome the shelter deems best for the animal.

BARCS Address: 2490 Giles Road, Baltimore, MD 21225

STEP 2:

Upload Lost or Found Pets on Petco Love Lost: BARCS partners with Petco Love Lost and highly recommends that both owners and finders use this free facial recognition resource. Each time someone posts a photo of a pet they’ve lost or found, Love Lost scans its database–along with its shelter partners' databases–and provides possible matches and necessary contact information within seconds. Reports filed in Love Lost are sent directly to a database used by BARCS and other area shelters. Start Your Search on Petco Love Lost.

STEP 3:

Create Paper and Digital Flyers: The more people in the community who see your lost pet's photo, the greater the likelihood of your pet being reunited with you. We suggest hanging posters in the neighborhood where the pet was lost or found and also in community locations like post offices and grocery stores. Posting on social media pages like neighborhood Facebook and NextDoor groups can also get the word out quickly. Need help making a flyer? Petco Love Lost (Step 2) automatically generates a printable flyer of your pet.

ADDITIONAL STEPS:

Post on Social Media: The more people in the community who see your lost pet's photo, the greater likelihood of your pet being reunited with you. We suggest posting your pet on your own social media pages, in neighborhood Facebook and NextDoor groups and on the local volunteer-lead Facebook groups in the Greater Baltimore Area:​ List of Local Lost & Found Facebook Groups

Check out these other online tools: Center for Lost Pets, Craigslist, Fido Finder, Lost Dogs of America, Lost Pet USA, Missing Pet Partnership, PawBoost (please note, BARCS does not have an internal database for these companies).

Check for IDs, Tags and Microchip: If you've found a pet with a Baltimore City Pet License tag, you can click here and enter the tag number. Some microchipped pets will have a matching tag with their microchip number. Many microchips can be found at www.petmicrochiplookup.org. However, the best way to see if an animal has a microchip is to bring them to your closest veterinary hospital to be scanned.

CONTACT US

If you need additional help with Lost & Found please email resource@BARCS.org. **If you believe your lost pet is at BARCS, visit our shelter immediately to look. Do not delay this process while waiting for a phone call or email back from our team. We are understaffed and receive hundreds of calls and emails per day.