Lost and Found

One in three pets will go missing in its lifetime; and whether you have lost or found a pet the Humane Society of Western Montana is here to help.

What to do if you have lost a pet

Check HSWM’s found pets page

Or better yet, visit area shelters – no one knows and can identify your pet as well as you can.

  • If you see your pet call or visit asap! Found pets are held for four business days before being made available for adoption
  • If you think your pet may be at HSWM be sure to email or bring in a photo

Submit a Missing Pet Report

Get the word out

Anywhere and everywhere – alert your neighbors, post flyers around your neighborhood, post on social media platforms, inform all area animal shelters, contact radio stations.

National Resources

  • Petco Love Lost – facial recognition and shareable templates
  • Pawboost – creates local lost & found pet alerts
  • Nextdoor
  • Facebook – find local animal groups, rescues and pages to share to
  • Craigslist – sharing a lost post to Craigslist allows your to reach a broader audience

Missoula-area Resources

Contact your microchip company

If microchipped, contact your microchip company to report your pet as missing and make sure they have your current phone number.

What to do if you have found a pet

Found animals often have a family and are usually within a mile of their home. While it may seem counterintuitive, bringing a lost pet – especially healthy cats – decreases their chance of being found by their owner. If you find a lost pet, please take the following steps:

Check for tags or a microchip

If you don’t know what to look for, we can help with this!

Submit a Found Pet Report

Additional Missoula-area shelters

If able, hold onto the pet and

When to bring to an animal care center, and where?

Found Cat – Unless injured or ill, most cats are not in need of intervention and should be left where they are, but you can still help him or her find their way home by checking for an ID tag, taking a photo and posting on social media sites and lost/found pet engines.