They have pictures of lost Dogs and Cats on their website.
The City of Houston requires that all dogs and cats be licensed and have current rabies vaccinations. (Recently the COH has allowed the triennial rabies vaccination which is good for 3 years.)
"A CITY LICENSE TAG ON YOUR PET IS A PHONE CALL HOME"
They are a non-profit organization which shelters, rescues and finds homes for homeless animals. They do receive lost stray animals and their recommendation is to call them to file a Lost Pet Report which they will use to search for your lost pet.
They have pictures of Dogs and Cats which are up for adoption on their website.
A unique feature this organization has is their weekend adoption program. This program allows persons who can no longer care for their pet to put their pet up for adoption without the risk of euthanization. The pet would have to be current with all of its vaccinations. One would simply take the pet to the center for the weekend (Saturday and Sunday) and place it with the shelter for that period, when they have the most adoption traffic. If not adopted during the weekend, then you would pick your pet back up from the shelter and can try again the following weekends.
The Houston Humane Society is a non-profit animal shelter dedicated to eliminating cruelty, abuse, and the overpopulation of animals. They receive no federal, state, or local funds and rely solely on donations and special events. They do receive lost stray pets and recommend that the Owner come into to the shelter to find their pet.
Most "lost" cats tend to stay in the general vicinity from which they disappeared. It is rare that they would wander out of the immediate neighborhood, unless perhaps, they were recently moved. Be patient and creative in your search.
A "lost" dog will tend to travel into the oncoming wind. This should be your first direction of search.
Leave items with a familiar scent outside your home. A litter box, pet bed or a sweatshirt recently worn by a loved one can attract a pet who has strayed and become disorientated.
Ask neighbors, letter carriers and delivery people if they have seen your pet. Print and hand out lost pet sheets with your pet's photo and your phone number.
Walk, ride a bicycle or drive slowly through your neighborhood several times each day. Whistle a few times, then call your pet's name twice and then carefully listen and look. Do this often. Your pet may be injured, frightened or trapped and unable to come to you. Hearing your voice may encourage your pet to answer you. After you call their name, remain in one place long enough for your pet to find you.
Check each shelter that may have your pet every few days as they do receive pets each day and if your pet is deemed as "unadoptable" and exceeds the typical 3 day holding period then it may be euthanized.
After you find your pet, report back to all the facilities where you left a report. This reduces their paperwork burden which helps them to more effectively match lost pets with the correct owners.
Orphaned or Injured Wildlife
Texas Parks and Wildlife has the ability to care for injured wildlife. There are some precautions you should observe prior to handling wildlife, which can be reviewd at the TPWD website. TPWD also has a list of rehabilitators that you may contact.
You should also check with local veterinary offices for your lost pet.
Especially if your pet is wearing a rabies tag from a specific veterinary office. People that find a pet with a rabies tag and a vet's phone number can easily call the vet and give the number on the tag to identify the owner. Or they may simply take the animal to that vet so that they may surrender the animal to the owner.
Or if your pet becomes injred while lost, a good samaritan may take it to a local vet that will treat injured strays.
To find the local veterinarians near you, use the link to the left.
Enter in your address and click Continue
Then click on Veterinary Medicine
Scroll down past the "Sponsored Businesses" and you'll see your local vets listed in order of proximity to your location.
Pet Harbor.Com is a not-for-profit website. They help connect the general public to the large amounts of data kept by the animal-care industry, which includes your local animal shelter, SPCA, Humane Society, county or city Animal Control, and many private animal-welfare organizations.
Pets 911 is a handy site to find local pet information such as adoptions, lost and found, emergency clinics, veterinarians and spay/neuter services. Just enter your zip code and hit GO!
Last but not least (in fact it's my FAVORITE non-profit animal charity) is SNAP - Spay / Neuter Assistance Program. Their mission is to stop the destruction of healthy dogs and cats by increasing the availability and use of animal sterilization services.
They have a Wellness Clinic that provides reduced cost vaccinations, heartworm testing and prevention as well as flea prevention. This clinic is for healthy animals and is not able to provide care for sick or injured animals.
Their main effort and by far the most effective treatment to reduce the unnecessary euthanizations of thousands of family pets each year is their Houston Surgery Clinic which offers reduced cost spay and neuter surgeries.
They even have a Houston Mobile Clinic which was the very first "spaying and neutering clinic on wheels" developed in the U.S. It delivers its services to animals in low income neighborhoods where transportation and the lack of veterinary services can be obstacles to obtaining animal healthcare.
If you have a lost a purebred dog or if you want to adopt a particular breed of dog, then a good place to seek help and information is your local breed rescue organization. There are a large number of these, I'd suggest Google to find them. Here are some that I've run across in Houston:
National Pet Recovery self identifies themselves as the largest and most comprehensive pet recovery service in the country. They also have a good article entitled Pet Detective's Guide to Finding Your Lost or Stolen Pet, as well as a good advice section on finding your missing pet.
Texas Wildlife Rehabilitation Coalition, Inc. is a private 501 (c) (3) nonprofit organization operated by volunteer and part-time staff consisting of permitted rehabilitators, students, seniors, professionals, and animal lovers focusing on conservation, public education, and wildlife rehabilitation. The shelter serves as an emergency room for native Texas wildlife brought to us by the public. TWRC is Houston's only urban wildlife emergency and rehabilitative care facility.
