Please click on the links below to learn more about what you can do if you've lost a pet or found a pet, as well as how you can keep your own pet safe!
What to do if you lose your pet or find a lost pet | Missing pet sample posters | Admission policy for stray animals | Loss prevention tips
What to do if you lose your pet or find a lost pet:
1. Immediately contact the following organizations for your area:
Ontario SPCA Provincial Education & Animal Centre:
For up-to-date information on lost and found animals please contact our shelter at (905) 898-7122 ext. 385.
If you have lost your pet, please email one or two photos with a description to peac@ospca.on.ca and we will post it in our Adoption Centre.
Please remember to include details such as:
- Pet's name
- Your name
- Home phone number
- Work phone number
- Cell phone number
- Date lost
- The area pet was lost
- Size and/or weight
- Colour and markings
- Wearing a collar?
- Microchipped?
Also, you should check frequently at our shelter to see if your pet has been brought to us. We ask that you email us again to let us know your pet has been found, so that we can remove your listing.
Veterinary offices
- Look in your local phonebook to find a list of veterinarians you can call, and/or,
- Search online for local veterinarians using the College of Veterinarians of Ontario database: http://www.cvo.org/regulat-reg-members.cfm
Animal control
Please Note: We CANNOT take lost animals from any jurisdiction other than Aurora, Richmond Hill and Markham. Outside of these areas, other organizations are contracted provide animal control services. Please check with your local municipality
- For Aurora, Richmond Hill and Markham, call the Ontario SPCA York Region Branch at (905) 898-2683 or 1-888-668-7722 at ext. 319.
- In the towns of Newmarket, East Gwillimbury, Whitchurch-Stouffville and Georgina, contact the Town of Georgina Animal Services.
- For Vaughn, Bradford, West Gwillimbury, Township of King and City of Vaughn, contact Vaughn Animal Services.
- All local veterinary clinics, pounds, kennels, pet stores, and farm suppliers,
- Any municipal offices, and
- In all public places with permission e.g. post office, restaurants and grocery stores.
- Click cat or dog to download a poster sample you can modify and use!
3. Ask neighbours when or where they last saw the pet. Be sure to take along a picture.
4. Leave your name and phone number anywhere that your dog or cat could show up.
5. Put a lost (or found) ad in the local newspaper.
6. Put an ad on your local cable station.
7. Call your local radio station.
Admission policy for stray animals
The towns of Aurora, Richmond Hill and Markham have contracted the Ontario SPCA Provincial Education & Animal Centre to provide Animal Control services to their community. As Animal Control agents for the Town, it is our responsibility to enforce the Municipal Animal Control Bylaws. We patrol all areas of the towns and respond to complaints during these hours. Residents who are able may drop a stray dog or cat off at the shelter at any time during regular intake/arrivals hours Monday through Sunday.
Residents can redeem pets from the shelter during regular shelter hours. Please check with shelter staff to verify fees prior to picking up. We accept VISA, MasterCard, Debit Card & Cash. NO CHEQUES/NO EXCEPTIONS.
Please Note:
Animal Control for the towns of Newmarket, East Gwillimbury, Whitchurch-Stouffville and Georgina has advised that they will no longer pick up stray cats from this location. For this reason, we will no longer be able to accommodate those transfers. All stray cats from the above locations will need to be taken directly to the Georgina facility at 26819 Civic Center Road, Keswick, Ontario. Should you have any concerns, please contact your local municipality or the Georgina facility at 1-800-898-8606.
Loss prevention
Please keep your pets safe! To prevent losing a pet keep your animals securely and safely contained on your property. All animals
should be microchipped as well as have visible ID tags (with owner contact information) on their collar. Shelters across Ontario
receive thousands of stray animals each year, and many do not have identification. Identification is the best way to ensure that
your lost pet can be reunited with your family! The Ontario SPCA also recommends that you spay or neuter your pet. In addition to
many health benefits, spayed and neutered pets are typically less likely to roam.
Lost animals can encounter many dangers, such as:
- Getting hit by vehicles, especially in the winter when road conditions are difficult
- Falling victim to abuse
- Starving to death
- Suffering exposure/frostbite
- Getting in fights with other pets, strays or wild animals
- Getting diseases from other animals
- They could drink antifreeze or eat poisonous materials, sometimes these are intentionally left out for animals
- Cats could get stuck in car engines and be dismembered, die or be unintentionally taken for a ride