Column: Local shelter first if you’ve lost or found a pet
A515800 is a lost German shepherd mix who was found in Glendale after the 4th of July weekend. Lost dogs (especially those who are frightened by loud noises) can sometimes travel miles from home, which can make it difficult for pet owners to locate them. Having a collar and updated microchip is especially important to help reunite pets with their families.
Police in Michigan took Mishka to a shelter in suburban Detroit after she was picked up as a stray. Luckily, the adorable terrier mix had a microchip, which meant she could be traced back to her family.
How did Mishka get to Michigan?! The shelter suspected she had been stolen in San Diego and then sold. Thankfully, she was in good shape when she was found, so someone had been taking care of her.
Over the years, I’ve heard many amazing stories of pets returning home from long distances after many years. As another example, in 2023, Pierre the cat — also microchipped —made it back to his home in Seattle after 8 years of being lost.
But happily, the fact is most lost pets are found quickly less than a mile from home. That’s why it is so important in our sprawling metropolis to take stray pets to the shelter that serves the area where the pet is found.
Don’t get me wrong — you can adopt at any shelter, and I would encourage you to do so!
But, for lost and found pets, a specific shelter is designated to help you.
In Los Angeles County and the San Gabriel Valley, more than a dozen government-run shelters or private shelters with government contracts — such as Pasadena Humane — provide animal care and control services.
The city of Los Angeles has six shelters, Los Angeles County operates seven shelters, and Southeast Area Animal Control Authority —SEACCA — is a joint powers authority with a shelter in Downey.
The private shelters include the San Gabriel Valley Humane Society and the Inland Valley Humane Society, in addition to Pasadena Humane.
This extensive web of shelters causes much confusion and distress for well-meaning Samaritans trying to help found pets, not to mention distressed owners trying to find lost pets.
If you need help with a lost or found pet in Pasadena, Glendale, La Cañada Flintridge, San Marino, South Pasadena, Sierra Madre, Altadena, Bradbury, La Crescenta, Montrose, or incorporated parts of Monrovia and Arcadia, Pasadena Humane is your shelter.
OK, you have that memorized, right? I am assuming not! So, at the end of my column I will provide a resource for you to easily determine which shelter is your local shelter.
When the owner of a lost pet begins their search, they will most likely check with the closest shelter. They may have no idea that they need to broaden their search
At Pasadena Humane we take extra steps to try to get every stray home, even pets without microchips or identifying tags. Our Animal Resource Specialists comb through Nextdoor posts, lost pet websites and social media.
In the last few months, we’ve reunited dogs with their families all over Los Angeles as well as cities like Montebello, Baldwin Park and even Riverside. We suspect in some of these cases, finders are driving to Pasadena Humane, rather than taking the lost pet to the appropriate shelter.
We aren’t always successful in finding owners. And it pains me to know that in many of these cases, a grieving family will never know what happened to their beloved family pet.
So please, if you find a pet, take it to the shelter serving the area where the animal was found.
To find animal service providers for specific addresses in Los Angeles County, please visit pasadenahumane.org/services/animal-care-and-control/ to access the Los Angeles County Animal Care & Control Service Area Locator.
Dia DuVernet is president and CEO of Pasadena Humane.
This blog post originally appeared as a column in the Pasadena Star-News on July 12, 2024.
