Found a Pet?
If you have found a lost pet or a stray pet in Multnomah County, Oregon, please take the following steps to find the owner:
Find The Owner
1. Use License Lookup to get owner contact information.
If you've found a pet wearing a Multnomah County license tag, you can find owner contact information using our License Lookup page. If you cannot reach the owner, follow the steps below.
2. Search Lost Reports.
View animals reported lost by their owners. Search lost reports daily until the owner is found.
3. Submit a Found Report.
If the owner is not found after completing steps 1 & 2, you must submit a Found Report. It is very important to attach a photo of the animal. People who have lost pets search these Found Reports every day. You can make a found pet flier by printing and sharing from this Found Report site.
4. Search for the animal's owner.
- Search pets reported lost on Craigslist (check Lost and Found and Pets sections).
- Look through lost pet ads at OregonLive.com and Dove Lewis Lost and Found
- Look for lost pet signs in your neighborhood.
- Post found pet fliers in your area. You can print and share the Found Report from our website (see step 3 above) as a flier.
- Post the found pet on Nextdoor, Facebook Lost Pet groups, or other social media platforms.
- Post the found pet on Petco Love Lost and PawBoost.
- You may bring a found pet flier to place in the found pet binder at the shelter (this does not take the place of a Found Report).
5. Scan the pet for a microchip at a vet's office.
Please be aware that there are different types of microchips and only animal shelters have universal microchip readers. If a vet does not locate a microchip, it is possible that the animal has a microchip that is not detectable by the vet’s reader. You may bring the pet to our shelter to scan it during business hours.
Other Microchip Resources
Found Animals Microchip Lookup - if there is a microchip number on a tag, or if you have the number from a microchip scan. The registry can help contact owners if a microchip is registered, or can provide contact information for the agency / clinic / rescue that implanted the microchip, which may have additional information.
AAHA Microchip Registry Search - While this service is not a microchip registry, it can refer you to the correct microchip registry to contact about a microchip number on a tag, or scanned number.
6. If you want to keep the animal, there are certain steps you must legally take.
By law, any person who finds and holds an animal must take certain steps to locate the owner before the finder can claim ownership. If you can't find the owner and you'd like to keep the animal, you can either:
- Perform the required steps outlined in the Multnomah County Ordinance. (You can legally be declared the owner after 180 days and after the steps are completed.) -OR-
- You can bring the pet to the shelter and ask to be listed as the first adopter. You will need to do an adoption interview and pay the adoption fee. The hold time for pets without identification is a minimum of three business days. When the hold time is up, if an owner has not come forward you'll have the first chance at adoption. If you adopt the pet you will immediately become the legal owner.
Special Circumstances
Shelter Intake
If you are unable to find an owner, and are not interested in keeping the pet, you may be able to bring the pet to our shelter. Please note, MCAS only accepts sick or injured cats, and does not admit healthy adult cats.
Learn what to do with outdoor cats
1700 W Columbia River Hwy, Troutdale, OR 97060
(503) 988-7387
- You may drop off stray animals during shelter hours. Please call 503-988-7387 before bringing neonatal kittens.
- At the time of drop off, you’ll be asked to complete a Stray Animal Profile.
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- In emergency circumstances, you may be able to arrange to drop off while the shelter is closed. Call during call center hours to inquire.
- Dogs only: Pick-up may be available. Call before 2 pm to arrange same day pick-up.
