When your beloved dog or cat strays, it can be a traumatic experience. But don’t panic. Instead, follow these steps to bring him or her home again.

1. Check with the Nebraska Humane Society
Our shelter provides municipal pound services for Omaha, Bellevue, Gretna, La Vista, Papillion, Ralston and Sarpy County. So if you live in any of these areas, it’s likely your stray animal will end up with us.

The Lied Humane Center is located at 8929 Fort Street and our Lost and Found Services are open weekdays from noon to 7pm, Saturdays and Sundays from Noon to 4pm. Because we want to make sure you get the right pet back, you must come to the shelter in person to fill out a lost pet report and i-d your pet. You must be 18 to walk through the stray kennels and 19 to impound out your lost pet.

• Be prepared to give a detailed description of your pet. If you have a photo, bring it with you.
• After you fill out a lost pet report you will tour every kennel in the building.
• If you don’t find your pet we ask you to look through a listing of animals brought in deceased.
• You will want to check back every other day (at least) to see if your animal comes in. Here’s why: Strays found in Omaha are held for 3 days before they become property of the Nebraska Humane Society and are assessed for adoptability. (Strays found in Sarpy County are held for 5 days, but if your animal is picked up in Omaha he or she will be held for the shorter time)
• Don’t give up! Some pets have been returned to owners months after they disappear.

2. Canvas your neighborhood
Walk or drive through your neighborhood several times each day and ask neighbors, letter carriers, delivery people etc if they have seen your pet. Hand out a recent photo, description, and information regarding how you can be contacted if they spot your animal.

3. Advertise
Post signs at grocery stores, community centers, veterinary offices, in your front yard, and at intersections closest to where the animal was lost. You may want to place an ad in the newspaper as well. Include your pet’s sex, age, weight, breed, color, special markings BUT leave out one identifying characteristic. Then if someone calls you, have them describe that characteristic. Check the classifieds each day for “found” animals. Click here to link to Omaha World Herald On line Classifieds.

4. Check All Shelters
Animals come into the Nebraska Humane Society from all areas of the metro. But don’t limit your search to just our shelter. Sporting dogs can run for miles if they get the chance. Some pets are picked up by well meaning passers-by and actually end up farther from home. Check towns around yours to see if their shelter might have ended up with your pet. Here are some options for metro residents

• Town and Country in Bellevue
• Council Bluffs Animal Shelter
• Capital Humane in Lincoln
• Pottawattamie County Animal Shelter

Helpful Tips
Be wary of Pet Recovery Scams
When talking to a stranger who claims to have found your pet, have the caller thoroughly describe your pet. If he does not know the characteristic you left out, he may not really have your pet. Be particularly wary of people who insist that you give or wire them money for the return of your pet.

Don’t Give up—Check Back!
Don’t leave it to someone to call you—call back on any leads you may have and check back with the Nebraska Humane Society. Pets can get scared and go into hiding, or get locked in garages or sheds and not emerge for several days. Your pet could be picked up as a stray weeks after he disappears.