Step 1: Update your microchip contact information
If you know the type of microchip your pet has, contact the company to update your contact information and report your pet is lost. If your pet has a microchip, but you don't know the type, call your veterinarian and ask, OR if the animal was adopted from an animal shelter, call the shelter.
Step 2: Search pets online
Look on these websites for your pet and post that your pet is lost. Check these sites continuously.
* All lost pets that arrive at the ARL are posted on Petco Love Lost and IowaPetAlert.com.
Step 3: Contact your local lost-pet facility
If a pet is found and brought in by a citizen or an Animal Services officer, the pet will be held at the lost pet facility that is assigned to the city the pet was found in. Be prepared to describe your pet and provide a photo, proof of ownership and vaccine history.
City of Des Moines
ARL Animal Services
1441 Harriet St., Des Moines
Hours: Monday-Friday, 9:30 a.m. - 6:30 p.m. Saturday-Sunday, 9:30 a.m. - 5:30 p.m.
24-Hour Dispatch: (515) 283-4811
Office: (515) 284-6905
(To check on a lost pet, please call.)
ARL Main - Pet Help Center
5452 NE 22nd St., Des Moines
(north side of building)
Hours: Monday-Friday, 9:30 a.m. - 7 p.m. Saturday-Sunday, 9:30 a.m. - 6 p.m.
Phone: (515) 262-9503
(To check on a lost pet, please call.)
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Polk County
ARL Main - Pet Help Center
5452 NE 22nd St., Des Moines
(north side of building)
Hours: Monday-Friday, 9:30 a.m - 7 p.m. Saturday-Sunday, 9:30 a.m - 6 p.m.
Phone: (515) 262-9503
(To check on a lost pet, please call.)
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Everywhere else
Contact the local animal shelter or law enforcement agency.
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Other steps
Don’t give up. Some pets have been reunited with their families after a year or longer when their families continue efforts to find them. Some tips:
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Regularly walk your neighborhood, searching and calling for your pet.
- Talk with your neighbors and ask them to keep an eye out.
- Check with businesses in your area.
- If you are able to print fliers, hand them out and post in your area.
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Encourage your pet to come home.
- Place high-value food near doors the pet has gone in and out of.
- Place a pet bed or something with your scent on it outside the door.
- If possible, keep windows open so you can hear your pet’s cries.
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