Lost and Found Pets
Town Lake Animal Center is a very large shelter, and people bring us pets from all over Austin, Travis County, and surrounding areas. We check all animals for any forms of identification, including collars and tags, tattoos, and microchips. If any identification is found on a stray animal, our staff will make every effort to contact the owner to let them know their pet is at the shelter. Pets wearing a current Pet Registration tag can be quickly traced and returned to their owners and will also be held for at least 10 days at the shelter if the owner is out of reach.
Lost A Pet?
Please talk to your neighbors, post signs in your neighborhood (dated, on private property, and with permission from the property owner, as required by Austin's sign ordinance, 25-10-101 p) and come to Town Lake Animal Center to look for your pet as soon as you can. Stray animals are brought in by citizens and by Animal Control throughout the day and night. Because we receive so many animals, animals may only be held for 3 full days after intake. It is best if you visit the shelter at least every other day to check for your lost pet. Because we have limited staff and we do not know your pet, we cannot check the shelter for you!
Between visits to the shelter, you can check the shelter virtually by going to the View Lost & Found Animals section. This is not as reliable as visiting the shelter in person, and is not a substitute for doing so.
Reclaiming Your Pet
When you visit the shelter to look for your lost or impounded pet, be prepared to provide proof of ownership and proof of a current rabies vaccination in order to reclaim your pet from the shelter.
Be aware that there will be fees associated with reclaiming the pet. Fees will be lower if the animal is spayed or neutered and vaccinated against rabies. If the pet does not have a current rabies vaccination, the shelter can provide the vaccination for a small additional charge.
Found A Pet?
Most stray animals ARE owned by someone. Please do not simply "keep" an animal that you find without making a real effort to track down the owner. Talk to your neighbors and post signs in your neighborhood (dated, on private property, and with permission from the property owner, as required by Austin's sign ordinance, 25-10-101 p) to see if anyone recognizes the pet.
If you are unable to locate the owner in a reasonable amount of time, remember that Town Lake Animal Center serves as the "Lost & Found" for pets in Austin and Travis County-- an owner is far more likely to look for his or her pet here than to look at your house or in your back yard for their lost pet!
Stray pets brought to the shelter are checked thoroughly for ID and are held for at least three days after the date of intake. The more information you provide about the animal, the better. Please tell us, either in person or on available forms, everything you know about the animal so that we can make the best possible efforts to locate its owner and to make the best possible decision about what to do with the animal. Please be aware that we cannot guarantee that we will locate the animals’ owner or find a new home for the animal.
If you have found a stray pet and cannot bring it to the shelter yourself, contact Animal Protection & Control by calling 3-1-1.
Pet registration tag If you have found an animal wearing a Pet Registration Tag that you would like to have traced, please call 972-5678
If you have found a pet and wish to keep it while searching a little longer for the owner, please call 972-6041 to submit a Found Animal report.
View Lost & Found Animals
To see what animals are currently at our shelter (usually updated every 30 minutes), visit the animal viewing section of our website, hosted by Pet Harbor, a not-for-profit website that hosts data from shelters around the country. You will be entering their website already logged into Town Lake Animal Shelter. If you find an animal photo or description that might be the pet you’re looking for, click on its picture to get a little more information. Note the Animal ID #, then call 3-1-1 or come to the shelter to follow up. To broaden your search to possibly include other area shelters, click on "previous step" buttons until you reach the Pet Harbor home page and specify your search area.
