City of Sydney
- GPO Box 1591Sydney 2001
- 02 9265 9333
- [email protected]
Find your missing pet
If your pet is microchipped and registered, or wearing a collar and identification tag, we will contact you promptly so you can reclaim your pet straight away.
Project Status: When you need to do this
Contact us as soon as possible if your pet is missing. We'll make every effort to reunite you and your pet if they're picked up by one of our rangers.
What you need to do
- If your microchipped pet is missing contact us within 72 hours to report it as missing on the NSW Companion Animals Register.
Sutherland Shire Council Animal Shelter
If we can’t identify the animal
We'll take your pet to the Sutherland Shire Animal Shelter if we can't identify the animal or contact you. If the animal is microchipped and registered, employees at the shelter will continue trying to contact you – firstly by phone and then by mail.
Your pet will be made available for adoption after 14 days if the animal is microchipped and registered but you can't be contacted due out-of-date details or you don't respond.
If your missing pet is not microchipped or registered, it will only be held for 7 days at the Sutherland Shire Animal Shelter before it is put up for adoption.
You should also contact other local shelters and vets to see if anyone has handed in your pet.
If you find a lost dog
Try to contact the owner if the dog is wearing a collar and identification tag. Take the dog to a vet so it can be scanned for a microchip if the dog has no tag or you can't contact the owner. Otherwise, contact us.
- The information on the microchip will help us contact the owner and return the dog to them.
- If the dog doesn't have a microchip or registration, or if the owner can't be contacted, a ranger will take the dog to the Sutherland Shire Animal Shelter.
If you find a lost cat
As cats are allowed to roam free, it isn't possible to be sure whether they are lost or a stray. If a stray cat has been around your place for a while and you are concerned about it or you want to adopt the animal, check if the cat has a microchip by taking it to the vet or contact us.
It's important to be aware of the laws that determine when you are legally allowed to remove or seize a cat.
The vet or a ranger will advise you about the cat's ownership, and then the process outlined above for dogs will apply. If relevant, you can discuss adopting the cat with the ranger or the pound.
Stray animals
Vets may accept a stray animal and will then contact us to impound the animal. Please note that vets are not obliged to accept an animal unless it is injured.
Impounded dogs and cats are kept at the shelter for 14 days if they are microchipped and 7 days if they are not. This gives owners a chance to come forward. If the animal is not claimed within these time periods it is then made available for adoption.
