Found Pets

If you found a stray animal:

• Please try to locate the owner by making contact with local residents to see if anyone recognizes the found animal. Statistically, most pets’ are often within a 2 mile radius from home when roaming.
• Take to a local pet store, vet clinic, or shelter to have it scanned for a microchip.
• Post flyers in the neighborhood you found the pet.
• Make a post on Pawboost, Nextdoor and other social media sites. Join Lost & Found groups to see if anyone has reported the pet missing. Lost and Found Pets of Columbia, SC Facebook page can be found here.
• Post found flyers of the pet within a 1-2 mile radius of where it was found.
• If the owner is unable to be found, attempt rehoming efforts within the community.
• Bringing an animal to the shelter should always be a last resort due to capacity issues. If you have exercised all efforts to find the owner of a  lost pet and were unsuccessful, you may bring the animal to the shelter Monday–Friday from 12 – 5pm.

Lost Pets

If you lost a pet:

• View lost pets at the City of Columbia’s animal shelter here.
• Post to Pawboost and online lost & found pages.
• Notify local vet clinics and shelters in case a finder takes the animal in for microchip scanning.
• If your pet is in our care or if you would like to see if your pet is in our care, please visit for a walk-through  during our business hours: Monday-Friday from 12 p.m. to 5 p.m.. or Saturday 9 a.m. to 4 p.m.  A valid ID is required for a walk-through.