Bringing in a Stray Pet

Thank you for helping Guilford County pets. Caring residents help reunite pets with their families. Review the information below about steps you can take to help reunite a pet with their family or how to bring a found pet into Guilford County Animal Services.

Our intake department is open from 12 to 4 p.m., daily except Tuesday. There is no appointment necessary to bring in a found pet.

Due to the number of animals being brought into the shelter at this time, please note it could be a several hour wait to bring in a stray pet as we work to find space for the incoming pet.

Follow these steps for dropping off a stray pet:

• Dropping off a stray animal may take up to an hour or longer depending on the number of people in line and space availability. Oftentimes multiple people are bringing in stray pets at the same time alongside our owner-surrender appointments. We will process in order of arrival.
• Please fill out the stray pet form before or upon arrival.
• Our intake doors are locked and strictly managed for the safety of the animals, public, and our staff. When you arrive at the shelter, please remain in your vehicle and call or text 336-646-2925 to let our intake staff know you are here. They will take your name and text you when it is your turn. Remain in your car until it's your turn as animals will be coming and going at the entrances.
• You will need a government-issued photo ID to surrender a stray and to complete the stray pet form. Be sure to provide information about where you found the pet and any information you may have about the animal. This helps us reunite pets with their owners or gives us additional information to help the pet get adopted. We appreciate any information you can provide.
• We can only accept pets found in Guilford County. If you found a pet in another county, you must take the pet to that county's animal shelter as that is the most likely place an owner will look for their animal.

Stray to Foster Program

We ask that every finder practice the Stray to Foster program for a found pet if possible. We are happy to help with supplies for members of the public who are willing to foster stray pets through their stray holds. 

What to do if you've found a pet?

Thank you for helping the animals of Guilford County. If you have found a pet, please follow the steps below to increase the chances of finding the pet's owner:

1. Check the pet for identification. If the pet is wearing an ID tag, contact the information listed on the tag and arrange to return the pet.
2. Check for a microchip. Microchips help reunite pets with owners and those with a microchip are more likely to be reunited. It is critical that you get stray pets checked for a microchip as it can help reunite them with their owners quickly. You can have pets microchipped scanned for free at the resource center, veterinary offices, or some grooming or boarding facilities or groomers. Call ahead to check that they are able to scan for a chip.
3. File a found pet report with Guilford County Animal Services. This pet report will help alert Animal Services.
4. Canvas the Area. Place found pet flyers in the area the pet was found in. If it is safe to do so, ask people in the area if they know or have seen the pet before.
5. Spread the news. If you choose to keep a found pet and look for their lost owner, spread the word not only in your neighborhood, but through social media and lost and found apps. Some of the commonly used social media and lost and found apps are listed below. 

If your lost and found Facebook, app, or page is not listed here, please email Llee@guilfordcountync.gov to be added to the list!

If you have any questions, please feel free to call or text our intake department at 336-646-2925. We apologize if we are unable to take your call right away. Intake staff may be assisting the public and processing animals. Please leave us a voice message or text message with your name, phone number, and brief message. We will return your voicemail as soon as possible.

If you find a stray pet but are unable to capture or bring the pet to the shelter, please contact Animal Control at 336-641-5990. If it is after hours for Animal Control and is not an emergency, please contact Guilford Metro at 336-373-2222. Select option 3 for non-emergency law enforcement and ask them for help with the found pet. If it is an emergency, call 911.

Guilford County Pet Detective Program

Guilford County Animal Services Pet Detective Program is a new volunteer program that works with the shelter to help reunite lost pets with their owners. Guilford County Animal Services Pet Detectives utilize social media, websites, and the NextDoor App to post strays and lost and found reports, then look for matches of posted lost and found pets to help reunite them with their owners. More people looking, sharing and cross-referencing pets increases the chances of returning lost pets to their homes.

Are you interested in becoming a Guilford County Animal Services Pet Detective?

It's as easy as joining our GCAS Pet Detective Facebook Group! We post lost, found and stray animals for our Guilford County Animal Services Detectives to access and share/post.  We also invite members of the public to directly post lost/found pets on our page. If you do find a pet's match, or have any questions, message us on Facebook, post a comment on the pet's photo, or email gcas_intake@guilfordcountync.gov to report your findings!

Together, we can help return lost pets home!