Lost & Found

The Potter League for Animals serves as the housing facility for the animal control departments of Newport, Middletown and Portsmouth. Strays found by concerned citizens, police officers and animal control officers are brought to the Potter League. The Potter League keeps a computerized listing of all animals reported missing for 30 days, and we regularly check this list against incoming animals.

Animals wearing identification like an engraved tag or microchipped animals have a much higher chance of finding their way back to their original owners. We encourage everyone to have ID on your animals at all times and remember to replace collars after baths.

Losing your favorite furry friend can be a scary and heartbreaking time. Quick action and personal involvement are key components in the recovery of recovering your lost pet. Check our steps below to help you find your lost pet quick!

• Submit a Lost Pet Report.
• Ask family, friends, and neighbors to help you search for your pet as soon as you realize your pet is missing. Be sure to check around your yard and under your deck, sheds and then the surrounding neighbor’s property.
• Quietly walk and drive around the area. If your dog is missing take a leash, a bag of food (the smellier the better) as bait. Favorite toys are good, especially if the dog goes absolutely bonkers when he/she sees it. Talk briefly with anyone you see; ask if they saw your pet. Do not wait to see if your pet will return on his or her own! The sooner you start, the greater the chance that your pet will be returned uninjured.
• For a lost indoor-only or timid cat, think like a cat and look at every hiding spot possible in your yard and your close neighbors. Lost cats will remain hidden and quiet. Search your house and yard immediately. Lost cats tend to remain hidden and very quiet and a lot of times right around the house.
• Walk, bike, drive, or jog through your neighborhood every day and more than once to look for your missing pet.
• Place clothing, toys, litter box, and other items familiar to your pet outside in your yard where she/he might smell them.
• Put flyers around the neighborhood or area where your pet was last seen. Include a photo and description of your pet, your phone number, and when your pet disappeared. Make sure you have voicemail set up to take any messages. You can download our Lost Pet Poster template. We don’t suggest putting their name on the flyer.
• Most pets are recovered within a 3-mile circle of their home. Draw a 3-mile circle around the spot you lost your pet or his or her last known sighting. If they are not being pursued they will find food/water/shelter within this circumference. Use our Lost Pet Contact List Template & Lost Pets Sightings Form to help track businesses and contacts within that radius.
• Contact your local animal control agency, animal shelters and police stations. File a lost pet report and ask where your animal will be taken if it’s picked up by one of these agencies.
• If your pet is microchipped, contact the microchip company and have them put a “lost or stolen” alert on the pet’s microchip so that if it is scanned by a shelter or veterinarian, they will know that a concerned owner is looking for that pet.
• Use online resources. Post your lost pet online at www.helpinglostpets.com, Craigslist and Nextdoor.com (or on the Nextdoor app), and on social media sites. Check those sites continuously for found pets.
• Don’t give up! Some pets have been reunited with their families after a year or longer when their families continued efforts to find them.

Another great resource is Petco Love Lost, a website and app that uses facial recognition to help you find your lost pet. You can also use Petco Love Lost to share a found pet, making it possible for that pet to get home to their family.