The RSPCA is changing the way that reports of lost and found animals are logged. From Sunday (December 1) members of the public will be asked to go to Pets Located.com if they have lost a pet or found an uninjured stray domestic animal.
The service already exists to register reports of lost and found animals, but this is the first time that the RSPCA will be using it for all lost and found enquiries that it receives by telephone as well as online.
The service will be there for members of the public, but RSPCA branches and centres will also be able to input the details of any animals which have been found and handed into them, providing a searchable network of stray animals dealt with by the RSPCA.
RSPCA National Control Centre Process and Performance Manager Joanne Backham explains: “This new way of logging lost and found animals means that our cruelty line will be able to take more calls about sick, injured or suffering animals, helping us to reach the animals who most need our help.
“That’s why we’re pleased to be using Pets Located.com – for the first time there will be a centralised online service that members of the public, RSPCA staff and professional organisations can use.
“We hope it will mean that there will be a greater chance of people being reunited with lost pets as reports of lost and found animals will be in one place and can be easily matched up.”
Catherine Inglis, founder of Petslocated.com, says: “As a keen animal lover I have first-hand experience of losing a pet and I know how distressing it can be. The idea of Pets Located.com is to have all lost and found animals in one place. Our automated online matching service aims to reunite pets as quickly as possible with their owners.
“We are extremely proud to be working with the RSPCA and are looking forward to reuniting many more pets with their owners in the coming years.”
Pets Located.com is free for those reporting a found animal and anyone wishing to log a lost pet is asked for a fee of £10+VAT to use the service for 12 months, which includes posting details of the lost pet online and on social media and the facility to create your own ‘lost pet’ poster, as well as giving access to the database of found pets.
People should continue to check with local services such as dog wardens and vets if their pet becomes lost.
The RSPCA also recommends microchipping animals as one of the best ways of being reunited with a pet if it goes missing.
You can find out more at www.petslocated.com
