As an open admission animal shelter, we get a lot of calls and messages inquiring about missing pets. Here are the steps we recommend when your pet – or the pet of a friend – goes missing.

Call Animal Control

Most importantly, please call ALL local Animal Control Officers and/or your local police department and report your missing pet. You can find this information through a quick Google search.

Call Berkshire Humane Society

Berkshire Humane Society now holds a contract with the City of Pittsfield. Stray dogs are brought to our facility for a mandatory 7-day waiting period, during which owners will hopefully claim their dog. After seven days, Berkshire Humane Society may adopt out unclaimed canines. Only strays found in Pittsfield can be brought to our shelter.

Call Berkshire Humane Society at 413- 447-7878 to register your pet in our Missing Pets Book. Each animal stays active for 2 weeks, so call every 2 weeks until your pet is found. This must be done by phone. Also, call other shelters in the area.

Call Local Veterinarians

Call vet offices in your area. Often, people will bring lost or injured pets to the vet nearest them.

Get the Word Out

Create and post flyers with a picture of your pet in the area your pet was last seen. Make sure to include an accurate description including age, color, date lost, spayed/neutered, collars/tags, microchipped or not, and the town they were lost in. Bring a flyer to the shelter and we will post one at our front desk. You can also post a flyer at local vet offices.

Post on our Facebook page as a visitor so our fans will see. Also consider posting to 3 Facebook groups: Missing Pets of Berkshire County, Pittsfield Lost and Found Pets, and Berkshire County Pets. There are more, so do a search and see what groups serve your area.

Run ads in the newspaper under Lost and found – in many cases it’s free and you can do this online.

Offer a reward for your pet’s safe return.

Microchip Your Pet

When your pet is found, please let us know and bring them in for a microchip. Microchips are the best and most efficient way in reuniting pets with their owners. When animal control picks up a lost pet, or when a stray cat is surrendered to our shelter, the first thing we do is scan them. And remember to keep you information up to date!