What can I do to ensure the pet I found gets in the owners hands safely?

When you find a pet and upload them as "found" on Petco Love Lost, the end goal is that the owner sees their pet, connects with you via messenger and you get that pet back home.

Occasionally, there may be a case where you feel uneasy about the person that connected with you and you want to make sure they are the correct owner. Here are some suggestions to assist you with the process of helping that pet get back home safely. 

• Ask the “owner” to submit a lost animal on their Petco Love Lost account so you can see the photo that they have of the animal. You can compare the images & if they have an image of the pet, it is likely theirs.
• If the owner says their pet is chipped, you can take the animal to get scanned to verify the owners name. This can be done by visiting your local shelter, vet office or Petco.
• If there are any distinguishing features on the animal you have in your care, you can ask the owner to verify. i.e what color is their collar, do they have any specific markings they can verify that may not be on the image (spots on back legs, coloration etc.), is a male neutered or intact etc.
• Another idea for meeting in person could be to ask the owner the name of the vet they take their pet to. You can coordinate meeting at the vet so the vet can verify the pet has been there before & you would be meeting on mutual grounds.
• If you are uncomfortable taking the animal to reunite them with the owner, for whatever reason, we recommend dropping off at a local shelter that accepts strays and let the owner know where the animal will be. The shelter will then likely require different proofs of ownership. (photos, vet records etc. )

Please note, these are just suggestions to help, but are not something that is required for a pet to be reunited with their owner.