Ways to help find your pet:

• If your pet is microchipped contact your microchip database, all your local vets and if a dog - the dog warden and the police to report it missing. (If you suspect your pet has been stolen, inform the police and get a crime reference number.)
• Social Media, such as Facebook and Twitter, is a great way to help find a lost pet. There have been lots of success stories to date.  Don't forget to message your local community Facebook sites
• Advertise in the ‘Lost’ section of your local newspaper and be sure to read the ‘Found’ advertisements
• Contact local animal charities that take stray pets in
• Make posters/flyers and lots of them!   Place them in pet shops, supermarkets, restaurants, grooming parlours, dog clubs, local stores and post offices; wherever you can think of!
• Dogs and cats are not always predictable and can stray long distances. Look everywhere and tell everyone

If you have found a stray dog:

• Check its collar for an id tag and contact the owners directly if possible
• If the dog doesn't have an id tag / you haven't been able to contact the owners - then phone the dog warden at Braintree Council on 01376 552525 (option 3) to report the dog as found.   You may be asked to take the dog to the dog warden direct: Council Offices at Causeway House, Bocking End, Braintree, Essex CM7 9HB.  These contact details are the same whether during working hours or out of hours
• If the dog is microchipped the owners will be contacted and collection arranged, if the dog does not have a microchip or the owners details on the microchip have not been kept up to date, the dog will be held by the dog warden
• In the case of illness or injury, we will normally admit the dog assessment and care, under the guidance of the Dog Warden.   Treatment will then be based on the nature of the dog's illness or injury and this will always be in the best interest of the dog's welfare.   Where the dog's health is in severe decline the decision may be made by us to euthanise it on humane and welfare grounds

If you have found a stray cat:

• If you find a healthy cat which you are worried may be a stray or lost, you can contact us and we will be happy to scan the cat for a microchip and contact the owners
• If the cat does not have a microchip you can: knock on neighbour's doors to try and find the owner and put up posters
• Apply a tab band collar (provided by us) to write your name and number on, so that if the cat is owned and returns home, the owners will contact you and put your mind at rest
• Providing the cat is healthy you will need to return the cat to the location where it was found. We would discourage feeding healthy cats which looks like it is owned, and this may encourage them to leave their owners property
• For healthy cats which you are confident do not have an owner you can take the cat on yourself, or speak to a cat charity (however these charities are under a lot of pressure & most rarely have space to take on a cat for rehoming, usually with 6 month waiting lists)
• If the cat is injured, unhealthy, or too young to fend for itself please contact the RSPCA for a log no. on 0300 1238022, they will advise you which vet practice to contact locally. The cat will be scanned for a microchip and the owners contacted, or if there is no microchip vets or the local RSPCA branch will hold the cat for 7 days, if no owner has come forward the responsibility of ownership is then transferred to the vets in question or RSPCA.  Alternately you can bring the cat to us, please ring first
• The cat may then be treated and rehomed, or in some cases euthanasia depending on the injuries (sadly for some cats the injuries may be too severe to warrant holding the cat for 7 days to see if its owners come forward, and the cat may need to be euthanised on humane grounds before the 7 day rule)