FOUND A PET?
Humane Society of Harford County
410-836-1090 ext. 15
The Harford County Division of Animal Control is the organization that is responsible for picking up stray animals in our county. All animals picked up by Animal Control are brought to the Humane Society of Harford County (HSHC). If you have found a stray pet, you can call Animal Control at:
Harford County Animal Control
All pets picked up by Animal Control are either returned directly to the owners or are brought to the HSHC shelter in Fallston for holding.
410-638-3505
Bringing in the pet yourself
If you would like, you can bring the animal to HSHC yourself. However, keep in mind, many stray animals can be injured, scared, or show aggressive behavior. If you feel unsure of bringing a stray animal into your home or vehicle, please call Animal Control. HSHC does not provide field services; we cannot come pick up the animal.
In many instances, the lost animal is friendly and can be easily transported to HSHC. Once the animal reaches HSHC, it will be held for a State mandated period to allow owners time to find and reclaim their pets. Dogs are held for five days and cats for four days, each a day beyond the legal requirement. After this time, the animals are placed up for adoption.
Holding onto a found pet
If you choose to keep the pet at your home, we strongly suggest that you file a found report with HSHC. This report remains on file and is checked daily to see if a lost report may match the pet you found. Pictures are especially helpful as verbal descriptions can be misleading.
By law, a found animal that is not brought to HSHC must be held for 30 days before the finders can keep the pet, give him/her away to a suitable home, or be adopted out immediately from HSHC. We recommend that you bring found pets to HSHC as most people will think to contact us first or be directed to us by other organizations when looking for their lost pet.
If you file a found report, please consider hanging flyers in your neighborhood as well. When you bring the pet to HSHC, note that on the flyers so an owner will know to contact us.
If you eventually bring in the pet after many days or find the owners on your own, we ask that you make the Adoptions staff aware that you previously filled out a found report. This eliminates the chance that a mistaken match will be made with an obsolete found report.
Adopting the found pet
In some cases, the finders of a lost pet want to keep the animal. We commend this act but ask that you give the pet's owners a chance to reunite, as many owners are devastated over the loss of their pets. If you bring a found pet to HSHC, you can ask the adoptions staff to make a note to contact you once the stray hold is up so that you may adopt the animal. This ensures that the owners were given a chance to find their pet and if no one comes, the pet can legally be adopted back into your care.