Pets are family.
I’m creating this page with free resources to help people search for their lost pets, or share information about a pet they found in Houston, Harris County, and surrounding areas. I spend a good amount of free time trying to unite pets with owners, and these are the main online sources I use for my region.
I just want to help and provide an efficient single page resource with clickable links so the search process is faster. This is not an exhaustive list, just the main most active sites for lost pets in Houston. None of the following websites require a fee to post a lost or found pet or search for one.
First off, be VERY cautious of scams.
Scammers will reply in comments on Lost Pet posts telling you to contact various Facebook pages or other services such as ‘Paw Linx’ or ‘Craw-rescue.’ They will say ‘they were very effective in finding my dog’ or ‘I suggest reaching out to “Paw-linx” on Facebook; they are incredibly effective in locating missing pets.’ Other seeming legit companies with names like ‘Pet Alert’ will attempt to get your money. I’ll add more scam names here as I see them.
This is very common on Facebook lost pets posts, Nextdoor, and Pawboost – basically anywhere comments are open. If you see this happening, report the poster as fraud/scam when possible. Clues of a scam: No website, no contact number, no testimonials, web results show more claims of the company being a scam than actual positive reviews etc.
There are legitimate services available but I don’t have any references.
Scammers will also message you via direct messages, emails, texts, and phone calls saying they found your pet or they know someone who has your pet but you have to pay them to release them to you. They will not provide photos or video proof. It feels like a hostage situation but the odds are, they’ve never seen your pet, only your desperate posts trying to locate your loved one. This is a very common complaint from pet owners on Nextdoor.
They may pretend to be with an agency or local shelter like with this scam ‘Beware of Scam Alert Targeting Pet Owners in Texas’.
Scammers are incredibly cruel to take advantage of worried pet owners. It’s awful but now you can be prepared if you’re targeted. You can find more on scammers after the next section on searching for and reporting your lost or found pet.
Where to post and search for a lost or found pet
Physical flyers are great and should be printed with large text with your phone number, date and location last seen, and a good clear photo of your pet along with their name and any details you need the public to know. Don’t chase, needs meds, is microchipped.
Look up vets, pet stores, and animal clinics in the area and get them copies to post in their location. Call ahead if you can to get permission so you don’t waste time going there in person. Better yet, if you have someone who can help you reach out for their support while you stay on the search.
When searching for a pet online, use the websites’ search filters with a light hand since not everyone includes this information in their reports, or the information such as gender or breed might be incorrect. Sorting by date isn’t always a default option so be sure you are looking at the results from newest to oldest.
You might be too busy out looking for your pet so you can send the link to this page to a friend or family members to help search and post lost reports for you.
Animals in Shelters and Foster Homes
Pawboost.com
Start with Pawboost.com and create a free post for either your lost pet or a pet you have found. This site will share your post with their Facebook page and a local volunteer team of people to help spread the word and be on the look out. It also gives you an option to create printable flyers for free, and you easily can share the webpage of the pet with a photo and other details via a dedicated link.
Once you have a digital post to link to, share it far and wide! From Nextdoor.com to various Facebook groups, leave a trail to help people reach out to you.
BARC/24PetConnect.com
24PetConnect.com is the main site used by BARC Shelter at 3300 Carr St, Houston, TX 77026 and also includes results from some other area shelters.
Important: To search for Lost Pets, click on ‘Lost my pet’ at the top then click the type of pet – dog, cat, other. This is the only way to show the results by newest added.
You can also submit a lost pet form, create a free flyer, and submit found pets.
PetcoLove.org
Another site that gathers lost and found pet reports from area shelters including BARC. The main page to submit lost or found pets is https://petcolove.org/lost/.
To search the database, use this page https://petcolove.org/lost/
You can filter the results by date, radius, and whether you are searching for a lost or found pet.
Houston SPCA
Found animals (warning, some are injured): https://houstonspca.org/found-animals/
Harris County Pets
These animals are either at the Harris County Pet shelter or foster homes. The shelter is located at 612 Canino Rd, Houston, TX 77076. https://www.countypets.com/Adopt/Search-Our-Animals.
The issue with this site is not being able to sort by date. I’m almost certain all of these listings will be found under 24PetConnect.com which can be viewed by date if you follow the directions above.
Montgomery County Animal Shelter
https://www.mcaspets.org/ for shelter info. Use 24PetConnect.com to search for the available animals in their care.
Fort Bend County Shelter
Main website here. Located at 1210 Blume Rd, Rosenberg, TX 77471. Shelter uses PetcoLove.org for its database.
Rosenburg Animal Control and Shelter
Main website here. Located at 1207 Blume Rd, Rosenberg, TX 77471. Shelter uses PetcoLove.org for its database.
Humble Animal Shelter
The shelter is located at 240 Dennis Ave, Humble, TX and uses Petfinder for its database. Use this link: Humble Shelter Petfinder. There are some Humble area rescue groups posted here.
City of Pearland Animal Services and Adoption Center
Shelter uses PetcoLove.org for its database.
8311 Freedom Drive – Pearland, Texas 77584
281.652.1970 – pearlandpets@pearlandtx.gov
PetPlace.com
This is a site for searching adoptable pets so some might be in foster homes. It is referred to by Harris County Pets on their website. Filter by zip code, radius, breed, age and more. petplace.com/pet-adoption
Houston area Facebook groups for lost and found pets
You can share and search your lost or found pet to these groups/pages. You can also use the search feature on Facebook with ‘lost pets Houston’ to see dozens of groups not included here.
Lost and Found Pets of Houston
Lost and Found Pets: Houston & Surrounding Areas
Lost & Found Pets of Houston / Harris County
Houston, TX – Lost Dogs, Cats & Pets – PawBoost page
Note: Users can’t post – reports are shared via the Pawboost website
https://www.facebook.com/@LostFoundPetsHoustonTX
Houston Lost/Found Dogs, Pets
https://www.facebook.com/groups/125325904788985/
Lost N’ Found Pets of Houston and surrounding Areas
https://www.facebook.com/groups/1390744844559921/
PETS OF OAK FOREST – Dogs and Cats – HOUSTON
https://www.facebook.com/
Houston Heights Lost and Found Pet Page
See the pinned post on the page for how to submit lost/found pets. https://www.facebook.com/HeightsLostandFoundPets
LOST FOUND & ADOPTABLE PETS (Houston, Conroe, Katy, Woodlands, Kingwood)
https://www.facebook.com/groups/505214562933873
More on Scammers
I’m going to add more examples of scammers as I see them online. Their contact info, name, or company will be in bold italics
September 2026 – From a lost dog owner on Nextdoor.com
bessieragland@icloud.com – (This scammer shows up in complaints from several states.) Texted a missing dog’s owner: “Hi my husband found your dog… He found her under his car.” Asked for “$70 for her troubles,” then demanded “40 now and the remaining when we get there” before bringing the dog. When the owner offered cash in person and asked for a photo as proof, refused: “i can’t send a picture just to get accused of dog theft, not judging you but we’ve had a bad experience!” Also refused to give an address or meet in public, repeating “We can be in your door in less than 7min” and “I swear with everything I hold holy. We have your dog safe and not hurt.”
susankris20@icloud.com – Texted the same missing dog’s owner: “Hi we found your lost dog.” Asked for “$60 compensation for the troubles,” then “We’d prefer 30 now before heading over there” by Venmo or Zelle. When asked what color the dog’s collar was, answered “No collar.” Refused to come until paid (“When we get the 30. We can head over there”) and turned hostile when the owner offered cash in person and asked for a photo.
9737897460 / 973-789-7460 – Texted the same missing dog’s owner: “Hello I found your dog… She’s with me.” Asked “Do you have a reward for finding your pet?” then said “I actually need to get gas before I head to you” and requested “$20 so I could get it” by Zelle, sending this number as the Zelle account. Kept pushing for the Zelle payment after the owner offered cash in person and to drive to them instead.
The phone number is the Zelle account the scammer sent, shown as texted and in the standard format. If the owner also has the email or number this message came from, send it over and I’ll add it to the bold italics line, since that’s what the next victim is most likely to see first. I left out the dog’s name and the street address.
December 2024 – from a poster on Facebook:
riuscardena@gmail.com – Text claims to have found a missing dog, includes an altered photo with the missing dog’s head edited onto a different photo
501-417-1232 – Text ‘I found your dog, please call me…’ claiming to be ‘Officer VanHook with animal control, i will send a six digit code…’
743-203-1575 – Text about finding their dog then ‘I send you confirmation code to make sure you real owner’
December 2024 – Reply to a post of a lost dog on the Ring community page
415-799-2051 – “Send a text to (415) 799-2051, they’re specialized in pet recoveries and they helped find my dog milo when she got missing few weeks back”
December 2024 – From a post by a lost dog owner on Nextdoor.com
Alberto Ramos – 832-566-7946 – Called a missing pet’s owner demanding payment before proof he had her dog; he claimed the dog was happy and his family loved her and he’d spent a lot of money on food etc. Caller blocked owner when she demanded proof.