What Should I Do?
Any resident that finds a stray animal can upload all required identifying information to the Animal Services designated online portal- Find My Pet- or bring the animal to Animal Services within 24 hours of being found to allow the owners the opportunity to locate their pet. If the owner has not been located within 72 hours of uploading information into the online portal, the finder then has 24 hours to bring the animal to Animal Services. The finder can complete an application to adopt if the pet if not claimed by owner at the end of the stray hold period.
Residents can utilize the Find My Pet Portal to upload pictures of the found pet in hopes of reuniting them with their owner during the 72 hours. Residents can upload pictures directly from their computer or cell phones.
Scanning Stations
The North Fort Myers Fire Districts located at:
Station 1- 2900 Trail Dairy Circle, North Fort Myers
Station 2- 1280 Barrett Road, North Fort Myers
Station 3- 16290 Slater Rd, North Fort Myers
are scanning stations for found strays. If you have found a pet near this area, you can take them to this location between 7:00 a.m.- 7:00 p.m. to be scanned for a microchip.
What Happens After The Pet Is Taken To LCDAS?
Dogs with without identification will be held for three (3) days, dogs with identification will be held for five (5) days for their owner to claim. Cats without identification will have a one (1) day hold period. Cats with identification have a five (5) day hold period.
Once the pet has been unclaimed by the owner after the expiration of the hold period, the pet will be placed for adoption or transferred to another agency. Exceptions- 1.) If the animal is unadoptable due to health 2.) If the animal is unadoptable due to behavior issues not treatable or correctable and they may pose a risk.
Lee County Domestic Animal Services strives to make every effort to find adoption or placement options for the animals in their care. Team members utilize discretion to make the best decisions for those animals and the communities in which they live, particularly in cases involving behavior or medical issues for which public safety is deemed at risk or in which an individual animal is deemed to have an irremediable quality of life.
Lee County Domestic Animal Services team members work to ensure the animals' physical and psychological health, incorporate welfare innovations, and provide humane care throughout their stay.
Individual animals are evaluated to ensure that welfare is optimized to the best of Animal Services' ability, such as
- minimizing and alleviating animal suffering, including euthanasia
- maximizing each animal's physical and psychological well-being
- improving animals' ability to cope with the challenges of a shelter environment
- recognizing animals' ability to express normal species-typical behaviors
- sustaining animals' ability to maintain some measure of control over their environment
Lee County Domestic Animal Services recognizes that animal sheltering is an inherently stressful environment for team members and does not support the use of language by citizens or entities inferring that the principles of care, ideals of animal welfare or role in public health are substandard or disregarded.
What If I Want to Adopt the Found Pet?
If you find a pet and wish to adopt if it is not claimed, you may place an adoption application on the pet. You will be notified if the pet is not claimed by its legal owner and it has been evaluated by staff.
How Does Animal Services Reunite Found Pets With Owners?
Animal Services will scan all found pets for a microchip ID and attempt through all means possible to locate the owner. Found dogs are held for a three-day stray holding period (without identification) and a five-day stray holding period (with identification), to be claimed by their owner. Cats without identification will have a one (1) day holding period. Cats with identification five (5) days. After the holding period, they become property of Animal Services and may be adopted, transferred to another agency or humanely euthanized if the pet is deemed unadoptable.