Lost a Pet? We want to help!
Pets cannot be identified over the phone. If you've lost your furry friend, please start your search with us. Young-Williams Animal Center is the only facility in the City of Knoxville and Knox County permitted to house stray animals and the most likely place to find your missing feline or canine. See the blue bar to the right for steps to follow for a successful search.
View current strays
Fees apply to reclaim your pet FROM the shelter and are mandated by law.
Stray & Found Pets
Young-Williams Animal Center is the housing facility for all stray/found pets in the City of Knoxville and Knox County. With help from our community, your pet might be located with one of our Friendly Finders. The shelter can help schedule a time for the Friendly Finder to come in and reunite your animal.
Fees apply to reclaim pets from the shelter and
are mandated by law.
If you aren’t able to be a Friendly Finder or have no plans to keep a found pet, please bring it to our main facility located at 3201 Division Street in Knoxville. We are open seven days a week from 10 a.m. to 6 pm. We are closed from 1-2 p.m. for animal quiet time and staff lunches.
Microchipping
Prevent a loss before it happens! Ask us about microchips, identification tags that never fall off. The tiny chip, embedded under the animal’s skin in a quick and painless procedure, contains vital information that can help animal control officers or shelter team members return lost or stolen pets.
$15/pet
Our hours for microchipping are Monday through Friday, from 2-5 p.m. by appointment only!
Text or Call 865.265.1456 to make an appointment.
Follow these steps for a successful search:
- Visit Petco Love Lost and upload your pet's photo to the database. This website uses facial recognition to help reunite missing pets with their people. From this website, you can also create digital lost pet alerts.
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We now have an automated line that will send helpful links, videos and tips in finding your lost petText LOST to 865.355.6277
- Click here to post a photo on our Lost and Found Facebook page.
- Come to the 3201 Division Street location to see if your pet is in our care. We are open seven days a week from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m (closed 1-2 p.m).
- Check back with us no less than every other day. The state of Tennessee requires strays to be held for a minimum of 72 hours.
- Contact local vets and the UT College of Veterinary Medicine to see if your pet has been taken there. Be sure to contact surrounding county shelters as well to see if your pet has been taken there.
- Visit PawBoost. PawBoost is like an AMBER Alert for lost pets. Millions of pet lovers have joined their Rescue Squad by signing up for localized lost & found pet alerts. More importantly, PawBoost has helped reunite over 1 million pets with their families. Posting is free, with optional premium services available. Report a Lost or Found Pet to PawBoost
Found a Stray?
By enrolling in our Friendly Finder Program, you can help a lost animal by providing a comfortable place for the pet to serve a five-day stray hold, increasing the pet's chance of reuniting with family and keep a kennel open at the shelter for incoming animals. Friendly Finders are true lifesavers!
How the Program Works
WHAT WE DO TO FIND THE OWNER:
After you bring the lost pet to the shelter initially, we’ll work with you to get the animal’s profile created and a photo posted on our website, in addition to making sure it is vaccinated and receives flea and tick preventives. With your help, a Petco Love Lost report will be submitted. In addition to filing this lost report, we are:
• Monitoring Lost & Found Facebook groups, Nextdoor and other community websites for potential matches.
WHAT TO EXPECT IF THE SHELTER LOCATES THE OWNER:
If the owner of the pet comes forward, we will ask you to return the pet to the shelter within 24 hours. We will then set up a time for the owner to pick up the pet.
WHAT TO DO IF YOU LOCATE THE OWNER:
If someone reaches out to you claiming to be the owner of the pet, get the person’s name and phone number in case you need it later. The following questions will help you confirm ownership of the pet:
• Ask the owner when and where the pet was lost. Does this match with when and where you found the pet? (This may not always match exactly but is a good start.)
• If the pet was found wearing a collar, ask the owner to describe the color and pattern of the collar.
• Ask the owner to send vet records or rabies licensing via text or email.
• If pet is microchipped, does the information on the microchip match the owner’s information?
• Ask the owner to provide pictures of the pet with the owner or family members.
Once ownership is confirmed, contact our Intake Department at 865-433-9922 to notify the shelter that the owner has been found.
Next, schedule a time to meet the owner at the shelter to complete paperwork. Do not hand over the pet to the potential owner. The owner must reclaim the pet at the shelter. This will help us ensure the pet is going back to the lawful owner, keep accurate ownership records and register the microchip correctly.
If you are uncomfortable with confirming proof of ownership, please obtain the potential owner’s information and send it to the Intake Department – we are more than happy to lead reunification efforts!
WHAT TO EXPECT IF AN OWNER IS NOT LOCATED:
One of our Intake Specialists will schedule an appointment at the end of the stray hold to bring the animal to the shelter or see if you’d like to adopt or sign up to foster the pet. In the meantime, if you have any questions, please email [email protected].
Click here for FAQs about our Friendly Finder Program.
Orphaned Kittens
If you find newborn baby kittens, please resist the urge to pick them up and bring them in, unless they’re in immediate danger (rising flood waters, etc.). It is likely that they have not truly been abandoned, and they have a better chance of survival if they remain with their mother. And unfortunately, newborn baby kittens have a much lower survival rate without their mothers.
Mama cats have to leave their babies from time to time to search for food for themselves, relieve themselves, or just take a break and have some quiet time. They may be gone up to 8 hours, but are usually not far. If you only see one or two kittens, it’s possible the mama cat is in the process of moving her kittens.
If they look “safe” leave them alone, and allow the mom to care for them. She knows how to do this better than any humans do. Monitor the area, checking every few hours. Approach quietly and cautiously. If mama is near, and she feels that you are a threat to her babies, she will move them. Usually the first place she chose for them is the safest one for her little ones. If you handle them, or make a pest of yourself, she’ll be forced to move them to another location that may not be quite as safe.
If mama cat doesn’t come back, or the kittens are in imminent danger, you can care for them on your own with some help from our friends at Maddie’s Fund who made these awesome videos to guide you.