What to do if your dog gets lost in Lisbon

Wondering what happens if your dog gets lost in Lisbon? I know it is something I fear, I’ve got a Portuguese Podengo. That breed is made up of ridiculously fast hunting dogs with a strong chase instinct. Although he is officially registered with the Freguesia AND microchipped, I still worried about this, so I decided to do some research, just in case. Here’s what I found out about what you should do if your dog goes missing in Lisboa.

How to Find Your Lost Dog in Lisbon

1. Don’t panic.
2. Call the Casa dos Animais de Lisboa at 21 817 2300 (located at Estr. Pimenteira, Lisboa).
3. Give them info about your dog and see if there is a chance they have found him/her.
4. Regardless of if they do/do not have him/her, take your updated registration and license as well as their latest health book.
5. Bring various pictures of your pup along with information on when/where he/she ran off.
6. If they have your dog, you will be able to take him or her home (you will have to pay for the days that he/she was at the Casa dos Animais).
7. If you don’t have documentation, but your dog is there, your pup will have to stay there for 15 days. If another person cannot prove ownership by then, you will be able to pick up the pup.

What to do if you don’t find your lost dog at the Casa dos Animais in Lisbon

1. Go to the other local shelters, bring the same documentation and repeat the process, here are a few to get you started: The SPA, União Zoófila, and Focinhos e Bigodes.
2. Form a search party in the neighborhood.
3. Put up flyers with a picture of your pup, his/her info (include your pet’s sex, age, weight, breed, color, and any special markings) and a way to contact you.
4. Add posts on Facebook Groups, the subreddits for Lisbon and Portugal.
5. Check OLX – particularly if your dog is a purebred. People often set up “adoption” posts which are really a scam for people to purchase found or stolen dogs.

Check the Find My Pet Website

Find my Pet is a program created by the Ordem dos Médicos Veterinários (Veterinary Doctors Association) with the support of the Portuguese police. When you go on the site, you can create a profile for your lost dog as well as search for profiles of dogs that have been found. The site even generates flyers once you have entered your dog’s info.

I hope this helps…and if you have other questions, drop by the question and answer area for Portugal of the site. If you have other suggestions, add them here. Consider it a mitzvah that will make both the dog’s adoptive parent and the dog extremely happy.