A paper poster headed MISSING CAT pinned to a tree, with a black and white photo of a gray cat and a blurred park behind it

October 15, 2026 Jessica Northrup

Apps Like FurAlert To Help Find Lost Pets

FurAlert, the free lost pet alert app, is no longer available, and PawBoost, Petsi, and PetFinder.my are lost pet tools whose sites were still open in October 2026. When we checked that month, furalert.com sent visitors to a GoDaddy page for that domain name, furalert.us did not open, and searches of Apple's App Store and Google Play showed no app by that name.

One of the worst experiences you can have as an animal lover is having your pet go missing. It's a scary thing to go through, both for you and your lost pet.

Is FurAlert Still Available?

FurAlert was a free app made by Cory Donovan. The Philadelphia Inquirer reported on February 21, 2016, that the iPhone version was released in October and the Android version followed in January. Users entered a pet's picture and description, and the Inquirer said an alert reached app users inside the set radius, which defaulted to two miles.

On June 1, 2016, 6abc reported that Gloucester Township police were urging residents to use the app, which it said could alert users up to a 10 mile radius. The same report said: "Fur Alert is not a replacement for the traditional methods, you should still microchip your dog and call local shelters if your pets go missing."

Donovan told the Inquirer that one basic principle is at the core of the app: "From an animal-welfare perspective, time and distance are the enemy."

What To Do As Soon As A Pet Goes Missing

The ASPCA says that "Swift action, coupled with major neighborhood networking, will increase the odds of having your furry friend back in your arms." It adds that the aim is to tell as many people as you can, in as many places as you can.

A black and white cat lying on a gravel path against a stone wall, looking off to one side

Search The Home And The Neighborhood

The ASPCA says to ask family members or housemates where they last saw the pet, then search the home carefully: under beds, in closets, in dark places and small places, and behind bulky furniture, in case the pet is hiding or sleeping. It says shaking a food dish, a treat jar, or a favorite toy will sometimes bring an animal out of hiding.

If the pet is not in or around the home, the ASPCA says to take a slow ride or walk around the neighborhood with a recent photo and ask neighbors whether they have seen the pet. It says to check under porches and shrubs and to ask neighbors to check sheds and garages in case the pet was accidentally locked in.

Humane World for Animals says to ask people you meet to contact you if they see a lost dog, and not to chase it. It says "A friendly, confident dog is more likely to be found where people or other dogs gather," while a dog that is shy, scared, hurt, or far from familiar streets is more likely to hide or keep moving.

Call And Visit Shelters

The ASPCA says to call local animal control agencies, veterinary hospitals, shelters (municipal and private), and rescue groups, because one of them may already have the pet. It says to check in with shelters daily and to visit them in person with photos of the pet to leave with shelter staff. If no shelter is close to home, it says to contact the police.

Flyers, Posters, And Social Media

For a flyer, the ASPCA says to use a big, bold headline such as "LOST DOG" or "MISSING CAT," a clearly printed recent photo, and the pet's breed, sex, coloring, age, weight, distinguishing features, and when and where the pet was last seen. It says to list your name and two phone numbers, yours and a friend's or family member's, in case you cannot be reached. The ASPCA recommends sticking with one design, because repeated viewings of a consistent message are more likely to stick in people's minds.

The ASPCA lists dog parks and runs, pet supply stores, pet grooming shops, and veterinary offices as good places to post flyers. Humane World for Animals adds grocery stores, laundromats, and community centers, and says to hand flyers to dog walkers, mail carriers, and joggers. It says that when people know a dog is missing they will want to help, and that otherwise they may assume the animal is abandoned and needs a home.

Most communities have local "Lost Pet" Facebook pages, the ASPCA says, and it suggests asking the page administrators whether they will share information about your pet.

If A Lost Dog Is Frightened

Humane World for Animals says a dog that is too skittish to come to people may be fed at a safe spot in the area it is known to visit, with food and water put out there. A plastic storage container turned on its side can keep rain off the food, it says. A motion-activated camera can show whether the dog is eating, and once you know when the dog shows up, a humane trap can be set. Most animal control agencies and many rescue groups have a trap to borrow, it says, and the trap needs monitoring so any other animal caught by mistake can be released quickly. It also says "Don’t attempt to chase down a skittish dog; this can drive them out of the area."

Scams

Humane World for Animals says that if a stranger claims to have found your dog, you can ask the person to describe your pet and send a photo, and it says to be wary of anyone who asks for money before returning the dog. It adds that many experts recommend leaving one identifying characteristic out of a lost pet notice, so you can be skeptical of anyone who cannot describe it. Read more about pet-flipping.

Keep Looking

The ASPCA says to remember that "many lost animals have found their way back home." Humane World for Animals says some pets have come home to their pet parents after being missing for months or even years.

Lost Pet Apps And Sites Besides FurAlert

The Inquirer described FurAlert as an app that alerts people near a missing pet.

Petsi Pet Locator

Petsi's site offers a free pet profile and a QR tag for the collar, and the tag is sold on the site. Petsi says a finder scans the tag with a smartphone, sees the pet's online profile with your contact details, and you receive the GPS location of the place where the tag was scanned. The site says neighbors receive a push notification if a pet goes missing, and that if a tag is lost, Petsi can identify the pet from a photo by facial recognition.

PetFinder.my

PetFinder.my is a Malaysian site, and its home page is titled "Dogs & Cats for Adoption and Sale in Malaysia." Its menu includes Find A Pet, Forum, and Classifieds. Its Lost & Found section lists pets lost and found in Malaysian places such as Petaling Jaya.

PawBoost

PawBoost says it has been helping reunite lost pets since 2014, and its site lists the US, Canada, the UK, Australia, Brazil, Mexico, and South Africa as the countries it covers. PawBoost says more than 2.3 million pets have been reported reunited to PawBoost. Its site says alerting its Rescue Squad is free for pet parents, and it lists Facebook Ads, Instagram Ads, and Featured Pet as ways to boost an alert.

According to PawBoost's App Store listing, from FindFido, Inc., a pet parent reports a lost or found pet by downloading the app, creating an account, and tapping the Report button, and a photo of the pet is needed to finish the report. The listing says the pet is then posted to the PawBoost Facebook page for the area, alerts go to local email subscribers and app users, the pet is added to the PawBoost lost and found database, and PawBoost makes a printable flyer.

Microchip Registration

The AVMA says a pet microchip is about the size of a large grain of rice and holds a unique identification number. A scanner reads the number, and the AVMA says the number can be used to identify the pet and help get it home, provided the contact information linked to it is kept up to date.

"A microchip is only as effective as the information linked to it," the AVMA says, and if that information is incomplete or outdated, a lost pet might not go home even after the microchip is scanned. The ASPCA makes the same point and adds that a pet parent who has moved or changed phone numbers since registering the chip should submit an update to the chip's company as soon as possible. August 15 is Check the Chip Day, according to the AVMA, and the ASPCA lists July 1 as National ID Your Pet Day.

One peer-reviewed study looked at what happens when microchipped pets reach a shelter. Lord and colleagues recorded 7,704 microchipped animals entering 53 animal shelters between August 2007 and March 2008 and reported the results in the Journal of the American Veterinary Medical Association in 2009. Shelters found the pet parent of 2,191 of 2,956 stray dogs (74.1 percent) and 298 of 469 stray cats (63.5 percent). For 876 animals whose pet parents could not be found, the most common reason was an incorrect or disconnected telephone number (310 animals, 35.4 percent). Of 1,943 animals for which shelters contacted a microchip registry, 1,129 (58.1 percent) were registered in the database. The authors wrote that "issues related to registration undermined its overall potential."

Tips To Avoid Your Pet Going Missing

Leashes

A cream-colored dog with its tongue out trotting on a leash beside a person in running shoes and leggings

Dr. Stacy Eckman of the Texas A&M College of Veterinary Medicine & Biomedical Sciences says that even pets who spend their time indoors can "run out the door, slip through their leash or collar and get away." Read more about best leashes for German shepherds.

ID Tags

Texas A&M's Pet Talk column "The Importance of Identification" covers ID tags and microchips. Eckman says "ID tags can help with identification in case they get lost or run away," and the column says microchips "do not replace the need for dog ID tags, but merely supplement them."

The ASPCA says every pet, indoor-only pets included, should wear a collar with an ID tag showing your name, your current phone number, and any other contact details that apply. Humane World for Animals says a lost pet has a better chance of being returned if it always wears a collar and an ID tag with the pet parent's name, address, and telephone number. Read more about best collars for German shepherds.

The CDC has a page on pet safety in an emergency. The CDC says: "Make sure your pet(s) wear collars and tags with up-to-date contact information and other identification."

Fences & Gates

The Inquirer's 2016 profile of Cory Donovan tells how his two Doberman mixes, Raven and Lula, got out of a fenced backyard. The Inquirer wrote that a landscaper presumably had not secured the gate. One dog was found in under an hour and the other a day later, the Inquirer wrote. Read more about safe outdoor spaces for cats that roam outdoors.

FAQs

Do I need to microchip my dog to use pet-tracking apps?

No, a microchip and a pet-tracking app do different jobs, and PawBoost's alert form does not ask for a chip number. PawBoost's alert form on its home page asks for a pet name, the nearest address where the pet was last seen, a contact email, and a password. The AVMA says a microchip has no internal power source and stays inactive until a compatible scanner is passed over it, and Texas A&M's Pet Talk says many people have the misconception that microchips are a GPS tracker. The AVMA also says a lost pet might not be returned if the registration is incomplete or outdated, so the contact details linked to a chip need to stay current.

Where can I download a lost pet app?

Use Apple's App Store on an iPhone or Google Play on an Android phone. Apple's store lists PawBoost - Lost and Found Pets from FindFido, Inc.

How do I find out which company has my pet's microchip registered?

Use the AAHA Pet Microchip Registry Lookup. Enter the 9-, 10-, or 15-digit microchip number with no spaces or punctuation, and the tool returns a list of registries to contact. AAHA says the tool does not show a pet parent's details and does not let you update a microchip record, and that you should start with the first company listed, the most recent registry, and contact each one. If you do not know the microchip number, the AVMA says to ask your veterinarian to scan the microchip.

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