1. Public Health
  2. Environmental Health
  3. Animals
  4. Stray Animals

Stray Animals

stray dog on street

We provide pick up service and assistance with many types of lost, stray, or abandoned animals.

If you find a stray dog, cat, other domestic animal, an exotic pet, or livestock, contact our Animal Services office by calling (608) 255-2345.

Our Animal Services Officers work hard to identify the owner of lost or stray animals, and we will return them to their owner if possible. If we can't identify the owner, we take the animal to the Dane County Humane Society (DCHS) until the owner comes to pick it up.

We have microchip scanners, but can't always find the chip if it has been dislodged, or sometimes find the chip but it is no longer active or is out of date. Making sure your pet is licensed and wearing their collar and tags will help shorten the time it is separated from you and avoids the cost of picking it up from DCHS.

Tips if You Find a Stray Pet

  • Call Animal Services to report loose or at large dogs or cats.
  • If it can be done safely, without you getting bitten or injured, it is helpful if you can confine the animal — possibly in a garage, or fenced in back yard, so it won’t run away before Animal Services get there. 
  • Dogs and cats are sometimes wearing collars and identification, which may help you get them back to their home without having to call Animal Services.
    • Call the owner's number listed on the tag. If the animal is wearing a dog license, you can call the City Treasurer if in Madison, (608) 266-4771, or your local town clerk if in a different municipality and ask for the owner’s phone information.
  • Pet owners are often times out looking for their lost pet. If it is a dog, the owner may more easily see it if you put it on leash and walk around your neighborhood, or stay out in your front yard if they happen to drive by.
  • Pet owners who are at work may not know their dog is missing. If you are willing to hold the dog until 4:00 pm – 5:00 pm, owners may be out looking for their animal then. Also call in the dog’s location and your phone number to Animal Services and the Humane Society. Keep in mind that if you call Animal Serivces too late into the day, we may not be able to get there until the next morning.

Contacts

  • Non Emergency Dispatch – (608) 255-2345
    For a current situation, such as a found dog you want picked up, a stray dog or cat currently running loose in your neighborhood, or other situations happening right now.
  • Animal Services Office and Voice Mail – (608) 267-1989
    For situations that have already occurred or that are happening repeatedly that you want assistance and resolution to. Examples: A neighbors dog or cat that keeps coming in your yard to do its business, or a stray cat that you see several times a week but can’t catch.
  • Dane County Humane Society – (608) 838-0413 (ext 0)
    To report an animal that you have found or search for an animal you have lost.