Animals Lost & Found
Find and list lost and found animals in Costa Rica.
A dog that slipped out of the gate in Tibás, a cat that has not come in for its dinner, a cockatiel last seen heading for the mango trees: notices for lost animals sit here beside notices from people who found one and are trying to get it home. Write the area, the date and how the animal behaves with strangers. Callers who ask frightened owners for money are a known trick here, so a good notice also says plainly that nothing is paid before the animal is seen.
A dog that bolted, a cat under the neighbour’s car and a cockatiel in a tree:
each goes missing in its own way, and that changes where to look. A frightened dog can cover several barrios before it stops, often avoids people who call to it, and turns up through sightings from strangers. A house cat that gets out rarely goes far: it hides silent under a car, in a hedge or on a neighbour’s roof a few houses away, and is easiest to find after dark with a torch and its food tin. A cockatiel or a budgie that escapes lands high and close, then moves further as the hours pass, so put its cage outside where it can see it and call at first light. A bird that comes home needs a cage it cannot get out of again, and birds is where those are listed.
A lost notice and a found notice, written to bring the animal home:
a lost notice works best with a recent photo of the whole body and one of the face, the name it answers to, the day it went missing and the area, plus a line on whether people should try to catch it or just call you. A dog that runs from strangers is better watched than chased. A found notice needs the photo, where and when, and a phone number, but keep back one detail, such as a scar, a nail colour or the collar it wore, so you can test anyone who claims it. A microchip only leads home if the record carries the owner’s current number, and a tag or a GPS tracker on the collar does the job before anyone has to post anything; tags and trackers sit with the collars and harnesses in dog supplies.
Sloths, fledglings and other wildlife that are nobody’s pet:
plenty of animals found in Costa Rican gardens and on the roads were never lost. A fledgling hopping on the ground is usually being fed by parents nearby and is best left where it is. A sloth crossing a road near Quepos is on its way somewhere. A wild animal that is clearly injured or orphaned needs SINAC or an authorised wildlife rescue centre, not a notice and not a home.
Callers who want money, and people who claim a found dog:
the scam runs like this: someone answers a lost notice, says they have the animal or know who does, and asks for a transfer for transport or the reward before you have seen anything. Ask them to describe the detail you left out, or to show the animal on a live video call, and pay any reward only with the animal in your arms. Breeds that fetch a lot of money, French bulldogs and huskies among them, are also stolen from yards, so if yours vanished from behind a locked gate, say so in the notice and tell your vet clinic, where a chip reader can flag it. If you are the finder, ask a claimant for photos of the animal at home over time and for its vaccination card, and watch how the animal greets them. A dog that has never seen the person before tells you more than any story.
Taking the notice down, and a found cat nobody claims:
when the animal is home, mark the notice as found the same day, so neighbours stop searching and stop calling. If no owner appears after a fair search, a found dog or cat can look for a new family through adopt a dog or adopt a cat. Whoever comes to collect a found dog should bring its own lead and collar, or a carrier for a cat, because a scared animal that slips out of a borrowed rope at the gate is lost a second time.