Reporting a missing pet: where?

Where you can report, and what each place does

Each place does something different. This is what to expect:

• The chip register your animal is listed in. That holds your name and phone number. A vet or shelter scanning the chip ends up here. If you do not know the register, look up your chip number.
• Amivedi. National volunteer network for missing and found animals, active since 1933, with reporting points across the country. Shelters, animal ambulances and police consult Amivedi. Reporting is free.
• ChipReaders. Your report goes on the map and the list, goes out as a WhatsApp alert to your province and to the affiliated chip readers nearby, and produces a printable search poster. Free and without an account.
• The Dierenbescherming. Mijn Dier is Zoek lists animals brought into their shelters. That is mainly a place to search; for reporting, the Dierenbescherming itself points to Amivedi.
• The animal ambulance in your region. It collects stray and injured animals and knows at once whether yours has been brought in.
• Shelters and vets nearby. Whoever finds an animal often takes it to the nearest practice or shelter. Call them yourself, with your chip number at hand.
• Your municipality. It is responsible for stray animal care and knows which shelter it works with.
• Your own neighbourhood. Neighbourhood apps and regional Facebook groups for missing animals produce a lot of tips in practice, certainly in the first days.

Why you report in several places at once

Someone who finds your cat in the garden checks one place. Which place depends on who they are: a neighbour searches Facebook, a vet scans the chip, a shelter checks Amivedi. If you are in only one of those places, you miss the rest.

Reporting costs nothing at any of these, so there is no reason to choose. Do all five in one evening and you are findable everywhere.

What you need for each report

Keep this at hand and every report takes a few minutes:

• Your animal s chip number, fifteen digits. On the passport or in your account.
• A recent photo that shows the colour and markings clearly.
• The town and street where the animal was last seen, and the date.
• A phone number you can be reached on, day and night.
• Distinguishing features: a collar, a scar, a kink in the tail, shy or affectionate.

And if you live in Belgium

Belgium works slightly differently. Dogs are in DogID and cats in CatID; that is where you report the disappearance or have your vet report it. You also report to the shelter and animal ambulance in your municipality, and to the local police if you suspect the animal was taken.

Amivedi operates in the Netherlands. If you live in Belgium, use the Flemish and Walloon groups for missing animals and our own list, which includes Belgium and can be filtered by province.