For info on what to do before your pet goes missing click the link above. For found wildlife click here.
Lost Pet
If your pet is missing, here’s what actually works- created specifically for the Hilton Head and Bluffton area and based on what we’ve learned firsthand, not just general advice.
The first few minutes
- Search your yard, house, and immediately neighboring yards.
Before you leave to search
- Grab a leash, treats, and a photo of your pet. If you drive, put your flashers on and consider a sign in your window or even better, use window paint if you have it- It essentially making your car a mobile billboard: “Lost Dog” or “Lost Cat”will not only get attention but may also prompt other drivers to give you the allowance to move slowly while you look.
- Talk to everyone you pass — mail carriers, delivery drivers, landscapers, and neighbors are often the first to spot a loose animal.
- General advice is to tell anyone helping you search not to chase or call out to your pet. A scared animal will run. Instruct helpers to crouch down, avoid direct eye contact, and toss treats toward the pet to lure them closer.
- Leaving scent items may help if you’re far from home when they’ve gone missing.
⚠️ In the Lowcountry, leaving food outside may attract wildlife including alligators. Use judgment based on your specific location.
When you’ve confirmed they’re missing
- Get it together– Literally. There’s an attached Printable Profile pdf with a full list of things you need to include when looking for a lost pet. It’s a stressful time, having this checklist ensures you’re not missing any crucial information when you start calling and posting. Have a couple pictures ready to go. One full face and one full body to show any distinguishing markings.
- Call and email Beaufort County Animal Services (BCAS). (843) 255-5010 This IS our Animal Control. This is who the police will call and where calls about lost and found pets will be routed to. If someone has seen an animal running along a road and calls the police, there’s a great chance that BCAS will know about it. Follow up with an email. Include pictures and the information from the Printable Profile pdf.
- Call the Hilton Head Humane Association. (843) 681-8686 Letting them know your pet is missing gives them a chance to reunite you quickly if someone brings your pet through their doors.
- Nextdoor posts are incredibly helpful in our area. include pictures and the list from the pdf. Ask that people share- Nextdoor allows people to set their neighborhood preferences. What you share may not reach someone else’s neighborhood.
- Socials: post on your personal social media accounts (Facebook, Instagram, etc) and also on the following local groups dedicated to lost & found pets:
Hilton Head/Bluffton Lost And Found Pets
Lost Paws Of The Lowcountry
*Both of these require group membership before you can post, and approval can take time — or be denied outright. Join both now, before you need them, so you’re not starting from zero in an emergency. - List on PetFBI and Pawboost: Both are free and relatively fast but do expect an email confirmation step before your listing goes live.
PetFBI generates a free flyer with a QR code immediately and also lists your pet to the Lost Pets of America Facebook page. - Flyers– Even if you’re in a rural area, putting one on your door and mailbox and asking your neighbors to do the same means that Amazon, Delivery and Postal drivers will see them. These are people that are already driving around your neighbor all day, every day. the PetFBI flyer has a QR code that will let people report sightings. This keeps your personal info private. For people in apartment complexes flyers flyers are always a great way to go.
⚠️NOTE: Post to as many of these as you can, and check back on each one daily — these are separate platforms that don’t communicate with each other, so a lead on one won’t automatically show up on the others. - Additional tips when you’ve got things in motion and need to keep busy
-Consider window paint/chalk to make your vehicle a mobile billboard. “Lost Pet” in large letters and a way to contact you. if you’re understandably cautious about sharing your number, consider a virtual phone number or a qr code printed to a full size sheet of paper. If you’ve contacted BCAS, you can ask about sharing their number.
-If you’re back to driving around slowly to look, be sure to use your hazard lights- it’ll help keep people from rushing you. Ask landscapers, delivery and postal drivers if they’ve seen your pet. carry extra flyers just in case.
Watch for scams. When a pet goes missing, scammers sometimes make contact claiming to have your pet and asking for money before they’ll return it. A legitimate finder will never ask for payment upfront. If someone contacts you and something feels off, ask them to describe a detail about your pet that isn’t in your flyer before agreeing to anything. Never meet a stranger alone or in an isolated location.
Drone & Other Tracking Search Services
For alternate search options, these services are available to help locate lost pets in the Lowcountry.
Lowcountry Pet Rescue (Ben Gopoyan)
Drone-based thermal imaging search, available 7 days a week, late afternoon through overnight. Deploys quickly, often within 1–2 hours of your call depending on location and conditions. Service area is centered north of HHI but covers a wider radius. If you’re unsure whether they can reach you, call and ask. The sooner you contact them after your pet goes missing, the better. Don’t wait until morning. They are FAA Part 107 licensed and registered drone pilots, not hobbyists. 774-242-2510, info@lowcountrypetrescue.com
Black River Search and Rescue (Karl Allen)
Search and recovery services based near Camden, SC. Covers dogs only, not cats. Response is typically a few days out unless it’s a true emergency (lost person, police K9, injured pet), so this isn’t an instant-response option. They will work with people who can’t meet their standard rate and don’t refuse to deploy over money. Free phone advice and search checklists available regardless of whether you hire them. 803-427-5765, blackriversearchandrescue@gmail.com
Found Pet
Found wildlife? This page is for domestic pets only. For injured or orphaned wildlife, visit our Wildlife Resources & Rehab page.
Unless you’re close, Snap a photo first
It may be counterintuitive but if the animal is loose and you’re not sure you can approach without them running, get a photo immediately. You may only have seconds before they move on, and a photo is essential for posting later — make note of the date, time, and location where you spotted them. This is incredibly helpful for when you decide to post.
Approach carefully
Don’t rush toward a frightened animal. Crouch down, avoid direct eye contact, and move slowly. Toss treats if you have them. A scared pet is more likely to bolt than accept help, so patience matters more than speed here.
Check for ID
Once you’ve secured the pet safely, check for a collar, tags, tattoos. A license or rabies tag can be traced — contact BCAS at (843) 255-5010 or your local non-emergency police line and they can help identify the owner from the tag number.
Also look for a tattoo — usually a series of numbers on the inner right hind leg, belly, or ear. For help tracing a tattoo, lostdogsearch.com/links has useful registry information.
Get the pet scanned for a microchip
Vet offices, shelters, and BCAS can scan for a microchip at no charge. This is the fastest path to an owner if there’s no collar.
Keep them separated from your own pets until you’ve had them checked out. A found animal may be carrying illness or parasites without obvious symptoms.
Report it
Contact BCAS at (843) 255-5010 and Hilton Head Humane Association (843) 681-8686 . These are often the first place a pet owner calls.
If you’re the one who found the pet, post to the same channels listed in the Lost Pet section above — Nextdoor, Facebook groups, PetFBI, PawBoost — and check back daily. use the Printable Profile pdf as a loose guide when reporting the pet to ensure you’re including all the right information. Most people stop after reporting the pet or bringing them to a shelter, and that’s completely understandable. But if you’re able to follow up, posting on the finder’s behalf can genuinely help reunite a pet faster, especially since these platforms don’t share information with each other.
Verify before you hand the pet over
If someone contacts you claiming to be the owner, ask them to describe something specific about the pet that isn’t in your post — a marking, a behavior, something a stranger wouldn’t know. Ask for a photo ID and note their vehicle. Legitimate owners will understand.
Be cautious of anyone who seems evasive about identification, or who contacts you wanting to adopt the pet if you can’t find the owner. This is a known method used by people who collect animals for profit.
If you can’t find the owner
If you’re unable to locate the owner and cannot keep the pet, visit our Adoption & Rescue page for a list of local shelters and rescues who may be able to help.
Before your pet goes missing
The best time to plan for a lost pet is before it happens. A few simple steps now can dramatically improve your chances of a reunion later.
Microchip your pet — and register the chip. A microchip is only useful if it’s registered. Many pets are chipped but never entered into a database, which means a scanner finds the chip but can’t find you. Registration is free at FreePetChipRegistry.com. When you move or change your number, update it.
Use a collar with current contact info — but think carefully about what you put on it. A name and phone number is standard. Some owners skip the address for privacy reasons, which is reasonable.
Consider a GPS tracker. Collar-mounted GPS devices have become affordable and reliable. Worth it for escape artists or dogs off-leash in unfenced areas. Note: Air tags are NOT GPS trackers.
Have your information together and a flyer ready before you need it. If your pet goes missing, you’ll be in no state to hunt for photos and remember details. Keep a simple document updated with: name, age, sex, breed, color and markings, a clear face photo and a full-body photo, and any important notes (see the Printable Profile pdf). Pet FBI will generate a free flyer automatically when you file a report — but having your information organized in advance makes that process faster when minutes matter.
Numbers & Resources
Save these before you need them. The contacts below cover lost and found pets and local intake resources. Also download our Numbers every pet guardian should have refrigerator card (pdf).
Local Contacts
Beaufort County Animal Services (BCAS): (843) 255-5010 — animal control, intake, lost and found reports
Hilton Head Humane Association — The Shelter (10 Humane Way, Hilton Head Island): (843) 681-8686. Open 11am–4pm Mon–Sat, closed Sundays.
Hilton Head Humane Association — New Animal Campus (10 Pritcher Point Rd, Okatie): (843) 645-8400. Open 11am–4pm Mon–Sat, closed Sundays.
Non-emergency police line (Hilton Head Island Police Department): (843) 341-4600 — useful for tracing license and rabies tags on found pets
Resources & National Databases
Nextdoor: Ask people to share. What you share may not automatically reach someone else’s neighborhood.
Facebook: Hilton Head/Bluffton Lost and Found Pets & Lost Paws Of The Lowcountry
Instagram
Pet FBI — petfbi.org — free lost and found database; generates flyers automatically and connects to Lost Dogs of America and Lost Cats of America Facebook networks
PawBoost — pawboost.com — free lost and found listings with local alerts
Lost Dogs of America — lostdogsofamerica.org — resource library and Facebook network for lost dogs
Lost Cats of America — lostcatsofamerica.org — resource library and Facebook network for lost cats
HomeAgain — homeagain.com — microchip registry and lost pet alerts
Free Pet Chip Registry—freepetchipregistry.com—free microchip registry; anyone can search a lost pet
The Center for Lost Pets — centerforlostpets.com — free database for dogs and cats
Dog tattoo registry resource — lostdogsearch.com/links — useful if you’ve found a dog with a tattoo and need to trace it