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Lost dog
Lost dog in Gloucester: animal control, shelters and what to do first
The first hour matters more than the first day. A loose dog in Gloucester is usually within a mile of where it slipped the collar, and the people who can help are a short list. This page is that list, in the order to use it, with the preparation that makes the whole thing shorter.
First calls
Animal control first, then the chip registry, then the shelter and the vets
Gloucester's animal control officer is the person who picks up a loose dog in the city, and the contact details are on the city's Dog Regulations page. Call first with a description and the license tag number, and ask where a picked-up dog is held. At the time of writing the city also publishes a list of local and emergency veterinary offices on its site, and those are the next calls.
Report the dog lost to your microchip registry in the same hour, and check that the phone number on file is one you will answer. Then call Cape Ann Animal Aid, the shelter on Cape Ann, and ask how they handle stray reports; their resources page lists local contacts. If the dog was last seen near the Rockport or Essex line, call those towns' animal control offices too.
- 01
Call Gloucester animal control; the contact is on the city's Dog Regulations page
- 02
Report the dog lost to the microchip registry and confirm your phone number
- 03
Call Cape Ann Animal Aid and ask how stray reports are handled
- 04
Call the vets on the city's list, and the 24-hour hospital in Woburn if the dog may be hurt
- 05
Post one clear photo and the last-seen spot on local groups and lost-pet sites
- 06
Get searchers on foot within a mile of the last sighting, quietly
How to search
Search the way a scared dog moves: quiet, low and close to home
A scared dog runs from the people calling its name. Searchers who shout and chase push the dog farther out. Walk instead, sit down when you spot the dog, turn sideways, and talk softly or say nothing at all; a dog who has bolted needs to choose to approach. Bring the smelliest food you own and the dog's favorite person, and let that person do the approaching while everyone else stays back.
Most dogs go to ground close to where they were lost: under decks, in the brush behind Stage Fort Park, among the boulders of Dogtown Common, along the railroad cut. Search at dawn and dusk when the streets are quiet and a dog feels safe enough to move. Ask neighbors to look in sheds and yards, and do not stop after the first day; dogs are often found days or weeks later.
- Do not chase or call loudly; sit, turn sideways, wait
- Dawn and dusk are the best search hours
- Check under decks, in sheds, under cars and along the railroad
- Keep searching and calling animal control daily
The flyer
A flyer that works has one photo, one number and one place
A good flyer has a single clear photo, the dog's name, one phone number that will be answered, and the last-seen location with the date. Skip the life story. Post it at the corner stores, the post office, the vets on the city's list, and on the local groups where Gloucester neighbors already talk to each other. Ask the mail carriers and crossing guards, who walk the same blocks every day.
If your dog walks with our team, every walk report carries a photo, which is often the most recent picture an owner has. Tell us too. Our handlers and front desk know a great many of the dogs in Gloucester, Rockport, Essex and Manchester-by-the-Sea by sight, and a description at the desk means another set of eyes on Eastern Ave.
- One photo, one phone number, the last-seen spot and the date
- Corner stores, the post office, the vets, the local groups
- Ask mail carriers and crossing guards to keep an eye out
Prevention
The license tag, the rabies tag and the chip are the way home
A Gloucester dog wearing its license tag can be traced through the City Clerk at 9 Dale Ave, because the license links the tag number to your name and phone. The rabies tag traces back through your vet. A microchip, registered and current, works when the collar is gone. Together they mean whoever finds your dog can reach you in minutes rather than days.
Licensing costs $20 plus a $1 fee for a spayed or neutered dog at the time of writing, with a current rabies certificate required and a $20 penalty after April 30. Add a flat ID tag with your cell number to the collar itself, check the collar fit each month, and use a properly fitted harness for a dog who has slipped a collar before.
- Gloucester license tag: traced through the City Clerk
- Rabies tag: traced through your vet
- Microchip: registered, with the phone number kept current
- A flat tag with your cell number on the collar
How Dogtown fits
The dog who bolts at the door is usually the dog who needs more to do
Door-dashing and fence-jumping are energy problems more often than character flaws. A dog who has spent the morning in a playgroup of 7 to 10 on the turf is a dog who sleeps through the doorbell. A free evaluation on a weekday morning between 6:30 and 9:30 AM comes first, with Rabies, DHPP and Bordetella records and the city license the tag depends on.
Recall is the other half. Our trainers build it in stages, and a dog with a reliable recall is a dog who turns back at the sound of a name instead of running from it. For an owner who travels, an overnight stay in a suite with 24/7 monitoring at $78 a night, joining the playgroups by day, removes the risk of an unfamiliar sitter and an unlatched gate.
At Dogtown
Fewer reasons to bolt
Daycare for the dog with too much energy for the door, and overnight suites with 24/7 monitoring when you are away.
Asked and answered
Questions people ask about this
Short, complete answers you can act on today. More in the full FAQ.
Who do I call first if my dog is lost in Gloucester, MA?
Where are stray dogs taken in Gloucester?
Should I chase my dog if I see it?
How does a Gloucester dog license help if my dog is lost?
My dog was found injured after hours. Where do I go?
More questions? Read the full FAQ
Sources
- City of Gloucester: Dog Regulations
- Cape Ann Animal Aid: resources
- City of Gloucester: local emergency veterinary offices
- Massachusetts Veterinary Referral Hospital
Rules and dates change. We re-check every beach, licensing and ordinance page each spring and fall; the source above is the current word.
Keep reading
Next step
A tired dog stays home.
Book a free weekday-morning evaluation, bring the license and the vaccine records, and give the door-dasher a better outlet than the door.
- 01Free evaluationWeekdays 6:30 – 9:30 AM
- 02Book a dayOnline, in the app or by phone
- 03Play, rest, repeatReport card at pick-up
