CVHS accepts stray animals only from towns with which have accepted an agreement through CVHS.
Click here to see if your town has accepted an agreement with CVHS.

Vermont requires that each town maintain a holding area for stray companion animals.  Many towns contract with Veterinarians, Animal Control Officers, private rescues, or other shelters. CVHS offers the option of stray agreements for a nominal fee to each town in Washington and Orange Counties. CVHS serves as a holding facility for about 25 towns in our area. Officials from those towns have access to our facilities 24 hours a day, 7 days a week to  bring stray animals in need of care.

If you know of a stray animal that needs shelter, please contact your local town clerk or law enforcement agency to determine the location of your town’s holding facility. We are proud to serve our community by offering stray holding and re-homing opportunities in addition to accepting animals from owners.

Vermont shelters like ours were created by small groups of thoughtful, concerned citizens who recognized the special needs in their communities.  Though stray animals equal almost half of our annual animal intake and are frequently the animals with the greatest needs, stray agreement fees only amount to less than 5% of our annual income.  With no national affiliations such as the ASPCA, or state or federal funding, we rely on the community to support our programs for the animals.

Please call 476-3811 x101 to report a stray animal and check your town’s agreement status. Many towns contract with other animal holding facilities.

If the animal is from a town that has an agreement with CVHS, we will schedule an appointment during our open hours for you to bring the animal in.

All towns with current agreements have 24/7 access to a CVHS holding facility. If you find a stray animal during our closed hours and cannot wait, please contact your town officials and they will arrange to have the animal brought in.

Some other resources to use if you have lost or found a pet:
https://www.facebook.com/lostandfoundvt
Town Clerk
Police Department
Craigslist.org
Local Newspapers
Animal Control Officer
Local Veterinarians
Petfinder
Local Radio Stations
And don’t forget to check with your neighbors!

Information you may need if your missing animal ends up in the care of CVHS

Rabies Vaccination and Town Licensing: Rabies vaccinations are required for cats and dogs by Vermont State Law and must be up to date prior to licensing with your town.  CVHS is required to ensure that every stray animal picked up from our facility has an up to date vaccination and town license.  If you are unable to provide the appropriate paperwork, we can accept a $50 cash deposit (separate from the Boarding Fines) and give you two weeks to have your animal vaccinated and licensed.  After 2 weeks the deposit is non-refundable.

Boarding Fines*: CVHS charges boarding fines at a rate of $75 for the first day for previously unaltered animals or $50 for the first day for spayed or neutered animals, as well as $25 for each additional day the animal is in our care.  For each additional visit to us, boarding fines will increase.  Boarding fines must be paid in cash or credit or debit.  No checks are accepted.

Collars and Tags: Having your pet wear a collar with tags is the best possible way to make sure you’ll get him/her back.  CVHS can provide you with a free tag for your pet, or you can have one specially made at a local pet store.

Microchipping: CVHS provides microchipping at a cost of $25 per animal, including registration for one year.  Microchips are a permanent form of identification that can be read by veterinarians, animal control, and animal shelters.  Please ask a staff member for more information.

YOUR LOST PETS:

If you have lost a pet, please send an email right away to pets@cvhumane.com containing all of the information below:
*PHOTO
*Breed/Color/Description–describe distinguishing marks
*Sex (including if spayed/neutered)
*Age (approximate is fine)
*Name
*Describe collar, tags
*Address where last seen (include town)
*Date last seen
*Your contact information  — Please indicate whether or not we may publish your contact information on our web site or in our Adoption Center for people to contact you if they believe they have found your pet.  CVHS has a stray hold period of 5 days only, so it is important to report your missing animal as soon as possible.

Reports will be posted for 2 months, please let CVHS know when your pet has been found.

We understand your concern and hope we can help reunite you with your pet.  Postings will be updated Tuesdays through Fridays.  It may take up to 48 hours for your lost pet to be posted on the website.

FOUND PETS:

If you have found and are caring for a stray animal, please contact your local town clerk or law enforcement to report the animal and determine the location of your town’s stray holding facility.

If you decide to continue providing care and shelter for the animal, please send us the following information and we will help look for his/her family:

*PHOTO
*Breed/Color/Description–describe distinguishing marks
*Sex (including if spayed/neutered if known)
*Age (approximate is fine)
*Describe collar, tags
*Address where found (include town)
*Date found
*Your contact information  — Please indicate whether or not we may publish your contact information on our web site or in our Adoption Center for people to contact you if they believe you have their pet. We will update lost and found animals on the web regularly, please keep checking back.

Reports will be posted for 2 months, please let CVHS know if the pet has been reunited with it’s family.

Click Here to View Lost and Found CAT Postings

Click Here to View Lost and Found DOG Postings

CLICK HERE to read an article about lost and found pets and how to increase the chances of reuniting them with their owners.