Found A Pet

Found a Pet or See a Stray Animal? 
If the animal is not friendly, do not attempt to approach or entrap.  

Call: 
605-367-7000 for Minnehaha County and McCook County,
605-764-5651  for Lincoln County and Turner County  

If you have the stray animal in your possession, bring to the shelter to be checked for a microchip and placed in our care. You may place the animal in our care through our front office during open hours, or in our Night Receiving area after hours. 

It is illegal to harbor a stray, ( Keep a Stray Animal)  and also much more difficult for someone to locate their animal if they come to the shelter searching for their missing pet, as not all people have or utilize social media. The owner may have come looking for their animal at the shelter, and cannot find it if you have it in your care. We do encourage you posting a photo of the animal and the location it was found on the social media pages for lost animals in the area to get the word out and help the animal be reunited with their owner! 


When you bring the stray animals to the shelter, you will be asked to fill out a short intake form stating where they found the animal and when. This helps us reconnect pets with owners sometimes, so filling out this information is crucial. On the form, you can also mark if you are an interested adopter in this animal. We will add your name and number to the animal's file so that if they are not claimed by their owner, you will be notified after the animal has been evaluated by our kennel and fixed, if needed, by our veterinary staff. You will need to pay the adoption fee for the animal.  Before this point, we cannot release any information about the animal to you and cannot update you if the animal was reunited with their owner due to privacy laws. 


Sioux Falls and all surrounding counties require, by ordinance, that all stray animals are turned into proper authorities such as animal control or the local shelter. When a stray animal comes to our shelter or is picked up by Animal Control, the animal is then placed on hold to allow time for an owner to come forward. To see more about Sioux Falls City Stray Hold length of time click here


Holds on stray animals are determined by your local city officials and are not set by SFAHS. Please see or contact your local city official website to see stray wait hold times.

If you have any other questions, feel free to call our adoption center or email us.