Lost & Found

Lost Animals

Please call the Hammond Animal Control Department if you have lost an animal. The information will be taken and logged, and kept on record for seven days. If your pet has not been located after a week, you will need to call to renew this entry every seven days. Animal Control will soon have an animal tracking software program to simplify this procedure in the future.

In addition to the Animal Control department, we advise contacting other nearby shelters and organizations as well. A partial list includes: The Humane Society; Gary Animal Control; East Chicago Animal Control; Highland Animal Control; Calumet Area Humane Society in Munster; Humane Society of Northwest Indiana in Miller.

Finally, local papers will (for a fee) list lost animals in their classified sections. The numbers to call are Hammond Times at 219-933-1010, and Post Tribune at 219-881-3200.

Found Animals

If any of the following applies, please call Animal Control for pickup:

  • Injured stray dogs and cats (no wildlife)
  • Vicious stray dogs and cats (no wildlife. vicious is determined by Hammond Police Officer to be growling, snapping, biting or attacking)
  • Remains of deceased stray dogs and cats, and wildlife (as an “EMERGENCY” at the discretion of Hammond Animal Control)
  • Please note: The Animal Control Department will not accept any live, owned animals.
  • If you are aware of illegal activities involving animals of any type, please contact Animal Control immediately!

When an animal is brought to or picked up by Animal Control, it is checked for tags or other identifying information. If identification is found, the owner is notified. In cases where there is no identifying information, the animal is impounded and housed at the shelter..

All animals impounded by Animal Control will be kept for a minimum of three working days (excluding Saturdays, Sundays and Holidays). Any animal not reclaimed by its owner within the legal impoundment period of three days shall become the property of Animal Control and shall be placed up for adoption for as long as shelter space permits.

An owner, or any person reclaiming an impounded animal shall pay a fee of thirty ($30) dollars plus ten ($10) each day the animal has been impounded, including Saturday, Sunday and legal holidays.

If you have found an animal and wish to try to find the owners yourself, local papers will list found animals in their classified sections for free.

The numbers to call are:
Hammond Times 219-933-1010
Post Tribune 219-881-3200