The Richmond Wildlife Center does not provide intake of companion animal canine (dog) or feline (cat) pets. Please contact your local animal shelter, humane society or cat/dog rescue organization to locate your pet.

If your pet is not readily identifiable by band, tag, tattoo or microchip, your pet will be held five days as required by law. If your pet is identifiable, it can be held for a maximum of ten days, to allow for additional reclaiming time for the pet owner. The Richmond Wildlife Center will make every effort to contact you regarding your animal. Reclaim fees apply in each situation and must be paid prior to reclaiming your animal. Unclaimed animals become the property of Animal Services of Richmond, doing business as The Richmond Wildlife Center and will be either adopted or placed in a suitable captive environment based on current state laws after the legal hold period of five days has been reached, or ten days for identifiable animals.

Richmond Wildlife Center volunteer staff members will work to locate owners. We search all local and national databases, forums, and ads for missing pet information. We call all phone numbers listed on any available identification upon the animal. We research band information to locate an owner. We scan all animals for a microchip. If a microchip is found we call the registration company for any available contact information and call all phone numbers provided from the registration company. We contact all government animal shelters within the Greater Richmond area for potential lost reports and to file a found report.

If your pet is missing, it is important that you contact your local Animal Shelter as soon as possible so that a missing pet report can be completed and shelter staff can be notified to look for your pet. The Richmond Wildlife Center contacts all local Animal Shelters to inform shelter staff when an animal arrives at our center after being found. It is also important that you visit your local shelter in-person and look for your pet on a regular basis. Please remember that it is the responsibility of the pet owner to search for their missing pet and make public notices as this exemplifies a wanted pet and a good loving home for their pet.

Owners should bring proof of ownership to include band, tag, tattoo numbers, photographs, missing pet advertisements and veterinary records when coming to reclaim their pets. Please bring identification such as a driver’s license, passport or other government issued I.D. A person over the age of 18 has to reclaim the pet. Animals can be reclaimed by calling to make an appointment to reclaim your animal Monday – Friday between the hours of 10am – 4pm, please call 804-378-2000 to make an appointment.

Pet owners are charged an admission fee of $12.00, plus an additional $25.00 if their pets were admitted through Animal Control. Boarding fees of $7.00 per day are charged for each day of boarding after the initial twenty-four hours of arrival at our wildlife center. We require EVERY reclaimed pet to have a microchip implanted at a cost $32.00 to the pet owner. Annual registration fee of the microchip will be charged at $9.00 to the pet owner. Any veterinary costs incurred will be passed on to the owner and must be paid in full at the time in which the animal is reclaimed along with all additional reclaiming fees as described above. Please note microchip fee and microchip registration fee are subject to change based on vendor pricing.

Richmond Wildlife Center veterinary staff will microchip reclaimed pets during normal business hours for a nominal fee of $32.00. Please be advised that micro-chipped pets cannot be tracked in “real time” (similar to GPS) and must be scanned by a Veterinarian or Animal Shelter upon entering either facility. However statistics show that microchipped pets have a very high percentage of being returned home safely. Please note microchip fee and microchip registration fee are subject to change based on vendor pricing.

All pet owners must be compliant with local, state and federal exotic/agricultural pet ownership regulations and codes. If you live in a jurisdiction in which you may not legally possess your species of pet, reclaiming your pet will be forfeited.