If your dog or cat has gone missing in Spain, start searching the area where it got lost straight away, call the Local Police (Policía Local) and report the loss to the identification (microchip) registry of your region and to your town council: Spanish Law 7/2023 requires you to do so within 48 hours. Then share a poster with a photo, call the municipal animal shelter and local rescue groups every day, and keep looking: pets can turn up days or weeks later.
In short
- Search the area in the first hours. Walk around the place where it got lost and the nearby streets, calling it calmly. If you see it, do not run towards it: crouch down and let it come to you.
- Call the Local Police. The Local Police and the municipal collection service are the ones who pick up loose animals. If it is on a road and there is danger, call 112.
- Report the loss within 48 hours. Tell the identification registry of your region and your town council, and check that the phone number linked to the microchip is yours.
- Share a poster. A recent photo, name, area, date and a contact number. On the street, in local vets and shops, and in neighbourhood groups.
- Call and visit the municipal shelter and rescue groups. Every day or every other day, ideally in person: over the phone it is easy for staff not to recognise your pet from a description.
- Keep searching. Widen the area, renew the posters and check found-animal notices. Be wary of anyone who asks for money before showing you the animal.
In this guide
The first 2 hours
This is when your pet is usually closest. What matters is to search calmly and to be reachable yourself.
- Start where it got lost. Walk the surrounding streets, parks, doorways and car parks. Call it calmly and take something it knows (its food, a rustling treat bag, its toy). A frightened dog may not come even if it hears you: if you see it, do not run after it; crouch down, speak softly and let it come to you.
- Have someone stay at home or at the spot. Many pets try to go back the way they came. If you are alone, leave a piece of clothing that smells of you and its blanket or bed at the spot.
- Call the Local Police. Under Law 7/2023, art. 22, town councils must run a 24-hour service to collect lost animals. Call the Local Police (Policía Local, Guardia Urbana in Barcelona, Policía Municipal in Madrid) and give them a description and your phone number. If the animal is on a road or motorway and there is a traffic hazard, call 112, the single emergency number.
- Raise the alert on Mizuu. If your pet has a profile on Mizuu, tap S.O.S.: it appears on the public lost-pets board and you can download a poster as a PDF (to print) and as an image (for WhatsApp and social media). With Set out to the rescue you alert your family and neighbours within 5 km to search together on a shared map. How the neighbourhood search works.
The first 24 hours
- Report the loss (mandatory, within 48 hours). Law 7/2023, art. 24.2.g requires owners to report the loss or theft of a pet to the competent authority within 48 hours. In practice: notify the identification registry of your region (the microchip registry, see the table below) and your town council (ayuntamiento). Some regions set their own deadline as well; notifying both within 48 hours covers all of them. It also matters legally: the law calls an animal "lost" (extraviado) if its loss was reported in time, and "abandoned" if it was not.
- Check the microchip details. If someone takes your pet to have its microchip read, they will call the number on the registry. If you have moved or changed numbers, update it now (at your vet or on the registry website). If you do not know which registry the chip is in, search it on REIAC, the network that links the registries of all Spanish regions.
- Call the municipal shelter and local rescue groups. Ask your town council which centre takes in animals found in the municipality (sometimes a rescue group or a county centre). Also call rescue groups (protectoras) and nearby vets: people often take a found animal there to have the chip read.
- Make a poster. A clear, recent photo showing the whole animal, its name, species and breed, colour and distinctive marks, area and date, and a phone number. Add "Do not chase: call us" (a scared animal runs away). Do not include your address. If you offer a reward, never pay anything in advance. In Spain, a version in Spanish (and Catalan in Catalonia) reaches more people.
- Share it on the street and online. Put the poster up over a wide area around where it got lost, in vets, pet shops and other shops, and share it in local WhatsApp, Facebook or Telegram neighbourhood groups.
After 72 hours and during the first week
- Visit the shelter in person. Every day or every other day. Over the phone, a description ("medium-sized brown mixed breed") fits many animals.
- Do not miss the deadline to collect it. If the municipal service has picked it up, you will have a set time to reclaim it, paying the costs. Each region sets it: in Catalonia it is 20 days (Legislative Decree 2/2008, art. 17). After that, the law treats the animal as abandoned and it can be put up for adoption.
- Widen the search. Renew the posters (rain and sun fade them), widen the area and search again at quiet times: early morning and at night.
- Check found-animal notices. In neighbourhood groups, on rescue-group websites and on registry websites (several have a lost-and-found section).
- If you think it was stolen. Report it to the Policía Nacional, the Guardia Civil or the regional police (Mossos d’Esquadra, Ertzaintza, Policía Foral) and tell the registry too: the 48-hour duty also covers theft.
Microchip (identification) registry in each Spanish region
In Spain, dogs, cats and ferrets must be microchipped (Law 7/2023, art. 51.2) and recorded in the pet registry of their region. These are the official registries; most are run by the regional veterinary associations on behalf of the government. If you do not know which one your pet is in, search on REIAC. Most registry websites are in Spanish (or the regional language).
| Region | Registry | Phone | Regional deadline to report the loss |
|---|---|---|---|
| Andalusia | RAIA | — | 1 month, to the registry · Decreto 92/2005, art. 8.2 |
| Aragon | RIACA | Zaragoza 976 31 85 33 Huesca 974 24 20 22 Teruel 978 60 13 06 | 10 working days, to the town council (registered dogs) · Ley 11/2003 de Aragón, art. 15.3 |
| Asturias | RIAPA (Colegio de Veterinarios de Asturias) | — | 48 h (otherwise it counts as abandonment) · Ley 13/2002 del Principado de Asturias, art. 42.k |
| Balearic Islands | RIACIB | 971 71 30 49 971 71 30 44 | No regional deadline: 48 h (national law) |
| Canary Islands | ZOOCAN | — | No regional deadline: 48 h (national law) |
| Cantabria | RACIC (Gobierno de Cantabria) | — | No regional deadline: 48 h (national law) |
| Castilla-La Mancha | SIIA-CLM | — | 72 h · Ley 7/2020 de Castilla-La Mancha, art. 4.g |
| Castile and León | SIACYL | 987 25 23 22 | 5 days · Ley 5/1997 de Castilla y León, art. 4.5 |
| Catalonia | ANICOM (Generalitat) · AIAC (Consell de Col·legis Veterinaris) | ANICOM 93 857 40 00 (Mon-Fri 7:30-15:00) 93 561 70 00 (out of hours) AIAC 93 418 92 94 900 264 734 (AIAC, lost and found, out of hours) | 48 h, to the town council where the pet is registered · Decreto Legislativo 2/2008 de Cataluña, art. 14.8 |
| Ceuta | SIACE | 956 51 42 36 | No regional deadline: 48 h (national law) |
| Extremadura | RIACE | Badajoz 924 23 07 39 Cáceres 927 22 44 25 | No regional deadline: 48 h (national law) |
| Galicia | REGIAC (Xunta de Galicia) | — | 72 h, to REGIAC · Ley 4/2017 de Galicia, art. 21.1.d |
| La Rioja | RIAC La Rioja | — | 48 h, to the registry (otherwise it counts as abandonment) · Ley 6/2018 de La Rioja, art. 6.j |
| Community of Madrid | RIAC | 91 564 54 59 | 48 h · Ley 4/2016 de la Comunidad de Madrid, art. 6.g |
| Melilla | SIAMEL | — | No regional deadline: 48 h (national law) |
| Region of Murcia | SIAMU | 968 23 64 58 | 72 h · Ley 6/2017 de la Región de Murcia, art. 4.h |
| Navarre | RIACNA | 948 22 00 72 | No regional deadline: 48 h (national law) |
| Basque Country | REGIA (Gobierno Vasco) | 945 01 63 11 | 72 h, to the registry · Ley 9/2022 del País Vasco, art. 4.k |
| Valencian Community | RIVIA | 963 13 50 30 | 72 h to RIVIA and 48 h to the town council · Ley 2/2023 de la Comunitat Valenciana, art. 6.b |
Registry details and phone numbers checked on 21 October 2026.
When to call 112 and when to call the Local Police
- 112: if the animal is on a road or motorway and there is danger to it or to traffic, or in an emergency (trapped, badly injured in a public place). 112 coordinates whichever services are needed.
- Local Police (Policía Local, Guardia Urbana, Policía Municipal): to report the loss and find out whether it has been picked up. They activate the municipal collection service.
- Policía Nacional, Guardia Civil or regional police: to report a theft.
- Emergency vet: if you find it injured.
How Mizuu helps
- S.O.S. and lost-pets board: your pet appears on the public lost-pets board, with the area where it went missing.
- Automatic poster: an A4 PDF to print and an image for WhatsApp and social media, with its photo and details.
- Neighbourhood search: alerts your family and neighbours within 5 km, with a shared map, photo sightings and voice messages. See how it works.
- Placa Mizuu (Mizuu Tag): a collar tag with NFC and a QR code. Whoever finds your pet taps it with their phone or scans the code, sees its profile and can alert you with their location, without installing anything. It complements the microchip (which can only be read with a scanner): about the Mizuu tag.
For next time: what helps most to get your pet back
- A registered microchip with your current phone number.
- A visible tag on the collar with a way to contact you: anyone can read it without a scanner or a vet.
- Recent photos showing your pet whole and close up (useful for the poster).
- For indoor cats: secure windows and balconies. If it gets out, see what to do if your cat goes missing.
Frequently asked questions
How long do I have to report that my dog or cat is lost in Spain?
Law 7/2023 (art. 24.2.g) sets a maximum of 48 hours from the loss to report it to the competent authority. Some regions have their own deadline too. The safest option is to notify your region’s identification registry and your town council within 48 hours.
How do I find out which registry my pet’s microchip is in?
Usually it is the registry of the region where the chip was implanted or where you live. If you are not sure, the REIAC website (reiac.es) has a search tool that shows which regional registry a microchip number is recorded in. Your vet can also check it.
Who picks up lost animals in Spain?
The town council: Law 7/2023 (art. 22) makes councils responsible for collecting lost and abandoned animals, with a 24-hour emergency service, either their own or contracted to a centre or rescue group. That is why you should call the Local Police and ask which centre serves your municipality.
How long do I have to collect my pet from the shelter?
It depends on the region, which sets the deadline. In Catalonia it is 20 days, paying the costs (Legislative Decree 2/2008, art. 17). After that the animal is treated as abandoned and can be adopted, so call and visit the shelter as soon as possible.
Is a collar tag useful if my pet is already microchipped?
Yes, they complement each other. The microchip is mandatory and proves who the owner is, but it can only be read with a scanner (at a vet or the police). A visible tag, such as the Placa Mizuu with NFC and QR, lets whoever finds your pet contact you straight away from their phone.
Should I offer a reward?
It can help people pay attention, but never pay anything in advance or to anyone who does not show you the animal: lost-pet scams are common. Always meet in a public place.
Who wrote this
Written by the Mizuu editorial team from the legislation and official websites linked here. It does not replace advice from your vet or your town council. Published on 21 October 2026.
This guide is for information only. If your pet is injured, call an emergency vet.
Official sources
- Law 7/2023 on the protection of the rights and welfare of animals (BOE, in Spanish): arts. 3, 22, 24 and 51
- Spanish Civil Code, art. 611 (lost animals), in Spanish
- Catalan Legislative Decree 2/2008, arts. 14.8 and 17 (Portal Jurídic de Catalunya)
- REIAC · Spanish Pet Identification Network
- DGT (Spanish traffic authority) · 112 emergency number
