Last Updated on December 19, 2025

Learn About PawBoost – Frequently Asked Questions

How does PawBoost work? Find answers to common questions below.

What is PawBoost?

PawBoost is like an AMBER Alert for lost pets. We help reunite lost pets with their families by quickly raising huge local awareness.

Millions of people have joined our Rescue Squad by signing up for localized lost & found pet alerts, and thousands of lost & found pets are reported to PawBoost daily. Most importantly, PawBoost has helped reunite over 2 million lost pets with their families.

Posting to PawBoost is free, with optional premium services available. Lost or found a pet? Put out your free alert by filling out a report on our website or by downloading our mobile app.

How do I post a lost or found pet to PawBoost?

You can post a lost or found pet by filling out a report on the homepage of our website.

What happens when I post a pet to PawBoost?

When you post a pet to PawBoost, here’s what happens:

1. Your alert is created:

You fill out a short form with the pet’s photo, details, and location. Once you submit, a PawBoost Alert is automatically created.

2. It’s shared with our huge network of pet lovers:

Your pet gets shared to the lost pets Facebook Page for your area (our most relevant City, County, or State page depending on last seen location). Collectively, our Facebook Alerts reach over 25 million people every month.

Your pet is listed in our lost & found database, which gets over 2.5 million visits per month.

Email alerts are sent to people who’ve signed up for lost & found pet notifications in your community – we send over 20 million of these per month.

Other pet lovers can share your post to networks like Nextdoor to spread the word even further.

3. You get a shareable post & printable flyer:

Your pet’s alert can be shared on social media, neighborhood groups, and anywhere else online. We also create a flyer you can print out to hand out to local businesses and post around your neighborhood.

4. People can contact you:

Anyone with information can reach out through PawBoost’s private message system, keeping your personal contact details secure. You can also add your phone number to your pet’s public listing.

5. You can upgrade visibility (optional):

PawBoost offers premium services to reach thousands more local people quickly.

6. You’ll get updates and tips:

PawBoost sends helpful recovery tips, reminders to check shelters, and notifications if someone reports a possible sighting or match.

Remember to keep us updated on the search – our network of pet lovers want to celebrate with you when you report your pet reunited! We’ll send regular email reminders checking up on your pet’s status.

What is PawBoost’s success rate?

Our success rate varies depending on where the pet went missing, how long the pet has been missing, the time of year, the type of pet, and many other factors.

On average, 52% of lost dogs and 46% of lost cats posted to PawBoost get reported reunited. Of those reunions, 29% are attributed to PawBoost (data from Jan-Sept 2025).

Data is self-reported by users who update their alerts to reunited.

What free services does PawBoost offer?

Below is a list of PawBoost’s free services.

PawBoost Listing

Your pet is listed in the largest and most active lost & found pets database in the world, which gets over 2.5 million visits each month.

Remember to keep us updated on the search. We’ll send regular email reminders checking up on your pet’s status. Marking your pet ‘still missing’ (or ‘still seeking owner’) from this email will bump them to the top of our lost & found.

You can keep your pet pinned to the top of our lost & found with our Featured Pet premium service.

Facebook Post

Every pet gets a free post to the lost & found pets Facebook Page for their area. For example, if a pet is reported missing in Raleigh, NC, it will be posted to our Raleigh, NC – Lost Dogs, Cats & Pets Facebook Page. If we don’t have a Page for your city, it will go to the most relevant County or State page instead.

Collectively, over 5 million pet lovers follow our local lost & found pet Facebook pages. These good samaritans want to help you spread the word by sharing your pet’s alert with their social networks, leading to more local awareness and more happy reunions.

Email Blast

Every pet gets an email blast to local Rescue Squad members.

Over 1.9M people have subscribed to our local lost & found pet email alerts. Odds are, there are many active Rescue Squad members in your own community.

PawBoost sends over 20M alert emails every month.

Mobile Alerts

We’ll send push notifications to local Rescue Squad who have downloaded the PawBoost mobile app.

Lost Pet Flyer

Old fashioned missing posters are still a great way to raise awareness. Once you report a pet, you can download a printable lost or found pet flyer that you can hand out to local businesses and post around your neighborhood.

What premium services does PawBoost offer?

Our premium services help your alert reach more local people, increasing the chances of getting your pet home.

Facebook Ads

Get your lost pet seen by thousands of local people.

We promote your pet’s alert directly into the Facebook feeds of nearby residents – far beyond the reach of a regular post. Your sponsored post keeps appearing as long as the ad is running, helping more people see and share your alert.

More eyes = more leads. And more leads means a better chance of bringing your pet home safely.

Instagram Alerts

Reach even more local people on Instagram.

Your pet’s alert is shown as a sponsored post from the official PawBoost account and pushed into the feeds of nearby users. It keeps showing up while the ad is active, and works best when paired with Facebook Ads.

Featured Pet

Make your pet the first one people see.

Featured Pet places your alert at the very top of our lost & found database for your city – or even your entire state. Anyone searching in the area sees your pet first, increasing the chances of a match.

Homepage Spotlight

Place your pet in the spotlight on our homepage.

Your lost pet is placed directly on the PawBoost homepage, the primary page people visit to report a lost or found pet. Our homepage gets over 80,000 views each week, giving your alert exceptional visibility when it matters most.

SmartMatch

Get real human help reviewing found pet reports.

SmartMatch uses experienced reviewers to manually scan found pet reports within 50 miles of where your pet went missing – including PawBoost alerts and pets taken in by our partner shelters. If we spot a possible match, you’ll get an immediate email so you can follow up fast. SmartMatch works well alongside our other premium services for both active searching and maximum local visibility.

When you subscribe to PawBoost’s premium services, you help us continue offering our free services and support our mission to reunite more lost pets with their families.

How do I cancel my paid advertisement subscription?

On Mobile:

1. Log in to your PawBoost Account

2. Tap the menu icon (three lines) and select “My Pets”

3. Select “View Dashboard” for the pet profile

4. Tap “More” in the bottom navigation, then tap “Manage Subscriptions”

5. For a single subscription, tap “Cancel Subscription” and confirm the cancellation. 

For a subscription bundle, tap “Edit Subscription”. Select “Remove” for each item you wish to cancel and tap “Confirm Changes”. To cancel all bundle subscriptions at once, choose “Cancel Subscription Bundle”. 

On Desktop:

1. Log in to your PawBoost Account

2. Click on “My Pets”

3. Select “View Dashboard” for the pet profile

4. Select “Manage Subscriptions” in the left-menu

5. For a single subscription, click “Cancel Subscription” underneath the premium subscription you wish to cancel and then confirm the cancellation.

For a subscription bundle, click “Edit Subscription.” Select “Remove” next to any item you want to cancel. To cancel all bundle subscriptions at once, choose “Cancel Subscription Bundle.”

In addition, the following actions will automatically cancel any premium subscriptions:

• Updating the pet’s status to reunited, deceased, rehomed, or surrendered
• Deleting your PawBoost account

What is PawBoost’s refund policy?

Our refund policy can be found in our Terms of Service here.

What is the Rescue Squad?

The Rescue Squad is a community of over 7 million pet lovers who help reunite lost pets with their families. Members receive local lost & found pet alerts and play a vital role by:

• Spreading the word through social media and word-of-mouth
• Offering support and advice to pet owners
• Helping connect people who have lost a pet with those who have found one

Rescue Squad by the Numbers:

• 5.5M+ follow or are members of our local lost & found Facebook Pages or Groups
• 1.6M+ are subscribed to localized email alerts
• 100K+ have installed the PawBoost mobile app
• The Rescue Squad is active internationally, including the United States, Canada, United Kingdom, Australia, South Africa, and Brazil

Want to help reunite lost pets with their families? Join the Rescue Squad today.

How do I contact a finder/owner?

Please contact the person who created the PawBoost post by going to the link above the picture on the Facebook post, or by clicking the ‘Contact’ button on the pet’s listing in our lost & found database. Be sure to send a message via email to the email provided, which will be in the format ########@pawboost-mail.com.

If you have already reached out to the person who created the PawBoost pet profile via email, please give them at least 24-48 hours to respond.

If you have waited 24-48 hours and still have not received a response, please reach out to us at support@pawboost.com and be sure to include the post information you are trying to contact, such as the PawBoost 8-digit ID # located in the left hand corner of the picture on the Facebook post, a link to the post, or the email address provided in the contact information for the post. With this information we may be able to better assist you.

While we cannot guarantee a response, we will do our best to help and facilitate a connection.

How do I add a phone number to my PawBoost listing?

You can add a phone number to your PawBoost listing from your Account section, or from the PawBoost Listing section of your pet’s dashboard.

It’s recommended to add a phone number to make communication between owners and finders easier. However, make sure to protect yourself against scammers by first reading our blog post about lost & found pet scams.

How can I protect myself against scammers?

We put together this comprehensive blog post on recognizing and protecting yourself from the lost pet scam.

Does PawBoost work with local municipal shelters or humane societies?

Yes, PawBoost is partnered with animal shelters and humane societies across the country. Partnered organizations have their stray pets automatically added to our lost & found pets database.

If you think one of these strays might be your pet, you can contact the shelter by clicking the ‘Contact’ button on the pet’s listing page.

Are you affiliated with an animal shelter or humane society that’s not yet a partner? Request PawBoost partnership here.

How do I update my lost or found pet profile to a different status such as Reunited, Re-Homed, Surrendered, Deceased, etc.?

On Mobile:

1. Log in to your PawBoost Account

2. Tap the menu icon (three lines) and select “My Pets”

3. Select “View Dashboard” for the pet profile

4. Tap the green “Report Reunited” button (note: this will give the option to change the pet status to Reunited or Deceased for a lost pet; or Reunited, Surrendered, Re-homed, or Deceased for a found pet)

5. Select one of the options and tap “Change Status” to confirm.

On Desktop:

1. Log in to your PawBoost Account

2. Click on “My Pets”

3. Select “View Dashboard” for the pet profile

4. Click the green “Report Reunited” (note: this will give the option to change the pet status to Reunited or Deceased for a lost pet; or Reunited, Surrendered, Re-homed, or Deceased for a found pet)

5. Select one of the options and click “Change Status” to confirm.

How do I update the location for my lost or found pet?

If the original location was incorrect, if your lost pet has been sighted at a new location, if your found pet has escaped, or if the lost or found pet location needs to be changed for any other reason, you can update the location by:

On Mobile:

1. Log in to your PawBoost Account

2. Tap the menu icon (three lines) and select “My Pets”

3. Select “View Dashboard” for the pet profile

4. Tap the orange “Update Location” button

5. Select the reason you would like to update the location

6. Follow the instructions to complete the location update

On Desktop:

1. Log in to your PawBoost Account

2. Click on “My Pets”

3. Select “View Dashboard” for the pet profile

4. Tap the orange “Update Location” button

5. Select the reason you would like to update the location

6. Follow the instructions to complete the location update

How do I unsubscribe from PawBoost emails?

On Mobile:

1. Log in to your PawBoost Account

2. Tap the menu icon (three lines) and select “Account”

3. Tap the green “Manage Preferences” button under Email Notifications

4. Unsubscribe from either all PawBoost emails or the specific type(s) of emails you no longer wish to receive

On Desktop:

1. Log in to your PawBoost Account

2. Click on “Account”

3. Click the “Manage Preferences” button under Email Notifications

4. Unsubscribe from either all PawBoost emails, or the specific type(s) of emails you no longer wish to receive

How do I delete my PawBoost account?

To delete your PawBoost account, which will permanently remove all pets/posts associated with the account:

On Mobile:

1. Log in to your PawBoost Account

2. Tap the menu icon (three lines) and select “Account”

3. Scroll down to the bottom and tap the red “Delete My Account” button.

4. Enter your email address to confirm permanent account deletion

On Desktop:

1. Log in to your PawBoost Account

2. Click on “Account”

3. Click the red “Delete My Account” button at the bottom of the page.

4. Enter your email address to confirm permanent account deletion

How do I remove a specific pet profile or Facebook post from PawBoost?

You will need help from a PawBoost team member in order to do this! Please email our Support Team at support@pawboost.com for assistance.

For the fastest response possible, please send your email from the email address used to set up the account, and include your pet’s 8-digit PawBoost ID in the subject or body of the email.

Can I automatically share nearby lost pets to Nextdoor?

Yes! The PawBoost-Nextdoor integration allows you to automatically share nearby pets (lost or found within 2 miles) to your Nextdoor feed. Become the PawBoost point-person for your neighborhood today by turning on Nextdoor Auto-Share.

How do I deactivate auto-sharing to Nextdoor?

Go to your PawBoost Account section and click the deactivate button.

What is the difference between PawBoost and Petco Love Lost?

PawBoost takes a community-centric approach to reuniting pets. We are the most used reunification tool by the public with 2k+ pets posted per day, we have the most reunions with over 2 million to date (compared to less than 100k for Petco according to their April 2025 press release), and we are the only service with a network of 7M+ pet lovers who have signed up for lost pet alerts.

PawBoost Alerts are seen by over 50 million unique people every month across Facebook, Nextdoor, email, and the PawBoost website and mobile app. Our huge network of pet lovers is what makes PawBoost unique. And, it’s what makes PawBoost so effective: Our reunited rate for lost pets – based on real outcome data from the 700k+ lost & found pets reported every year – is almost 50%, the highest reunited rate in the industry by a wide margin. When it comes to lost & found pets, the scale and impact of PawBoost is unmatched.

Importantly, the public almost always posts the lost or found pet to PawBoost before the pet gets taken into the shelter. This makes PawBoost particularly effective at intake diversion compared to other platforms – like Petco Love Lost – that primarily rely on the animal entering the shelter in order to be reunited.

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Have other questions? We’re here to help 365 days a year. Ask away at support@pawboost.com.