1. Report your missing pet to us, as well as other animal rescue groups or shelters and the vets in your area. Leave a detailed description of your pet and your contact details. If you don't have a photo, be as descriptive as possible and include anything that can differentiate your pet from another.

2. Send a message to our Facebook Page administrator (facebook.com/awspe) with a full description of your pet, a photo and your contact number in order for us to share your missing pet on our page. We can also recommend Facebook groups where you can post the details of your missing pet.

3. Print flyers to put up in public places and to hand out to your neighbours, or arrange a search party.

4. Visit our shelter and other animal shelters once you are aware that your pet is missing, and often thereafter. A collar and ID tag may be lost and unless your pet is microchipped only you and you alone can 100% accurately identify your pet. Your cat or dog could well fit the description of another stray.

5. Do not give up after a few days, keep searching!

6. Keep in touch with the shelters and vets that you have contacted and inform them if you have found your pet. If you have posted on social media please update your post when you have found your pet - it helps those of us who are checking social media groups and pages for possible matches.

1. Inform us as well as other animal rescue groups or shelters and the vets in your area that you have found a missing pet.

2. Take the pet to be scanned for a microchip at your vet or bring the pet to us where we will also scan the pet and advertise that he/she has been found.

3. Send a message to our Facebook Page administrator (facebook.com/awspe) with a full description of the pet, a photo and your contact number in order for us to share on our page. We can also recommend Facebook groups where you can post the details of the pet that you have found.

4. When a potential owner comes forward, ensure that ownership is authenticated. Ask for a photo of the pet and compare the two. An owner can also tell you about specific markings on the pet. Take down the details of the person who is claiming their pet - name, address and phone number.

5. Keep in touch with the shelters and vets that you have contacted and inform them if the pet has been claimed or taken to another shelter for safekeeping. If you have posted on social media please update your post when the pet has been claimed - it helps those of us who are checking social media groups and pages for possible matches.

We strive to take the best care of your pet while he/she is in our care. In order to do so our vet sees each animal in our intake hospitals on a daily basis. Our vet will also administer medication when necessary and may have to deworm and vaccinate a pet before he/she has been claimed.

If you claim your pet within 24 hours of being brought to AWS PE, we ask for a R100 fee to cover fuel and administrative costs. Our inspectors collect the majority of incoming stray pets from various veterinary clinics throughout the city on a regular basis. Regrettably, pet owners are requested to pay an additional R150 fee per day that their pet has stayed at the shelter. This daily fee is used to cover your pet's vet costs, shelter, administration and food at our shelter.

You have the option to purchase an AWS PE identity tag and collar at R60. The AWS PE identity tag is linked to our animal database and if your pet goes missing again and is found, the number will be used to identify that he/she belongs to you so that you can be contacted.

We can also microchip your pet at a cost of R220.