Where to report a lost pet in Belgium: all options compared
Updated: September 16, 2026 · Reunika
The short answer: post a local alert on Reunika and mark your pet as lost in DogID/CatID (with your details set to public) within the first hour, then call your local police zone and the shelter used by your commune, followed by Animal Search and the regional Facebook group. Below, each option is assessed honestly.
No account. Starting the alert takes 30 seconds.
The options, one by one
- Reunika (reunika.com): a free listing in one minute, a live map and an A4 poster with a QR code; an optional paid alert on Facebook and Instagram around the place where the pet went missing.
- DogID and CatID (online.dogid.be, online.catid.be): the official registers, with public searches by microchip. They are not listing sites. They work when someone scans the chip, and only if your details are public.
- Animal Search (animal-search.be): free, geolocated reports of lost, found and dead animals, with an app; officially used by the police and shelters in Brussels.
- BinnenBeest (binnenbeest.be): a free central reporting point for Flanders and Brussels, organised by province and animal type. Vermiste Katten (vermistekatten.be): a volunteer database for cats across all provinces. CAD (cad-dieren.be): the Antwerp region, active since 1982.
- Pet Alert Belgique (petalert.be): the same network as in France, with one page per province; free with a delay, paid alerts 25/49 EUR.
- Facebook groups ("Animaux perdus/trouvés/volés en Belgique", plus regional groups in Dutch): many pairs of eyes, but posts disappear within hours and there is no map. Add a link to your listing.
- The local police (101) and the shelter used by the commune: the official route; finders have a legal duty to report or hand over the animal, and shelters have a short holding period.
The combination that works
- Post on Reunika and mark your pet as lost in DogID/CatID, with your details set to public.
- Call your local police zone and the shelter used by your commune; follow up daily (15-20 days).
- Post on Animal Search (plus BinnenBeest or Vermiste Katten) and share the link in the regional Facebook group.
- Put up posters from the second day onwards, in permitted locations.
Common questions
Why not just use Facebook?
Because a post disappears from the feed within a few hours and cannot be found by someone searching a week later. A listing with its own page stays on the map and collects sightings; groups amplify it, with a link.