How do I get my emotional support animal back if they were adopted?

Question

My cat was adopted out. They got loose and I didn’t know they were at the animal shelter. They're an emotional support cat, and I have all the paperwork paperwork on them.

Virginia, USA

Answer

Shelters are generally required to hold lost and stray animals for a few days to give the animals’ “parents” an opportunity to retrieve their animals. After the expiration of the legal hold time (which varies throughout the country and sometimes even among municipalities within the same state), shelters typically have the right to rehome unretrieved animals. Worth noting, however, is a Virginia law which states, in part:

Any veterinarian, public or private animal shelter, or releasing agency that releases or receives companion animals for adoption or is authorized to euthanize companion animals shall seek to identify the lawful owner of each unidentified companion animal submitted to it, including, for any weaned companion animal that may be safely handled, making a reasonable attempt to scan the animal for an embedded microchip at the time of intake, at the time of assessment, and prior to disposition. If a chip is detected, the veterinarian, shelter, or agency shall make every reasonable effort to contact the owner by the most expedient method available...

Several other states have similar laws.

People who believe that their animal was wrongfully rehomed can commence a civil lawsuit to try to get the animal returned. These cases become more complicated and more difficult for a plaintiff (person commencing the lawsuit) to win after an animal has been rehomed, in part because the shelter no longer has the animal to return and courts have been reluctant to order the release of adopters’ contact information. I hope this all works out well for the cat.