What do you do if you find a lost dog?
my wife found a dog today while walking our dog in the neighborhood. the other dog had a collar, but no tags. no one else was around and he was running in the street, so she brought him back to our house so he didn't get squished. we took the dog to our vet to see if he had a microchip, but no luck there.
we called around to people we know in the neighborhood, but they haven't seen anyone with a dog like this.
i'm heading out to put up some flyers. what else can i do?
the dog seems to have been well cared for (good coat, no matting, clean ears and teeth), so i don't think he's a stray. we can keep him for a couple days to see if anyone responds to the flyers, but after that, we'll have to take him to the humane society.
anyone have any thoughts of what else we can do? thanks in advance.
by
carl669
asked 4 months ago
found ad in the newspaper?
most papers run them free
Contact local vet hospitals, and also your APS. Good luck tracking down the owner, but I go to say I'm not impressed if their really is no chip. That's just weak.
Keep an eye out if someone should put up a 'lost dog' flyer without seeing one of your 'found dog' ones. You might also check Craigslist or the newspaper for 'lost dog' ads.
You're doing more than I think most would or could. You're giving that dog its best shot at being reunited with its owner. Good on you.
There are different types of chips, and scanners, so your vet might not have had the right one. You might want to have the Humane Society scan the dog, even if you don't surrender it, because they have the best scanners. You also want to notify them, and any other animal groups in your area, because that is where people look. Thanks so much for doing this, you are an angel.
On top of fliers and CL, contact your local animal shelters and leave your information with them. The owner may show up there.
@pickypickypicky: beat me to it!
thanks for the suggestions everyone! we'll call the shelters in the morning. we'll also make some laps around the neighborhood tomorrow and see if anyone has put up lost dog flyers.
luckily, he and our dog get along really well so we haven't had any issues keeping them in the same room. we were also able to borrow a second crate from a friend so he'll have his own place to sleep tonight.
What kind of dog is it?
When my dog was lost we found her on Craigslist. Free and if you include a photo it's almost certain the owners will reply.
@mikekris: our vet thinks it's a papillon mix
@ohcheri: oddly, our vet said not to include a picture. she said she's heard stories of people going around claiming dogs that aren't theirs and then using them for bait dogs for dog fighting. of course, a person like that should be taken out back and beat severely.
thanks to the magic of neighborhood networking and some legwork, @mipatel and I managed to track down the owner (lives a couple blocks away). she's a little old grandmother that was VERY excited to see Gizmo!
thanks for the great ideas everyone. you folks are exactly the reason i keep coming back here. (oh...and for the awesome deals as well)
@carl669: congrats. lol @ gizmo being the dog's name. Had to laugh.
You can also use this opportunity to become familiar with all your neighbors' pets and have them become familiar with yours. It's a great reason to introduce yourself to neighbors you don't know and doesn't require daily interaction with one another--just an exchange of names, phone numbers and home addresses.
Just be a little wary of that one lady with 20 cats...there's one in every neighborhood.
I'd put something up on craigslist lost and found in your area.
@mipatel: Fortunately, the bait dog story seems to have no basis and appears to be no more than another urban myth. There is no factual evidence of this happening in any part of this country but the story's been around for at least 10 years. I don't if the folks that spread this fear-mongering garbage aren't worse than the threat itself.
(Actually, I do. They are.)
So glad you found the Owner! :-) Just a word of caution if this ever happens again...
Years ago a HUGE dog followed our kids to the front door, he was well groomed, had perfect manners, and even SMELLED good! We thought someone MUST be missing this gorgeous guy so we did everything possible to find his owners. The local Shelter was overcrowded and he was so large the Animal Control Officer asked if we would house him for a couple of weeks until she found his owners...
We did NOT want a dog, but we had a fenced yard and it was only for a few days...
10 YEARS later we realized his owners probably weren't coming for him. LOL He was the best dog we ever owned and we never regretted letting him adopt us.
I know this thread is old and the initiating problem is resolved, but I'd like to add another suggestion for future use.
Neighborhood kids are a great resource! They often know every dog/owner in the area and can at least point you in the right direction. Offer kids a reward for finding the owner, and they'll often help scour the neighborhood for you.
@jimeezlady: yeah. we started imagining life with 2 dogs for a few minutes there. on the plus side, they could tire each other out.
@magic cave: great idea! we'll keep it in mind for next time.
and, just a general request: @karma - if you're real, this makes 1 dog returned to his owner and 2 baby squirrels returned to their mother. so, just remember that the next time you come around.
This would all depend on how hungry I am at the time.
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