Lost Dog - Don't know what to do! [OWNER FOUND]

[Qinni]

My brother found this dog that was almost hit by a car or two from traffic overflowing off the freeway. *there was an accident today out of all days!)

I don't know if this dog as an owner or not and I'm at a loss of what to do but just keep it and look out for "lost dog" posters. I have plenty of food and water and I'm thinking of giving it a bath since its dirty. *poor thing* Any idea what I do?

Picture of the doggy

[Castile]

Do ppl microchip pets in the US? If so take it to a vet and they can read the chip and find the owner that way. They also might know the dog if it's from around that area.

[Vephriel]

I'd say contact your local shelter/humane society, that's usually the first place people will go to look for lost dogs, and they'll also know what to do. I believe you're supposed to surrender strays to them regardless, but I'd start there for sure.

[Dewclaw]

Little dogs like that usually have owners. That one looks like it recently got a haircut. Call local vets/shelters in your area to see if anyone had gone looking for the doggy. Most vets have boards you can post found info on. The owners must be worried sick.

[Qinni]

Mkay. I think my shelter has a vet there on some days. I'll see if it has a chip. Though my shelter will euthanize animals if they don't find a home though. :C

[Bonita]

Do ppl microchip pets in the US? If so take it to a vet and they can read the chip and find the owner that way. They also might know the dog if it's from around that area.

Some people do, some people don't. Mine aren't mainly because my moms against it for some reason, but once I move my cat is getting chipped since he likes to sneak out.

Definitely take him to a vet and see if they can scan for chips as well as let your local shelter know.

[Castile]

Do ppl microchip pets in the US? If so take it to a vet and they can read the chip and find the owner that way. They also might know the dog if it's from around that area.

Some people do, some people don't. Mine aren't mainly because my moms against it for some reason, but once I move my cat is getting chipped since he likes to sneak out.

Definitely take him to a vet and see if they can scan for chips as well as let your local shelter know.

Ah cool. Yeah I think it's law here (I know my state has the new "Cat Act" coming into force Nov where all cats need to be chipped and registared with the local council). I think it's a good idea, means if your pet is stolen too they can find you pretty quick to give it back

[SpiritBinder]

Ah cool. Yeah I think it's law here (I know my state has the new "Cat Act" coming into force Nov where all cats need to be chipped and registered with the local council). I think it's a good idea, means if your pet is stolen too they can find you pretty quick to give it back

I think this is a great idea too, it also regulates how many pets (cats and dogs) people have and they can then be held accountable/tracked down if having too many and not looking after them properly. It's win win all around.

[Wain]

That dog does look well groomed, and recently! It obviously has someone who loves and cares for it, so it probably found a way out of the yard and went exploring.

It's almost certain its owner would come to claim it at the shelter. But if you're at all worried you can always ask to keep informed and find a home for it if nobody else wants it.

[Qinni]

We will take it in the morning but by the sounds of it we might know this person. My mom might have seen this dog being walked by an elderly lady. She works at a cross guard so she sees a lot of dog walkers on the bike trail intersection.

[AdamSavage]

Mkay. I think my shelter has a vet there on some days. I'll see if it has a chip. Though my shelter will euthanize animals if they don't find a home though. :C

I don't agree with shelters that do that..

[Qinni]

Mkay. I think my shelter has a vet there on some days. I'll see if it has a chip. Though my shelter will euthanize animals if they don't find a home though. :C

I don't agree with shelters that do that..

Same here. :c

[Wain]

I don't know much about how they operate, but I believe that no shelter wants to. They're generally staffed by people who love animals and are trying to save them. But in a society where too many people treat animals as disposable accessories they can only take so many before they run out of space and money. It's truly awful.

[Bulletdance]

I'm gad you were able to get out of harms way. You could try taking and ad out in the local paper or putting flyers up in pet shops.

[AdamSavage]

I don't know much about how they operate, but I believe that no shelter wants to. They're generally staffed by people who love animals and are trying to save them. But in a society where too many people treat animals as disposable accessories they can only take so many before they run out of space and money. It's truly awful.

*shrugs* The shelter here isn't a no kill. I guess we are lucky here, as they use pet stores to help find homes for the pets so this lowers the load on the shelter. Most of the time the pet stores have at least a couple empty spots as well.

Q: Are you a "no-kill" animal shelter?

A: The term "no-kill" is a misleading term. Most "no-kill" shelters select the types of animals they take in, bypassing those that are ill or of poor temperament or health. In order for the OHS to be considered "no-kill" we would have to limit the types and numbers of animals we accept. The OHS is an "open admission " animal shelter that offers shelter and care to animals regardless of age, health, temperament, or space available.

[Tahlian]

I'm glad to see your update in the title that the dog's owner was found! So far as I know, most dogs that get out don't try to roam too far from their home base, so what you can do is put up flyers in the general area around your house/place dog was found that say "found dog" with a phone number and get people to describe the dog they're looking for. I think they say on the greyhound boards I frequent that a mile or so radius usually works well. (As a side note, that's also good to know if a dog you own gets lost, too.) Also, notifying vets and shelters is a really good idea, because people will call looking for lost pets, and can perhaps be reunited with their pets that way.


For the record, all my pets, whether canine or feline, are microchipped. After seeing the havoc that the tornadoes caused in the Birmingham area back in 2011, I swore that my pets would all be chipped so that, gods forbid something like that happens again, they could be quickly reunited with me by having their chips scanned when they got picked up. Permanent identification like that is never, ever a bad idea. Also for the record, I've been very happy with the HomeAgain chip company, if anyone's looking to get their pets microchipped.