Losing a dog is a nightmare for any dog owner. But what to do if you find a lost dog?
If you see an unknown dog wandering along the road in your neighborhood, the first steps would be:
- get the dog away from any danger and
- meet its basic needs, such as water and food.
However, you will want to assess the situation and earn the dog’s trust before doing anything.
After all, the dog may be traumatized, and as a result, it can run or bite you, for example.
This post will give you some tips to help you reunite a lost dog with its family. So if you found a lost dog, keep reading!
Tips on what to do if you find a lost dog
Safety
It is important to note that your safety is a top priority!
If the dog’s body language tells you it may not be feeling very friendly at the moment, don’t take any risks.
Lost dogs may sometimes be frightened and act skittish, jumpy, or defensive, even if they are completely confident dogs at home.
In this cases, it’s better to try to take a picture or a video.
This way, even if the dog runs off, you can share information about exactly where the dog was seen and which direction it traveled.
Next, call animal control, rescues, or the non-emergency police line for your area so they can help get the dog to safety, send someone to help, or make a report of the dog having been in that location.
If you are in a safe enough area and the dog is giving you signals that it wants your help, try encouraging the dog to come closer to you by using treats. You can even use a crinkly bag of potato chips in a pinch!
Identification
Once the dog is in a safe place, and its needs have been met, start checking for identification.
Take a close look at their collar if they have one to see if the owner’s contact info is on there.
If not, or if they don’t have a collar, take the dog to a shelter, rescue, or a vet’s office so they can scan the dog for a microchip. It is a simple, pain-free process.
If the dog has a microchip, you’ll be able to get the name and contact information of the owner.
Bring the dog to your home or to a rescue
If the dog is friendly and you want to bring it home with you until you can find the owner, it is best to keep it away from your other pets until you know more about its behavior and until it has gotten a clean bill of health from a vet.
Dogs that have been lost can easily pick up any number of illnesses, parasites, fleas, or ringworm.
If you have a spare room, bathroom, or temperature-controlled garage, you can keep the dog there until you can be sure of its health.
Alternatively, maybe you live in an apartment that doesn’t allow pets or have other circumstances that make it unrealistic for you to care for the lost dog. That is ok!
Shelters are usually the first place owners will look for their dog. So there is nothing wrong with contacting your local shelters and rescues and asking them for help and what their process is for found pets.
Some may require the dog to be evaluated and quarantined for several days or put on hold for a certain amount of time to give the owners time to find the animal before putting the animal up for adoption.
Whether you take the dog in yourself or put it in the care of a shelter, it is always helpful to continue spreading the word about the found pet and where it is now.
Using social media
Sometimes though, the dog may not have a collar or a microchip, or you may not be able to use the contact info for some reason, like an old out-of-service number.
In these cases, you may need to do a little bit more leg work and start using the internet or flyers to let people know about the dog.
The easiest place to start is by using social media like Facebook and posting a picture of the lost dog, the location it was found, and how people can contact you.
You can post this on your personal profile page, and you can also post it in various community pages.
Many cities, counties, regions, and even states, have Facebook groups that act as a dedicated place for lost and found pets.
People will post that they have found a dog on these sites, and people will post that they have lost a dog and ask for help finding the dog on these sites.
Fliers
Of course, the old fashion way is always an option, too!
You can make a flier with a picture of the dog, a written description of when and where you found the dog, and your contact information.
It’s a good idea to tape the flyers up in different places in the areas around where you found them, like lamp posts and fences.
Also, you can take the flier to local pet stores, shelters, and vet offices and ask if they can display it somewhere where people can easily see it.
Create a found pet profile on Bleppy
And, of course, create a found pet profile on the Bleppy app!
All you need to do is download the Bleppy app and create your own account with your information.
Once you log in to your account, click the “plus” button and select “pet”.
There you will be able to add a picture of the pet you found, enter information about where you found the pet, and ask people to send you a message if they have any information about the pet.
It’s so simple and another great option for spreading the message about the pet to find its owners!
Ask for proof of ownership
As a side note, make sure no matter where you share information about the found dog, that you ask for proof of ownership in the event the owner steps forward.
This could look like vet bills, dog photographs, registration papers, etc.
Unfortunately, some people with bad intentions take advantage of good people who only want to help.
In some areas, there has been a rise in “pet flippers,” or people who falsely claim that a found dog is theirs only to turn around and sell the dog for a profit.
Asking for a valid proof of ownership should help weed out schemers like these.
Meet the owner in a safe place
When meeting a stranger, being aware of your surroundings and staying safe is essential. You can do a few simple things to ensure you’re staying safe.
First, try to meet in a public place where other people are around. If possible, don’t go by yourself.
Secondly, make sure you have your phone with you and that it’s charged in case you need to call for help.
Finally, trust your gut; if something feels off, it is better to walk away.
Summary: What to do if you find a lost dog?
When good people try to help lost dogs, we are reminded of how much good there is in the world!
If you find a lost dog and want help, just remember that safety is a priority!
After ensuring your safety and the dog’s safety, the first step is to look for identification for the dog by looking for information on a collar or a microchip.
Until the owners can be found, you can keep the dog with you and ask a rescue for help.
Posting on social media, making fliers, and creating a found pet profile on Bleppy are all perfect ways to help get a lost dog back home faster!
We hope this post helped you understand better what to do if you find a lost dog.
