lost and found dogs
Do’s and dont’s
Safety
Containment
Identification
Contact Local Shelters and Post
Tips for Bringing a Stray Home
Reuniting, Adoption, or Rehoming
Common reasons a dog may become lost:
The dog may have been left unsupervised in a yard and dug their way out
Jumping the fence is a common cause for loose or lost dogs
Children often times may accidentally leave doors ajar
Maintenance (ex. landscapers) or construction workers accidentally leaving gates or doors ajar.
Dogs travelling in a vehicle and managing to jump out of the car window.
The dog’s owners may be on vacation, and the dog escaped the pet sitter.
Safety
Know the difference in a stray dog and a feral dog. Although feral dogs need safe haven as much as a stray dog, it is unsafe to approach any feral animal. If you encounter a feral dog, or are uncertain, contact your local animal control.
If you are sure it is a stray dog, but the dog appears aggressive or is exhibiting aggressive behaviors when approached, such as growling, snarling, or the hair is standing up on the back of their neck, it is unsafe to approach and attempt containment. If this is the situation, you should contact your local animal control.
The difference between a stray and a feral dog
Stray:
A Stray Dog is one that has had an owner and has just recently become lost or abandoned. Strays still have its owner kept instincts and depend on humans for survival. If not reclaimed soon however, a stray dog will soon become feral.
A stray dog will usually be wandering alone, and just simply exploring, or looking for a food and shelter. Many strays also lack socialization with other dogs which inhibits them from joining a feral pack.
Stray dogs will most likely appear to be recently cared for or have collar.
Whether or not stray dogs trust humans depends on the interaction they had with humans before they became stray or since becoming a stray.
Many will try to adapt to their environment, but they do not have the survival skills that feral dogs have.
Stray dogs are likely to be more fearful than feral dogs and are more likely to exhibit fearful behaviors. Some stray dogs are different however, and have been known to jump in people's cars, eagerly approach any humans, or even hang out in people’s yards.
Feral
A feral dog is one that was born in the wild or has been in the wild so long, they are no longer reliant of humans to survive.
Feral dogs have had little to no contact with humans. Therefore, humans are not powerful to them or are not part of their pack.
Feral dogs often travel with one or more other dogs or even as a family (“pack”).
Feral dogs are not always aggressive but will protect themselves if confronted. They are extremely intelligent and their main concern is survival.
Feral dogs have acclimated to their way of life and take advantage of what is put in front of them.
If you have determined this dog is safe to approach and contain, you must consider the following:
Reuniting with the owner may not be an immediate option.
Local shelters may be full or closed.
Vets or other identification facilities may not be available.
The animal may have issues. Examples: crating, food aggression, guarding issues, issues with other animals, issues with small children, separation anxiety, etc.
The financial responsibility while attempting to reunite with the family.
**If safety and/or safe harbor are an issue when considering containing the animal, you should reach out to your local animal control and post on social media before proceeding to containment. **
Containment
Ideally the stray dog wanders onto your property and makes itself at home, but containing a stray dog is not always that simple. Often, a dog can be found wandering the streets or a busy road. As tempting as it may be to slam on your brakes and whisk that dog out of harm's way, DON’T! Your actions may put other drivers, the dog, and yourself at risk. To ensure the best possible outcome for you and the dog, you should pull over carefully to a safe location or side road, put your hazards on, especially if you intend to exit your vehicle. If you are exiting your vehicle, and it is available, use a road hazard triangle or cone to make oncoming traffic aware and alert to your position.
Do not attempt to chase the dog; try to get him to come to you. Remember, dogs, specifically working breeds such as huskies, tend to love the chase, it’s a game. If a dog is running, its very likely it is because he wants to be chased or is chasing. Another good tip is to simply open your car door while remaining in the vehicle and to calmly call the dog over. A lot of strays are friendly and love car rides. If they willingly and possibly excitedly enter your vehicle, you’re in the most ideal situation.
If you must exit the vehicle to help the dog, a good technique to coax a dog into coming to you is to get down to the dog’s level, careful to not make eye contact and call the pup to you calmly. This may be your best chance when encountering a stray who is skittish, weary, afraid, or just overly excited.
Containing a stray dog may take quite a bit of patience and time, and you may even need some backup, but safety should always be top priority.
Safety Tips for Containment
Do not chase. The dog may run farther and more recklessly endangering themselves and other drivers.
Do not use food to coax an unfamiliar animal, even the nicest dog may have food aggression or an allergy.
Never grab a dog by their neck or their tail.
Do not force an animal into your car or crate.
Do not lift an animal that appears to be older
Do not attempt to leash a dog that appears weary, afraid, or exhibits signs of aggression. Always use a slip leash, when available.
If you have any doubt, do not risk it, seek assistance from your local animal control.
Areas to Contain a Stray Dog
In a crate, remember, never force a stray dog or any dog you are unfamiliar with into a crate.
The garage, if your garage has central AC and lightening, this could be a safe room to contain the pup while you search for their owner.
A fenced in backyard or porch, if you have a fenced in backyard or secured porch, you can temporarily contain the pup in there. Do NOT leave them unattended for any amount of time, it is likely this is how they became lost in the first place. Do not leave them out there for an extended period of time unless completely secured and has central AC, and under no circumstances should you leave them out there overnight. The backyard or porch should have a shaded area and water.
Most recommended area would be a kitchen, or den type area that is gated off. Baby gates work well in these situations. Be cautious and remove the trash can and any type of food they may want to get into.
Be cautious when leaving the pup in a room with a closed door and carpet. If they attempt to “dig” under the door, they will rip up the carpet.
Identify the Dog
Once you have secured the dog, check for a collar with ID or owner contact information. If you have attempted those contact options without success or the dog doesn’t haven’t a tag, your next course of action is to check for a microchip.
What is a microchip? Microchips are small devices implanted underneath a pet’s skin to provide unique and reliable identification. These are RFID devices, which stands for Radio Frequency Identification. It’s the same kind of technology used to make the scannable chip inside a credit card.
Any local pet store or veterinarian office can scan for a microchip. You should ensure that the facility is:
Using a universal scanner, as not all microchips are created equal and operate at different frequencies.
Scanning the dog thoroughly, as these tiny, embedded IDs tend to move throughout the body.
Not Scanning near any objects that can cause interference, e.g., computers or metal objects including the exam tables, as this can interfere with the accuracy of the scanning device.
Sadly, many dogs, are still not microchipped, and never make it back home. Microchips have started to change state impoundment procedures. States have slowly started to require that public shelters scan an impounded animal for the presence of a microchip before the hold period is triggered delaying the time period that the lost pet sold or euthanized. Some of those states have stated a requirement that the owner listed on the microchip database are properly notified. Please microchip your babies and don't become a part of this statistic!
Notify your Local Shelters:
If you have exhausted all efforts to identify the dog’s owner by looking for a tag or having it scanned for a microchip, you must notify local shelters and animal control. These are the first agencies an owner contacts when their dog has gone missing.
If the dog looks malnourished or neglected, don't assume that he has been callously abandoned or abused. You would be surprised how quickly a dog's appearance can change when they get lost and many dogs have been known to wander far from home, cross state borders, and have even been missing for years before being reunited with their owner.
Please consider that although we are hoping for the best outcome for this dog, that many other animals are purposefully abandoned, and these shelters have their work cut out for them. They will keep the found animal on file, (if you hold the dog in your home) but the work doesn’t stop there. Do not overwhelm them with weekly calls but check in weekly to make sure no one has come in looking for your house guest. If possible, make fliers with a picture to provide to the shelter and to post in nearby neighborhoods where the dog was originally sited and where they were finally contained.
Get Social:
Among many of the things you can do to help reunite a dog with his owners is to leverage the power of social media platforms. Many communities and counties have social media pages and websites to specifically help reunite lost animals with their family. Facebook, Nextdoor, Pawboost, Petfinder, Craiglist and Petco Love Lost are a few of the most commonly used platforms for reuniting families. These platforms usually have several local "Lost and Found" groups that are amazing at networking lost animals, and this is a very fast way to reach a wide audience. Please be prepared to repost the same post on many pages, groups and websites. It is worth the effort! Word of mouth is a powerful thing. Hopefully, the family will have already posted their pup as lost, and you will be able to assist in reunify them quickly. Please remember, not everyone is on social media or is internet savvy, so spread the word, and post those fliers!!
What a flyer should include and exclude:
A picture of the dog(s)
A brief description colors, breed, weight, gender, or other identifying characteristics.
Date and time found
Location or approximate location pup was found
Keep some information confidential so that you can verify the owner (such as the color of the collar, gender, or any distinctive markings AND spay/neuter status). It is also a good idea to keep the spay/neuter status confidential to avoid scammers trying to find free dogs to breed, especially if the dog is not altered.
Your contact information
Ensure the word FOUND is large and noticeable
Even if you ultimately decide you can not hold on to the dog while waiting to find the owner and must place the dog with a local shelter, the networking you do can ensure the owners are found faster and/or the dog gets adopted after the stray/hold period at the shelter is up.
Bringing a Stray Home
Safety, Safety, Safety! Consider the pups feelings, they do not understand the situation and may be terrified.
If you have other animals in the home, you should attempt to keep the dog in a different area than your dogs, at least for the first couple of days, if possible.
An initial meeting between animals can be tricky. When the meeting occurs, have each dog on lead, each with a calm, relaxed adult handler. Keep the leads loose, since tension on the leash might communicate to the dogs that you are fearful or anxious about their meeting, which will in turn make them more fearful and anxious. Walk the dogs side by side with a safe distance between the dogs. Then, cross paths (still maintaining that distance) and allow the dogs to smell where the other has walked.
Next, let the dogs meet. As the dogs approach each other, watch their body language closely, paying attention to the entire body. The dogs may need to do a little posturing or make a little noise, but if you don’t know how to tell the difference between dogs getting to know each other and dogs who don’t like each other, have someone there who does.
If the dogs have shown no signs of hostility toward each other up to this point, take them to an enclosed area, drop their leashes, step back and give them space to get to know each other. We have a tendency to micro-manage these interactions, but in general it’s best if we allow the dogs to work it out with minimal interference. Humans hovering and getting too involved can be frustrating to the dogs, which can make them tense and spoil the interaction.
For the most part, dogs in this situation respond well to verbal feedback from humans. For example, if the dogs are getting too tense around each other, saying something in a soothing tone of voice (such as “It’s OK, guys, cool your jets”) can help them to take it down a notch, shake off and start fresh. If one dog is getting too overbearing and the other isn’t correcting them, we can often help out by saying something like “Hey, knock it off!” If the dogs do shake off their tension and engage with each other in polite, appropriate ways, we can reward them for those behaviors and encourage more of them by speaking in a happy tone (“Good dogs! Well done!”). In most cases, that kind of verbal guidance is all the interference they need from us. We must only step in and physically separate them when they are becoming too excited and cannot give themselves a break, or when it becomes clear that their relationship is headed for conflict.
Be sure to feed animals separate, at least for the first few days. Remove all toys and bones to avoid the unknown.
Lastly, make sure the new dog has a safe area it may retreat to if it becomes overwhelmed.
Once at home, just like humans, even the best dogs need time to adjust to new members of the pack.
Be cautious and observant, but most importantly be patient and ask for guidance if needed.
Reuniting
Show Me Proof - If you decide to hold on to the dog until the owner is found be wary of people who claim they are the owner. Sadly, there are a lot of scammers and people who prey on situations like this and try to claim a pup that is not theirs for several nefarious reasons. So, when contacted by anyone claiming to be the dog’s owner, always ask for proof of ownership. Among the many ways that someone can show proof is through:
Pictures - who doesn't love to snap pictures of their dog?
Providing you with unique details that you withheld about the dog, e.g., color or design of the collar, special markings / birth marks on the dog.
Vet paperwork with identifying information. This is most useful if the dog was chipped but the owner failed to update the contact information.
Lastly, bear in mind that there is also a real possibility that the owners may not be found for a long time or ever, or if found, decide they no longer want the dog. If you're unsuccessful at reuniting the dog with his owner, you can always decide later on to surrender the dog to a local shelter or a rescue or even adopt him. Some rescues will also enable you to foster the dog until a forever home can be found for him so you can play a role in rehoming him.
Adoption or Rehoming
Unfortunately, there may come a time where it is evident the owners will not be claiming the pup or that all other options have been exhausted and you must make a choice to adopt or rehome. The number 1 question is “how long before I can legally adopt or rehome a stray dog?”
Majority of states have a holding period law. However, these laws are specific to minimum required period that an animal must be kept at a pound or public animal shelter before it is sold, adopted out, or euthanized. It can be as short as 48 to 72 hours and it also depends on if they have a microchip. These laws may not apply to pets that are voluntarily surrendered by owners or pets seized as part of a cruelty or neglect investigations, as there are often separate laws for that process. Most notably, these laws typically do not apply to private parties and organizations (rescues, etc.) that take up stray or abandoned animals. Specific jurisdictions may require surrender to a shelter or a formal report to start the period before you may claim the pup. *You should contact your local shelter or obtain legal advice before attempting to adopt or rehome a stray dog. * If the local shelter or legal authority says there is no state or local ruling in the matter, you should document your efforts to locate the family before proceeding in either fashion.
Contacting a rescue is an option but know that rescues are held to the same legal restrictions as a private entity, and if you are seeking their assistance in rehoming, substantial evidence of attempts to locate the owner is essential.
Do not attempt to rehome a stray without a professional unless you are experienced in the breed, know the dog, and have the time and resources required to ensure a successful adoption. Try to remember a stray dog has already lost one family, and when they leave your home that will be two families. Dogs have emotions and should be treated with the same kindness and safety concerns as we are. Jumping from home to home, is traumatizing and they can’t tell us how they feel.
Helpful Links:
Some links we suggest in looking or posting a found/lost dog:
PawBoost: PawBoost Lost and Found Pets - Find and Report Lost Pets Nationwide
Lost Pet Alert: My Lost Pet Alert - Find Your Missing Cat or Dog
FidoFinder: Lost Dogs - Fido Finder
Pet Finder: Lost And Found Dogs - Petfinder
Some Facebook pages
Lost and Found Pets Osceola County, Fl: https://www.facebook.com/groups/113263148819084
Lost and Found Pets Polk County, FL: https://www.facebook.com/groups/1604585929801795
Lost and Found Pets Pinellas County, FL: https://www.facebook.com/groups/1632490530371542
Lost and Found Pets Tampa Bay, FL: https://www.facebook.com/PascoCountyLostAndFoundPets
Lost and Found Pets Pasco/Hernando County, FL: https://www.facebook.com/groups/702177463280758
Lost &Found Pets Broward &Dade County, FL: https://www.facebook.com/groups/1482109215402057
Lost and Found Pets Florida: https://www.facebook.com/groups/391516797552838