What Do I Do If I Find A Lost Dog?

If you are a person who is not indifferent to meeting a lost dog on the street, you will surely wonder what is the best thing you can do to help the animal.

We share some options.

What to do if you find a lost dog

The first thing you should do is try to identify the animal to establish if it was lost or abandoned. Follow the next steps:

• Approach him very calmly so as not to scare him and speak affectionately to gain confidence.
• Another option is to offer him food, as he will surely be hungry.
• If it allows you to touch it, see if it is wearing an identification tag. If so, it is very likely that you can easily contact their owners, who will surely be looking forward to it.
• Don’t lose hope if you’re not wearing an ID necklace. Maybe it has a microchip where the information about its owners should appear.

• Try putting a leash on him to transport him to a vet and have him read the data on the chip. Remember that you must do it for free.

What do I do if the animal is not identified?

Although it is mandatory that dogs carry a microchip for proper identification, it may happen that the animal you found does not have it. In that case, do not give up the option of continuing to search for their owners.

Try the following options:

• Take a photo of it and put up posters in the places near where you found it with information so that they can contact you.
• Post the information on lost and found pet sites on the internet.

• Check these sites regularly to check a response to your ad or to check for lost dog announcements that their owners may have made.
• Also use social networks and ask your contacts to help you in the task of sharing the information.
• Ask local radio or television stations to broadcast information about the found animal.

Meanwhile

While you wait to find the owners of the dog, you must decide what to do temporarily with him.

If you can’t make a space for it in your home, find out if there are neighbors, friends or family who can host it for a while.

Exhausted these possibilities, another alternative is that you take it to an animal shelter, but they are usually crowded. If they can’t receive it, leave the sign with the contact details anyway, in case someone comes there looking for the dog.

Alternatives if the dog’s owners do not appear

Consider not having the lost dog’s owners show up.

If you don’t want or can’t adopt him, try finding him a new home.

Exhausted the possibilities between the closest people, go back to using the same means that you used to give the information about the animal that you had found.

Insist with the protectors. Although they do not have space to receive it, they tend to try to place the abandoned pet with new owners.

If you decide to adopt …

If you finally decide to adopt the puppy you found, keep in mind that you will have to take a series of responsibilities with him.

• Go to the vet once more to properly identify it.

• The doctor should also carry out a general check-up, deworm him and indicate a vaccination schedule.
• Also ask him about the best options to feed him properly.

The abandonment of pets, a reality that grows

Unfortunately, the abandonment of animals is increasing every day. The bad economic situation does not help in this regard and this is how the former pets are left homeless.

There are also cases of irresponsible possession. Some consider pets as objects that can be used and thrown away when bored with them.

For these reasons, the protectors cannot cope and, in many municipalities, the option of slaughtering animals that are not claimed is still being used.

No to indifference

Given this scenario, the worst thing you can do if you come across a lost dog on the street is to walk by.

Indifference will not help solve the problem. Try to be part of the solution.