What to do when you find a stray cat or dog
By Mary Fluke
First, confine the animal so that it’s safe and won’t get hit by a car.
It’s easy to assume that any dog found loose is not well cared for. In many cases this may be true, but you have no way of knowing that without making some effort to locate the owner. After all, the person might be someone just like yourself who had some bad luck with a gate or a door being left ajar, or a car window that was open too far. Sometimes the pet sitter is the one who let the pet get loose—the owner might be out of town and not aware that the pet is even lost. Cats are harder since people may allow a cat to roam and may not actually realize that it’s missing right away.
Note where you found the animal. Check “lost” listings on pet finder websites including Animal Control daily. Post “found” notices in the same places, including a good picture.
Remember that not everyone has access to the internet, so make signs and post them in prominent places in the neighborhood where you found the pet. Just because someone doesn’t have a computer or a smart phone doesn’t mean that person is a bad pet owner.
Check for a microchip—that’s why we implant them, for just this type of situation.
Do what you need to do to keep the pet safe while you wait to find the owner. Be careful about letting yourself get emotionally attached until you’ve exhausted all the avenues.
Ownership of a pet is not based on microchip and possession alone. Legal ownership is actually based on a person being able to prove that the pet was properly cared for while in that person’s possession. This means documentation of licensure, vet visits, food purchases. If you decide to keep a dog and the actual owner turns up later, and can provide this type of documentation, you may have to give the dog back, especially if you can’t show that you tried your best to find the original owner.
One means of proving legal ownership is to surrender the found animal to Animal Control and then adopt it after the waiting period is up. You become the legal owner after you adopt it from Animal Control.
If your pet gets away from you and a kind person picks it up, would you want that person to try to reunite you with your pet, or would you think it was fine for that person to think, “Ha! The person who used to own this puppy must be an awful person to let it get loose. No way am I going to try to find the owner. I think I’ll just keep it, or give it to my cousin or my co-worker, or any other random person that turns up.”
*Don’t “steal” other people’s pets.
*Remember that any animal you find on the street could have rabies virus and not appear sick.
By Mary Fluke
First, confine the animal so that it’s safe and won’t get hit by a car.
It’s easy to assume that any dog found loose is not well cared for. In many cases this may be true, but you have no way of knowing that without making some effort to locate the owner. After all, the person might be someone just like yourself who had some bad luck with a gate or a door being left ajar, or a car window that was open too far. Sometimes the pet sitter is the one who let the pet get loose—the owner might be out of town and not aware that the pet is even lost. Cats are harder since people may allow a cat to roam and may not actually realize that it’s missing right away.
Note where you found the animal. Check “lost” listings on pet finder websites including Animal Control daily. Post “found” notices in the same places, including a good picture.
Remember that not everyone has access to the internet, so make signs and post them in prominent places in the neighborhood where you found the pet. Just because someone doesn’t have a computer or a smart phone doesn’t mean that person is a bad pet owner.
Check for a microchip—that’s why we implant them, for just this type of situation.
Do what you need to do to keep the pet safe while you wait to find the owner. Be careful about letting yourself get emotionally attached until you’ve exhausted all the avenues.
Ownership of a pet is not based on microchip and possession alone. Legal ownership is actually based on a person being able to prove that the pet was properly cared for while in that person’s possession. This means documentation of licensure, vet visits, food purchases. If you decide to keep a dog and the actual owner turns up later, and can provide this type of documentation, you may have to give the dog back, especially if you can’t show that you tried your best to find the original owner.
One means of proving legal ownership is to surrender the found animal to Animal Control and then adopt it after the waiting period is up. You become the legal owner after you adopt it from Animal Control.
If your pet gets away from you and a kind person picks it up, would you want that person to try to reunite you with your pet, or would you think it was fine for that person to think, “Ha! The person who used to own this puppy must be an awful person to let it get loose. No way am I going to try to find the owner. I think I’ll just keep it, or give it to my cousin or my co-worker, or any other random person that turns up.”
*Don’t “steal” other people’s pets.
*Remember that any animal you find on the street could have rabies virus and not appear sick.
