So You Found a Dog…

June 24, 2014

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So yesterday I’m at the pound with Ashlee Price pulling a dog from a high kill shelter. While we were waiting for the dog to come out a family came in the room and a boy kept saying, “You have my dog!” “My dog is here!” He was so excited he must have said those two things about 10 times in 5 seconds. The lady calmly told him where he needed to go to get his dog and that was that.

However, it has led to today’s post because I’m here to lend a helping hand to everyone who finds a dog and has a big enough heart to pick them up. Just remember, not every dog is a stray. Dogs get out all the time that actually belong to people and unfortunately the first place they’re going to go is the local pound. Not Priceless Pets or your local no-kill shelter, but the pound. And most definitely, not your backyard. So what should you do? Here’s some insight…

Check For a Microchip:

This can be easily done for FREE at any vet office or pet store. They will scan the dog and if they are chipped, the owner’s information will be attached. You can call the owner and congrats, you’re a hero!! However, if the dog isn’t chipped or you can’t get ahold of the owners, you can move on to the next step which is…

Take The Dog to Your Local Shelter:

Yes, I mean the pound. The same pound where we pull dogs from to bring to Priceless Pets to save them from being euthanized. No, I’m not a fan of those places either but like I said earlier. That dog you found may belong to someone else and that’s the first place they’re going to look! Priceless Pets is not contracted by the city to take in strays and, chances are, neither is your local no-kill shelter. I think most people think that the dog is going to get euthanized the second they are brought there. BY LAW, they must put a stray hold on any animal brought into the pound. Most pounds are on a 7 day stray hold but everyone is different. If the dog looks like a pure bred dog (husky, lad, retriever, beagle) contact a breed specific rescue and they too will keep an eye on the dog. Make sure you give all the information on your paperwork to the rescue. In the meantime, you can make signs and put them up around your neighborhood. You can contact your local no-kill rescue so they can track the dog’s progress. Use your social media to network the dog but keeping the dog in your backyard will not aid in finding the owner of this dog. Now, if after the stray hold is over, and nobody has come to for this dog; Feel free to adopt the dog. You can always foster the dog at your home until you find a home for the dog or you can just welcome in a new family member! If you cannot adopt the dog, you’ve already contacted other rescues and hopefully the dog gets picked up.

I know some of you were hoping this would be a sure fire way to keep the dog from being euthanized but sadly it’s not. However, following these steps will greatly increase the dog’s chances of living and hopefully being reunited with their family!

And I hate to sound like a broken record but the only way we can fix this problem is we fix our animals! The more animals that get spay and neutered, the less animals we will have in the pound. Yes, it’s that simple!