What to do, if you found the lost dog

Written by: Anastasia Spevakina
lost dog on the street become very vulnerable. They don’t know where to find water, what to eat, and how to cross the road.  If you can do something to help a lost dog, please just do it and don’t just go away.

It’s believed that lost dogs are usually well-groomed and wear a collar, but that’s not true. Dogs, which live in the yard, don’t always have perfect hair and a nice collar. Moreover, some stray dogs can have collars too. That’s why a collar and good looking are not indicators of domestic dogs.

Typical signs that a dog is lost:

• the dog looks confused;
• the dog doesn’t know where to go (homeless dogs usually have a well planned route);
• the dog tries to approach people, anxiously sniffing  and not searching for food or care (looking for owners);
• the dog does not differentiate the sidewalk and the roadway (local stray dogs usually know how to behave on the street);
• the dog refuses to eat offered food (stress from loosing the owner is higher than hunger).

What to do if you found the lost dog?

Please, do not just go away, being busy with your own things. Lost dogs rarely survive on the street. The road, aggressive animals, protecting their territory, malevolent people – many dangers are waiting for dogs.

Try to take the lost dog to a veterinary clinic or an animal shelter. For sure, you can’t know if the dog is vaccinated or not, that’s why it’s better to take a dog to a clinic directly. Being in a shelter for animals, unvaccinated dogs have a risk to get infectious diseases.

If the dog is friendly to you, the best option is to take the dog home or to find hosts for him. Any change in the familiar environment for a domestic dog is a lot of stress, but at home it will be less stressful.

Be sure to offer water and give something to eat.If there is no time and opportunity to cook, you can just prepare a porridge and add soup or yogurt.

! If you notice any signs of dog’s illness, contact a veterinarian !

Taking lost dogs for a walk, be very careful, because they always try to run away and find their owners. Walk with a dog on a leash only.

If the dog had a collar, carefully inspect it, because probably somewhere on the back there is a phone number of owners.

Find a veterinary clinic, which can check the presence of an electronic chip. Electronic chips are good because of their database of owners and all information about the animal. You can immediately locate and contact the owners.

Check local newspapers and internet resources, contact your local animal protection organizations or shelters. Probably, owners are searching for a lost dog, and you can help them to find him.

And be careful! If you find the owner, don’t give him a dog before he provides any evidence of ownership (documents, pictures).  Tender dogs wave their tails to everybody, so don’t trust only this sign.

 

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