The right and wrong way to help lost pets
Have you ever seen a dog running loose with no guardian in sight? It’s upsetting to see the animal all alone. Did the dog escape the guardian’s yard? Did someone abandon the dog? That distress is even more acute if the dog is scared and in danger of getting hit by a car.
In some communities, especially more rural ones, it’s not unusual to see a dog roaming off-leash. In fact, it can be quite common. Here in the Bay Area, however, it’s not.
So when we see what we think might be a lost, abandoned or stray dog, we often want to help.
And that’s a good thing. But there are right ways to help and ways that can unintentionally make it harder for that dog to ever get back home.
Recently, a well-intentioned Marin resident was in Bakersfield and spotted a dog wandering around a sports field. After watching and waiting for the dog’s guardian to return, she assumed it was a stray and drove it 300 miles away to Marin. If she had brought the dog to the local animal shelter instead, she would’ve learned that the dog was microchipped and could have quickly been reunited with its guardians. While it eventually was returned to Bakersfield, the dog spent several days in a shelter with its family worried sick.
That’s why we strongly discourage people from taking a stray animal out of the county in which they’re found. Every community has a municipal shelter, usually referred to as Animal Care and Control. These shelters are responsible for reuniting lost pets with their worried guardians, among many other things. They can scan the dog for a microchip, post the information on their website and let distraught guardians know they’re safe if they call to see if the dog is there.
If you think locally, that stray dog has a much better chance of finding its way home. People look for their lost dogs where they live, reach out to friends and neighbors, and contact their local shelter for help. They don’t expect their dog will be a county or more away.
While dogs aren’t usually taken several hundred miles from their home counties, all too often, well-intentioned people fail to follow the right steps on behalf of that animal.
Sometimes the person who found the dog tries to find a new home for the dog themselves, which, while admirable, should only be done after all other avenues — including working with the shelter in the county in which the dog was found — before proceeding. Someone might think a simple post on Nextdoor is enough, but not everyone is on that site or checking it often, so again, it’s imperative to have the animal scanned for a microchip. That’s often their ticket home.
Sadly, people often rush to judgment when it comes to seeing a dog on the loose. But accidents happen. Dogs slip their leash, climb over fences and sometimes sneak out of accidentally left open gates. Never assume that because a dog became lost, the guardian isn’t frantically looking or doesn’t care about the dog’s wellbeing. The frightening experience of losing your dog is usually enough to remind a guardian to secure their fencing or keep a tighter watch on their little Houdini.
So, remember, if you see a dog running loose, try to safely contain the wayward pup if you can, then call the local animal shelter to report you have the dog.
That way, they can direct you on how to best help and, if the guardian calls looking for their lost pet, the shelter will be able to reunite them. Lisa Bloch is the director of marketing and communications at
Marin Humane which contributes Tails of Marin articles and welcomes animal- related questions and stories about the people and animals in our community.
Go to marinhumane.org, Twitter.com/ marinhumane, or email lbloch@marinhumane.org