Lost and Found

What to do if you Find or Lose a dog

by Pam Green , © 2013

Having recently been through yet another Found Dog experience , I thought I'd write up some strategies and comment on the need for better laws. I will go through the Found process first, as the Lost process and Loss Prevention process are logical corollaries to what a reasonable finder would do.
Although this article speaks in terms of dogs, much of it applies to cats as well. However a "found" cat may be someone's outdoor pet which wanders and returns home or may be a feral cat that has no owner at all. Could also be a genuinely lost cat, ie a cat normally kept strictly indoors but somehow got out. It can be very hard to tell.

When you find a dog (or other pet)

When you find a pet , your first thought should be that this is a LOST pet whose human family wants to find it, NOT that it is an abandoned pet or feral animal. Even when the pet appears to be in poor shape or appears to be afraid of you, it's still quite possibly a lost pet. Exception : cats with one ear "tipped" , ie cut off, and shy of humans are more likely to be feral cats that have been through a TNR (trap, neuter, release) program.

steps to take

I've tried to arrange these steps in the most likely order in which you'd do them, but it can vary, except that the first two are really obviously the first things to do. Notifying the Animal Services is an essential step and must be done ASAP.

• 1. Secure the dog with leash or rope, then ideally confine dog safely so he doesn't get hurt or run off while you try to locate owner.
• 2. Immediately look for a collar and a phone number on a tag or embroidered into the collar. If dog is wearing a body harness, the tag might be attached to the harness rather than to a collar. (Some dogs can't wear a collar.) If you find a phone number, phone it immediately to let owner know you have the dog and make arrangements to meet. If you are among that vast majority who always have their cell phone at hand, you can phone within moments of laying hands on the dog. If no one answers in person, it's likely they will have a message machine. If their line is continuously busy, you can ask the phone Operator to break in because you have found a lost dog (I did this once ; owners were phoning all over trying to find their dog and were thrilled that I had him safe.).
  If all you find is a Rabies tag, phone that vet clinic and ask to bring dog there so they can inform owner. If there's a license tag, phone Animal Services to report dog found and ask them to contact licensed owner. If the contact phone number is out of date, it's possible that Animal Services might be able to get the new info from the phone company (don't hold your breath on this.)
• 3. Scout the area around where you found the dog to see if there are any LOST DOG posters that could be this dog. If so, use that information. How far you scout is up to you, but at least try the immediate vicinity. And ask people you meet if they might happen to know this dog and who owns it or if they might have seen a poster somewhere and if so where was it.
  Note for cats : cats tend not to travel very far, so it's likely that this cat's home is not very far from where you found it.
• 4. If there is no phone number, take the dog to any local veterinarian or to the Animal Services shelter and ask that the dog be scanned for a microchip. This is an essential step.
  Any vet will be happy to do this !. The vet's staff may also be able to help you identify the breed or likely mix. You might also ask the vet staff to help roll the dog over to look for a tattoo on dog's inner thigh. Tattoos are pretty much a thing of the past now that microchips are available, but a few breeders still do tattoo their progeny and dogs registered in Canada will be tattooed. If dog is a bitch , also ask if a spay scar is evident, as that will help you write a found ad. It will be pretty obvious if a male is neutered : what you see is what you've got. If you are truely in luck, if Goddess is smiling, it's posible that the dog will be recognized as being a client dog, and if so it's likely the vet can take charge until owner can arrive at the office.
• 5. Report the dog as a Found Dog to your local Animal Services. This is an absolutely essential step and is required by law. There may be more than one such shelter in your area and if so you should inform ALL of them. Sometimes the Lost and Found list is kept by SPCA or Humane or other shelter support group rather than by Animal Services. If possible e-mail them a photo of the dog. A photo is especially important if there is any issue of breed identification (though don't expect shelter people to be accurate in identifying any but the most common breeds) . Also helpful if the dog is at all unusual, distinctive in appearance, as the owner should recognize the photo.. One hopes the shelter has an on-line Lost/Found database that persons seeking lost pet could search. If shelter is not open when you find the dog, do this step at earliest possible time. Usually it is at least possible to leave a phone message with brief description of the dog and your own phone number.
• 6. Post the dog to any Lost and Found Pet web sites that people in your area tend to use. Animal Services may be able to advise you on which ones are useful. If you have a Petfinder or PetHarbor account (or know someone who has such an account) you might also post the dog on that, but you might wait a few days before doing that to see if other efforts produce an owner. You could also post the dog as Found on your local Craigslist and search through any Lost postings there. I had very good luck posting my latest dog to our local Dog Park e-list, as one of the people on it was actually neighbor to the owner and responded to me a day later. (Unfortunately the owner did not want the dog back , but it took two weeks to get owner to sign the dog over. The dog was then quickly adopted.) I also notified an e-list that is mostly shelter people and rescue people and other animal advocates. And I consulted some rescue people of my best guess as to breed ( I had guessed maybe Visla, but I didn't know if they came in brindle color), and they informed me back as to what breed this dog really was (Plott Hound), which then became helpful to further efforts. So my advice is network, network, network. Goddess bless the Internet.
• 7. Contact the Classified Ad department of your most popular local newspaper and ask if they run free Found Ads. Most will run at least 3 days and some much longer (my local paper will run it a month for free !). Give enough description that the owner would take notice, but hold back some details so you will be able to verify legitimacy of claimants later (see below).
• 8. Phone local vets to ask if any of their clients might have lost this dog (and also if they have client who might want to adopt the dog if owner is never found or does not want the dog back). This is more effective for dogs of less common breeds. (note : I have found at least one owner by this method; owner was also phoning every vet in town.) Ask if you could e-mail a photo for vet to post on their bulletin board as a Found. If dog is of a type likely to need professional grooming, phone local groomers.
• 9. Get a photo that will reproduce well in greyscale and make up a flyer / poster. Top line FOUND Dog. Then the photo. Then the description. Hold back some details, things any real owner would be sure to know. Now make multiple copies, either on your own printer or go to the cheap photocopy shop. (I said greyscale because that keeps your printing costs down as compared to color.) Then post these at all the pet stores and dog parks and all over the area where you found the dog. This is a laborious step, and also means that later you will have to take the posters down again. That's why I am leaving this step until after you've done the easier ones. Also while you are posting your flyers , you may encounter Lost Dog flyers posted by the owner or even the owner beginning to put up posters (that's happened to me).

If someone contacts you saying they think it is their dog

When someone contacts you saying they think it is their dog , shout "Hallejullia !!!" and then ask them for some details that you have NOT given in your ads and posters. Ask them how they plan to demonstrate to you that they are indeed the owner ; a genuine owner will be glad that you are being careful about this. (Eg perhaps there is a marking or a scar. Perhaps the dog knows some unusual command.) Of course if the dog is not one of those who greets anything remotely humanoid as a long lost best friend, the dog's reaction to seeing owner may be all the evidence you need An ideal way is to arrange to meet them at their vet's office so the vet staff can confirm that it is their dog. Meeting at a vet's office (or at the Police station) is also a way to assure your own personal safety. You have to be the judge of whether such precautions are needed.

Be sure to preach to them the need for collars, tags, microchips if the dog lacked these. Do this in a nice way, but make sure to do it. The owner should be receptive to this lesson at this moment ; it should be the Queen of Teachable Moments.

Note : I have been the finder and refuge of a number of lost dogs and in all cases but one, I have been able to make contact with the owner within 2 days and the owners have been very grateful to get their dogs back safely. Only once did an owner not want their dog back and in that case we got them to surrender the dog for placement. So usually if you can hold a dog two or three days, you will be performing a wonderful thing for that dog and that owner.

Note : legally you are on absolutely safe grounds if you take the dog directly to the pound , aka Animal Services shelter, at its first open time after finding the dog. You will be safe, but the dog will be put in danger. Under California law as it currently stands you are supposed to take the dog directly to the pound, but in practice every AS is likely to be happy to have you report the dog to them and then keep the dog safe in your home, thus not adding to their load or over-load and giving the animals they do have a better chance to survive until adopted. I encourage you to at least keep the dog for a few days if you are able to do so without risk or harm to your own dogs or cats or other family members.. That can mean having someplace separate to put the found dog. The ideal place is a kennel run or an empty horse stall, but any separate area will do, even room in the house with door closed..On a chain to a tree in your front yard if that's the best you can do. Or if your own dogs are quite dog-friendly and the found one seems to be likewise, he can just join the pack in the house. Use your best judgement. And if you have a wire basket muzzle that fits the found dog, using one for introductions would not be a foolish precaution.

If no one responds, no owner appears

If no owner has appeared in response to these efforts in several days (assuming you are able to keep the dog safely for several days), now you have to decide whether to turn the dog over to Animal Services and if so are you willing to take the dog back or get it into a rescue once the "hold for owner re-claim" period has expired. Will the AS agree that you are to be notified if owner does not reclaim ? The expiration of this hold time means that the previous owner's rights are totally cut off and AS is free to do whatever it sees fit, ie to put dog up for adoption, to put dog on "rescue only" status, or to "put to sleep" (KILL) the dog. So a dog taken to the Animal Service is put at some very real risk. At some shelters this risk is low and at some it is huge, and you won't know how bad that risk is in most cases.

Under the Hayden Act , all California shelters are supposed to hold dogs and cats 7 days for owner reclaim. However that requirement is currently under suspension, and most shelters are using a much shorter period, sometimes only 2 or 3 business days.

If you are willing to continue holding the dog, you must now find out what the legal requirements are in your jurisdiction for you to keep the dog listed as a Found dog or to keep making efforts to find the owner before you will be considered to have legal ownership. In California there is currently no statewide law on this, only that you must make "reasonable efforts" to find the owner, a standard clear as the skies of Los Angeles.
Some cities and counties may have local ordinances that specify a time period. The AS may tell you 30 days, but ask them to cite the actual law, ie what is the code section , so you can look it up. (There is no state law that specifies 30 days or that gives you undisputable ownership after 30 days, though it seems to me that 30 days of the kind of efforts I have described would be more than "reasonable effort". ) If they want you to keep the dog 30 days, then you have to decide if you are willing to carry that burden or if you would rather take the dog to the AS shelter, possibly with commitment to accept dog back from them (a) as one of their "foster home volunteers" or (b) as a rescuer or adopter after owner hold expires. If you take the dog as an adopter, in California under the Hayden Act the shelter must spay/neuter the dog before giving posession to you as adopter and you will be expected to pay the usual adoption fee, though you could ask them to waive this..

It's also time to start contacting Rescue groups that could be appropriate for this type of dog and see if they can accept the dog into their program. They may be more willing to do so if you are willing to foster the dog for them. In any case most will be willing to refer potential adopters to you, though they may (legally they should) require evidence that the dog is spayed/neutered first.

We need better statewide law for lost and found pets.

The law in most states favors turning found animals over to the shelter, but that can be a huge risk for the animal. We need laws that enable finders to foster dogs themselves while making good efforts to locate the owner, rather than turn them in to an over-loaded Animal Services system that cannot ensure the animal's survival or redemption by owner. We need a system that is fair to finders and fair to losers but that most of all gives the innocent and unfortunate dog the best chance to survive and either get back home or have a new and better home.

Last year, in the 2011-2012 session , there was a bill, AB 2536 , before the California state legislature that would have provided for a 14 day holding period for pet finders. If the finder presented the pet to their local AS (to be examined and scanned and probably photographed and entered into the Found database), then after 14 days the pet would be legally theirs. This was an excellent and reasonable proposal. Unfortunately it did not get enacted. I'd like to see this re-introduced, perhaps with the change that the scanning and photographing could also be done at a licensed vets and then reported to the AS for posting into their web site's Lost and Found. Given that 7 days is considered sufficient for a shelter to hold a pet for owner re-claim, certainly twice that is more than enough time for a private citizen to carry that burden. Alternatively perhaps the 14 day hold-to-own priviledge should be given only to Rescues that have 501c3 status and to those who work under the umbrella of such an organization. The bill provided that the finder becoming owner must get the dog spayed/neutered and licensed within 14 days after claiming ownership.. That's reasonable, as state law already demands that all animals adopted out of shelter and rescues MUST be S/N.

(AB 2536 also provided that if the owner showed up later within 6 months could pettition to regain ownership. I would eliminate that or at least specify very strict criteria for regaining ownership. It's not fair to ask the finder-shelterer-owner to give the dog back to an ex-owner. And the ex-owner would have been totally cut off after 7 days (or less) if the finder had dropped the dog off at the AS shelter, so it's perfectly fair that 14 days in finder-sheltering should cut off the ex-owner.)

In California, information on bills presented in current or past sessions of the state legislature can be found at http://www.leginfo.ca.gov/bilinfo.html You can follow the entire history and revisions as they occur.

In a book , "Everything Dogs Expect You to Know", published in the UK in 2008, the UK law for finders of stray dogs is described..

• (a) The finder may return the dog to the owner directly if finder knows who owner is That's just common sense.
• (b) Finder may have local Dog Welfare Officer (ie equivalent to our Animal Control Officer) pick the dog up or finder may take the dog to local Police station if the animal shelter is not open. In those cases after 7 days the owner does not come foreward, their ownership is cut off and dog maybe transferred to new ownership, which might presumably include the finder as applicant
.
• (c)If the finder would like to keep the dog, finder must inform the local authorities of this and provide a description of the dog. The finder will receive a certificate that confirms that the report has been made, thus insulating the finder from potential charge of dog theft. If owner claims dog within 30 days, finder must give dog to owner but may ask for reimbursement of reasonable expenses. After 30 days without owner claiming dog, the dog belongs to the finder

The first two methods are essentially the same as we use here. It's this third metthod or some equivalent that I advocate we adopt here on a statewide basis. With the growth of the Internet since 2008, this process could be updated and improved by adding a requirement for finder to submit photographs either hardcopy or digital over internet to the local authorities. I'd also add a requirement for scanning for microchip either by a vet who reports to authorities or by the Dog Welfare Officer. .

If you have lost a dog

steps to take

Again, I am giving what seems to be a reasonable sequence, which might vary according to circumstances. But step 1, contacting all shelters and visiting each on that very first day is a step you must take immediately, and re-visiting the shelter at least every alternate day is essential if you are to save your dog's life. Widely distributed flyers with a fairly large specified amount REWARD are your best hope of regaining your dog.

• 1. Report the loss and e-mail a photo to all local Animal Services and to all Rescue groups for that breed or type. Report the loss to your own vet and to other area vets. Possibly also to groomers. Also to an dog e-mail lists that are local. (My local dog park list often has such posts.) Personally visit the shelter that SAME day even if they tell you there is no dog there remotely resembling your dog. If there is more than one shelter, you must visit ALL of them. This may be your only chance to get your dog back.
• 2. Contact the major newspapers about getting a Lost Dog ad into classified. Many of them will run these for a few days for free, but you will probably want to pay to run it longer. Be sure to include a stated amount of reward (reasons stated below).
• 3. Select a photo that will reproduce well in greyscale and make up a flyer / poster.
  The top line of your flyer must say "LOST Dog, REWARD $ xxx" where xxx is a specified amount. The amount needs to be enough to motivate people. I usually suggest enough to buy a weeks groceries for a couple or a family of 4. If you are very very poor, you may only be able to offer $100, but that is an absolute minimum. (A larger amount is generally better, but not so much that they think it must be Bill Gates' dog.) The amount must convince many people to be on the look out and convince some to actively search. The amount must convince a finder to keep the dog safe and to contact you, to abandon any thought of keeping the dog for themselves (which can be an issue if your dog looks scruffy and uncared for, which can happen very quickly, or if your dog is charismatic and charming. The reward will also convince any neighbor of the finder to report the dog to you if they become aware the neighbor has a new dog resembling the poster photo..
  The flyer should include the photo. If you have not got a photo of your own dog, find one that is very similar and if need be improve it closer to your own dog's appearance in Photoshop. Then give a verbal description of the obvious features. Hold back a few details that you and the finder can use to verify one another's legitimacy.
  Don't forget to include contact information, probably phone and e-mail. (Probably don't include your address.)
  
• Post several hundred of your flyers widely around the area where your dog was last seen and also around your home area, usual walking area, other places your dog frequents. Post it at the dog parks , the pet stores, your vets and other area vets. According to the pet finding detective who went under the business name Sherlock Bones, a widely posted flyer with a big stated reward is the absolutely best and most effective way to get your dog back.
  (Note : for cats, since cats don't tend to travel as far as dogs do , a less wide distribution may suffice. And put flyers in mailboxes of every home within a couple hundred yards of yours. Include a plea for them to search their outbuildings or any place a cat might hide.)
  Don't forget to remove your posters after your dog has been found and returned.
• 4. You MUST personally visit every shelter in your area, at least 50 miles radius, at least as often as every second day. Do NOT rely on phone calls to shelters and on the on-line searches. (Yes, of course do make phone calls and do view the shelter's on line photos, as these might locate your dog. But don't rely on absence of your dog from the shelter's site as proof he is not there.) You MUST go yourself. (If that means taking a Sick Day or a Family Emergency Day or missing a day's pay , you still have to do it. Your dog's life depends on this.) And ideally take along some evidence that you are the actual owner. Be prepared to pay fines, and those fines will be larger if your dog is not spayed/neutered. Give copies of your flyers to all the shelter workers. (and find out from shelter director if it is allowed to pay the reward to a shelter employee who saves your dog for you.)
• 5. You must personally search the areas yourself. If you have another dog who is buddies with the lost one, take that dog along as that dog may alert on the missing one who is hiding or the scent of that dog may bring the hidden one out. (If a dog park buddy dog is available to help the search, by all means include that dog and thank the owner lavishly for the help.) Keep calling the dog's name in a cheerful inviting voice. Have extra flyers with you to hand out to people.
  If your dog is actually a cat or is a shy dog, also go out at might with flashlight to look in possible hiding places. (Now if you are going to be prowling around peoples' houses with your flashlight, best to go first to the front door and ask for permission and show some ID so they don't think you are a burglar. Cats frequently hide by day and only emerge at night. Cats usually hide within a 3 or 4 house radius of their home.)
• 6. Don't give up. Sometimes dogs (or cats) are found long after they are lost. Realistically, the longer the dog is lost, the worse your chances are. And if the dog did not have a phone number on him and was not microchipped, your chances are much less. If your dog is very timid with people he doesn't know, ie is not well socialized, your chances are less. But do keep trying.

If someone calls saying they have found your dog.

Shout "Hallejullia !!!!!!!" and then proceed to exchange information that verifies that it is your dog. You might ask which of his feet has a missing toe, a question just as useful if none of his feet have a missing toe. Or a white patch. Whatever. If your dog is tattooed or microchipped be sure to ask finder to search for same, as most non-dog people don't know these things exist. The dog's collar might have gone missing so don't assume its absence means this is not your dog. I suppose it's also possible that someone else has added a collar and then the dog got away from them.

Do be aware that there are other dogs out there who to the average person may look a lot like your dog. So some good hearted person might really think the dog they found is yours, but alas it is not. Thank them lavishly and sincerely and advise them on how to find that dog's owner. Likewise if someone reports seeing your dog at a particular location but by the time you arrive there is no dog there or it's the wrong dog. Thank them lavishly for trying to help you, then search that area intensively. Sometimes you might get repeated sightings.

Also be aware that there are some scam artists out there. Do NOT send money to that person (usually a trucker) who says they found your dog and are now some long distance away and wants you to send money so they can ship your dog to you. If you think they might be legitimate, arrange for them to meet a trusted rescue buddy or any other friend or club member or take the dog to the police station or a boarding kennel where a friend of yours can pick the dog up and pay the reward.

An excellent strategy is to arrange to meet at your vet's office. That will take care of verifying identification for both of you. And will assure safety of both of you. Alternatively the dog park is a great meeting place if you and your dog are well known there. A groomer's shop might also be appropriate. A police station is also appropriate

How to Prevent Losing your Dog or best ensure getting your dog back.

The answer to this should by now be obvious. Make it hard for the dog to become lost and make it brain-dead simple for any finder to immediately contact you.

Collars, tags, microchips do not protect your dog from being hit by a car or other dreadful mishaps. So you want to make it as difficult as possible for your dog to get separated from you and become lost. But even if you think it's impossible for your dog to ever get separated from you because you are joined at the hip and the dog would have to be peeled off by a scalpel, you do have to keep tags on the dog because truely bizzare things can happen. Years ago a friend of mine had her dog on leash and they were crossing the street in the crosswalk and with the light, but a drunk drove through the red light and hit her, knocking her unconsious (thus she let go of the leash) and spooking the dog who then ran off. Another friend had her fence crashed down by a falling tree. Another was in a car accident and her dog was flung out and ran off. Stuff happens. But you can minimize the forseeable risks.

Always keep a collar on your dog that has your current phone number(s) attached (also your license tag and Rabies tag, each on its own S-hook or split ring, so if one gets lost, the rest will still be attached). If your dog can't wear a collar or a collar could slip off (dogs whose necks are larger than their heads), instead have the dog wear a body harness and attach the tags to the top ring. Reflective collar or harmess is an added nighttime safety measure that might enable a driver to avoid hitting your dog.

Get your dog microchipped and keep the registered information current. However this is NOT a substitute for a collar. Anyone can perceive a collar and tag and can use the phone number to contact you. (A blind person would need help to read the number, but fingers would find the tag.) Most non-dog people do not know about the existence of microchips nor that any vet will gladly do the scan. So a microchip is only a back-up. All shelters should have working scanners, so that is where the chip really pays off. Collars can be removed, but removing a chip would require a minor surgery.

Periodically inspect your own yard fencing and gates, including gate latches. The gate is often the escape area, especially if latch doesn't always close. Keep gates locked. If visiting a friend's home, do a fence inspection before letting your dog out in their yard. If there's the slightest doubt, keep the dog on leash or inside the house.

Whenever there are workpersons (gardeners, repairpersons, etc) in your home or yard, confine your dog (eg in crate or closed bedroom) so that these workpersons cannot accidentally let the dog out. Likewise when there are visiting children. Likewise if you are having a party where alcohol or other mind-altering substances might be involved. Or just any party where a lot of people are going in and out the door. Anticipate ways your dog might be let out into the big dangerous world. "Who Let the Dogs Out ?" should only be apopular song, not your lament..

When outside your own home and yard or other safely fenced place, keep your dog on leash. Very few people are able to put in the work and skill needed to make a dog bet-his-life reliable about coming when called and many dogs can NOT be trained to that level by God Herself.

• C.T., Phone Home (keeping identification on your dog)
• Do Fence Me In ! (necessity of secure dog fencing)
• Escape Artist Dogs (teaching "Wait" at door, gate, etc and preventing escapes generally)
• Rural Dog's Survival Guide (humorously written , about the dangers of rural life, especially for dogs allowed too much freedom.
• "The Lost Pet Chronicles" by Kat Albrecht is a great book by a former police K9 officer who became a lost pet searcher and trainer of searchers. She has trained search dogs to search for dogs or cats. This book has a lot of useful information. Her advice about cats is especially valuable or seems so to me (I don't know that much about cats). She has a number of web URLs at the end and I will put some of them below.
• http://www.lostaapet.org/, site of Missing Pet Partnership, founded by Albrecht. This URL will switch you to http://missingpetpartnership.org/which has extensive information about losing and finding.
• http://www.catsinthebag.org about finding lost cats. very good, similar to Albrecht's advice
• http://www.missingpet.org/ is a very quick loading site with good basic advice on finding lost dogs, cats, and birds and on preventing loss of same . This one is not actually in Albrecht's list, but I found it by accident.
• http://www.lostpet.org , not to be confused with lostapet.org. enables user to file a Lost Pet report or a Found Pet report which they will try to match to a Lost report. This is a private database, not a public posting. Also helps you to print out a Lost Pet poster. I found this one by accidentt when I didn't notice the "a" in lostapet.org.