5 Steps for a Found Dog

What steps should you take when you find a dog, or any pet, to reunite them with their owner? We recently found a small dog, and here are the 5 steps we took to find her owners:

1. Check for collar, tags, and microchip. The collar and tags are easy to see, but you must bring the dog to a veterinarian or shelter to have them scanned for a microchip. They can also look to see if the dog is tattooed. The dog we found did not have a collar on, and was not microchipped.

2. Ask the neighbors We brought the dog around to the neighbors, to see if anyone had lost their dog, or knew who she belonged to. No one knew her, but we had a couple people interested if we could not find her owners.

3.  Post online After taking a couple pictures of her, we posted her on our Facebook page, along with a local page for lost and found pets called “Gainesville Pet Finder.” We also posted her onto Craigslist.

4. Flyers We printed up simple flyers, with the picture we had taken and the words “Found DOG,” along with our phone number. We posted these flyers in a few central locations.

5. Phone calls We phoned our county’s Animal Services, were all stray dogs and cats are brought to. We left our phone number along with a description of the dog. We also phoned a neighboring apartment complex, in case it was one of the resident dogs.

Be sure to ask for proof that the dog is their dog, for example, pictures of them and the dog together.

Lucky for everyone, the owners were out looking for their dog. They saw the signs we had posted and called us from there. The little dog was returned to her owner after her little adventure. If you find a lost dog, you can follow these 5 steps to reunite the dog with their owner. What steps would you take to reunite dog and owner?