What To Do If You Find A Lost Dog
I awoke this morning to Jingles howling outside, right underneath our bedroom window. Now this is not a particularly unusual occurrence, but he seemed more persistent than usual so I grumpily headed downstairs to let him in. When I opened the door, I discovered that a tiny dog had crawled under our fence into the yard and was causing the uproar. This poor little Yorkie looked like it had been out all night, and was soaking wet. He had a collar on, but no tags. Since we didn’t know its name (or gender at first), we started calling it “Baby.” When we figured out it was a boy, we tried other names, like Bruiser or Killer, but none really stuck so we kept calling him Baby.
Here’s Baby:
When we got him in the house, we gave him a bath and some food and water, called the local shelters and sent out emails to our neighborhood listserv. A kind volunteer for the Montgomery County Humane Society sent me a response with great information for dealing with found dogs. The links are mostly specific to Maryland and our surrounding counties, but I imagine most areas have similar procedures. I will include the full text of the email below. After a few hours with no response, Carolyn took him to a local vet to see if he had been microchipped. He had not.
As soon as Carolyn returned with Baby, a van drove by and the driver shouted “MAX!”. The dog’s ears shot up and it soon became clear that we had found Baby’s (er, Max’s) family. The story had a happy ending, but there a few simple things that the family could have done to facilitate finding their lost dog.
1. Kept Max’s ID tag on. A collar is not enough. In addition to an ID tag, any medical tags (rabies vaccination dates, etc.) should also be kept on at all times.
2. Gotten a microchip. The chips are considered reliable and an effective way to identify lost pets. The chip is small, compact and easily inserted under the skin. It contains important contact information and details about your pet.
3. Filed a lost dog report at the local shelters (they were going to do this next). Since we had filed a found dog report, the shelter could have quickly identified the dog.
Though Baby’s (he’ll always be Baby to me) time with us was short, he quickly became BFFs with Jingles and Cooley. In fact, he took a particular liking to Cooley.
Below is the email I received with information on what to do if you find a lost dog in Montgomery, Anne Arundel or Prince George’s Counties:
If you find a pet in Montgomery County, you can always take it to the shelter in Rockville, or if you need it picked up, call them at 240-773-5960. If the owners aren’t found, there is a very good chance it will be adopted.
If you would like to hold onto the pet until the owners can be found:
First thing you should do if you find a pet anywhere: take it to your vet (or nearest animal shelter) and have it scanned for a microchip. If it has a chip, you can call the registry and find out to whom it is registered. The vet or shelter can tell you how to do this. Staff can also help you describe the pet for your found report, or the shelter can take the pet if you prefer not to hold onto it.
If you find a pet in or near Montgomery County, please be sure to file a report with the county shelter (the Montgomery County Humane Society) right away. Lost reports from all over the county and beyond are filed with the shelter every day, and the owner of your foundling might be but a phone call away. Call them at 240-773-5960 to register your lost report. Occasionally there are waits on the telephone line and if you encounter this you can go to their website at http://www.mchumane.org/ and click on Programs and Services>Lost & Found Animals>File a Lost and Found Report. If the forms aren’t working, use the email address to send in your report: mchs@mchumane.org . When they receive your report they will search lost reports already on file, and contact you if they have a match. Make sure you describe the cat accurately – check the cat color guide at http://www.flickr.com/photos/robinsiegel/sets/72157613406460972/
If it is convenient for you, visit the shelter to look at the lost reports. Shelter staff will usually have matched your found report with a lost report if they can, but often you who have seen the pet will be better able to recognize the owner’s description.
If you have found a pet in or near Anne Arundel or Prince Georges County, you can file a found report:
in AA County: http://www.aacounty.org/AnimalControl/Found_Pets/Found_Form.cfm
Browse lost reports in AA County: http://www.aacounty.org/AnimalControl/Lost_Pets/Lost.cfm
File a found report in PG County: http://www.princegeorgescountymd.gov/der/amg/
To file and search for other reports online, go to:
http://washingtondc.craigslist.org/laf/
http://commerce.washingtonpost.com/cgi-bin/WPclass/search/pets/clsAdSearch.cgi?TEXT=&PHOTOCODE=&VERTICAL=pets&CLASSES=+%5B601+602%5D&CLASSCODE=%5B601+602%5D
http://www.petfinder.com/classifieds/classifiedhop.html
If you have found a bird, check http://www.birdhotline.com/
Call or send photo posters to all the vets in your area and beyond. Also, post flyers, talk to your mail and paper carriers, and post on a neighborhood listserv (if you have one).
If you live in DC or near the DC line, go to:
http://www.washhumane.org/lost_found.asp
For other jurisdictions, go to:
http://www.delmarweb.com/maryland/petshelters.html
ADDITIONAL INFORMATION FOR THOSE WHO LOSE A PET: If you lose a pet, you can follow what’s at the shelter on a daily basis by going to:
Type in your zip code, click FIND SHELTERS, check Montgomery County Animal Control & Humane Society (and PG County if appropriate) and click SEARCH. Then click I LOST MY PET and the species (dog, cat, other) and then click SEARCH NOW and you will see a display of all the cats/dogs/others currently at the shelter.
This is a great way to keep track of what’s been taken in. Pets found DOA and those at the vet will not appear, so having a lost report and visiting the shelter every few days is very important. Also, Pet Harbor doesn’t display the found location, so if you see something you think is your lost pet, make a note of the A# and call the shelter to find out where it was found.
If you found a pet in PG County, follow the Pet Harbor directions above, but click on “Prince Georges County Animal Management Division”.
For more ideas, go to
http://www.metropets.org/How2help/losttips.php
http://www.wikihow.com/Find-a-Lost-Dog
http://www.hart90.org/GeneralInformation/LostPet.htm
http://www.puregoldpettrackers.com/ and
http://www.hsus.org/pets/pet_care/finding_a_lost_pet.html
FYI for anyone with a pet, it’s always advisable to have your pets microchipped, even those you don’t think will ever get loose, so that the shelter can immediately know who owns them should they ever wind up there. If they wear their microchip ID tag, anyone who finds them can also notify the registry and the owners will be called.
