what to do when you see a lost dog?

[giraffez]

I was on my way to work today and saw a lost dog.  It was a small dog and our local vet is about 10 minute walk away so i thought maybe i can pick him up and take to the vet to get microchip details - not sure it was a good idea anyway given i don't know the temperament of the dog and picking up a fearful dog is not really a good idea.  There was no tag on the dog but it had a collar on.  It was near a busy road but because it was still early it wasn't peak hour so not too many cars around.  As soon as I tried to get near it, it will run away and onto the road.  I even tried getting down on the floor and calling it.  No luck.  

 

I didn't have any food on me or a leash so it was a lost case.  He eventually ran away into a side street and disappeared.  

 

I did go home to get some food and a leash and walk the street where I found him earlier but he was long gone.

 

I'm actually not sure what the right thing to do.  I tried calling a vet once a few years ago and they said there is nothing i can do but hopefully secure it into a gate so they can't run away and then call the council.  Easier said than done with a frightened dog. 

[persephone]

I probably would have done exactly what you tried to do ... hopefully he found his way home safely.  

[stellnme]

Where I am in regional NSW, lost animals are under the jurisdiction of the pound and should be taken there so their owner can hopefully find them .  However, depending on the circumstances and what you had with you at the time, i.e. a leash,  it may be possible to secure the dog.  Of course taking all due care to keep yourself safe.  Doorknocking is a possibility - often animals are only a few doors away from home and not lost at all.  Here we can take them to a vet for a microchip check which may reunite them with their owner, but if not or no microchip, they need to go to the pound.  I am amazed at the number of posts on facebook with lost animals that say they will keep them "safe" in their backyard until the owner is found - how on earth is an owner to know where?  Many people also think they can go to rescues and there are some dodgy rescues who will take lost animals and rehome them.   Different States have different rules with lost animals though so it all depends.

In your circumstances you did all you could.

[Tassie]

Many towns have FB Lost and Found pets pages, where you can post a description, or photo if you can get it of a lost dog, even when you can't get hold of it.  Our local one will put up 'Seen" posts .. that can at least give owners a clue as to where to look. 

If you can get hold of a dog (I always have several leashes in my car anyway) then first port of call is probably the Council .. but if it's after hours, then calling a vet office you know will often give yous ome guidance as to where you can take them, so that their chip can be read and the dog kept safely.

 

The time I needed to do this .. was with friends fortunately, so we were able to corral the two dogs running near a busy road ... we put them on the lost and found pets FB page, and called a vet office, which said the local vet emergency service would keep dogs overnight till things were open again.

 

As it happened , just as we were finishing those calls and going to head to drip the dogs off, the owners turned up.   So the dogs were safe for the time being ... though apparently they were serial offenders .    The owners as well as the dogs.

[PossumCorner]

5 hours ago, stellnme said:

..... NSW .... under the jurisdiction of the pound and should be taken there so their owner can hopefully find them .  ....

I am amazed at the number of posts on facebook with lost animals that say they will keep them "safe" in their backyard until the owner is found - ....

 

 

Circumstances vary - 20 yrs ago I took lost dogs to the RSPCA (who were also the pound-kennels for a couple of councils).  Then I found out about the short time with no advertising involved for the large square headed dogs, and unofficial policy was a reduced time before euth.  (A lot of us were naive about the RS years ago).

 

When Piper and Frodo tunneled out and did a runner they were picked up and dropped at a vet 20km away.  We were called to pick them up from a different pound, the cost was something like $300 for pound fees, plus a separate $300 bill in the mail from Council for having "dogs at large".  Grateful all round, but it was an expensive exercise.

 

In country towns in Vic the facebook system works well, a photo, word of mouth by phone or fb, dogs reunited.  Vet can still check for microchip without having to involve the pound and/or council.  I think it's a good system, balanced against changing staff at a pound who don't know a kelpie from a staghound or what has come in before their shift, and often people ring a pound about their dog and are told it's not there when in fact it is.  Not a great system in some cases.

[Boronia]

@giraffez we have a Qld Lost Pet register here and I see there's one in NSW, if you can take a photo of the dog with a 'Sighting' title the admins should post it fairly quickly. The other option is that there is usually a community page on FB for your area so you can post there as well

https://www.facebook.com/nswlostpetregister

[giraffez]

Thanks.

 

Also, I couldn’t even get close to  the dog.  It just kept running away.

Even if I post to facebook, it’s gone by the way my post is up.  Really quite helpless.

 

do you think the vet would take it in?  If I’m heading to work, even if I was able to get the dog, I wouldn’t want to leave it home alone.  It would scare the poor thing to death.  

Edited December 2, 2021 by giraffez

[Dogsfevr]

The best starting point is too legally know what your state process is for finding a dog .

 

Many vets will take the dog in .

 

The problem is many who find a dog do take them home because they don’t want the owners to pay the costs .

Here the rangers are pretty good they would sooner drop off home than take  back to the pound .

So the obvious off up to date microchip details or tag details makes the process so easy .

For many the fees end up xxx as there not registered or chipped .

 

The problem with finders who keep them is often the dog may be escapee so does a runner whilst in there care ,feed them without thinking off food allergies and don’t consider medication issues .

 

The rangers here asked us to keep a dog we found here as they new the set up was safe and this dog was special .After much advertising ,great photos posted on the rangers site no one came forward ,she went to breed foster and foster careers adopted her as she was just perfect .

 

 

So best beat get as good as possible photo and post on FB local groups and phone ranger.

Some you can’t catch but having a good description helps .

[Boronia]

on the Queensland Lost Pet Register Inc there are always posts about found dogs that have been taken to the vet (to check for a microchip and so they are safe) the poster will say what vet surgery the dog is at or failing that the vet surgery posts a piccie of the 'found' dog with instructions that proof of ownership required before collection.

So yes, taking the dog to a vet is an excellent plan

[Papillon Kisses]

Vets in Sydney will check for microchips and call owners. If there is no microchip or no response they call the relevant pound/ranger to collect if at the end of the day no one has come.

 

People who have lost their pets call all the local vets and pounds to see if their dog has been found; they are unable to door knock every home, and the dog may have a behaviour issue (scared of dogs or kids) or medical problem for all they know. I get quite cross when people keep dogs because they think they know better.

 

In your scenario, if I had the presence of mind I’d have taken a photo before trying to retrieve the dog as sightings are helpful, even if the dog has gone from that exact spot.

[giraffez]

1 hour ago, Dogsfevr said:

The problem is many who find a dog do take them home because they don’t want the owners to pay the costs .

Here the rangers are pretty good they would sooner drop off home than take  back to the pound .

So the obvious off up to date microchip details or tag details makes the process so easy .

For many the fees end up xxx as there not registered or chipped .

To be honest, I didn't even think of owner costs.  I just didn't want the dog to get run over and I was also thinking about how painful it would be for the owner to discover their dog missing - i know i would be.

 

But this model seems pretty ridiculous, what if the owner refuses to pay or cannot afford to pay.... do they put the dog down?  Thats a bit over the top isn't it?

Edited December 2, 2021 by giraffez

[PossumCorner]

I guess every pound and council suits itself.  There was a shocker case in Vic where a bull terrier was euthed on day 1, and the owner tried for a long time with legal action but was just stone-walled.  Then there were the ones who went to the sales pen and new ownership then the original owner turned up and wanted their dog back (forget the details of why they didn't find dog earlier, not doing blame and finger pointing here, just how things can go pear shaped).  Between council rules and social media cowboys there is probably a lot of grey area without absolute right or wrong, both can have a best and worst outcome.

[Loving my Oldies]

As you found, @giraffez, catching a dog on the run can be impossible.  So the answer to your question is that it really depends on the circumstances.   The worst situation is when (as in your case) the dog is on a busy road.  
 

Also the responses from vets differ.  Some flatly refuse to take in found dogs and rangers in some councils refuse to come and get them.  
 

Difficult at so many levels and a matter of assessing the situation at the time.  Slip leads, check chains, treats in car at all times.  

 

Edited December 3, 2021 by Loving my Oldies

[stellnme]

In NSW the legalities are that microchipped animals where the owner's details are not on a registry or otherwise uncontactable, are kept for 14 days before being eligible for adoption or to go to rescue if not claimed by their owner.    Unmicrochipped animals are kept for 7 days.   The first place to look (not just ring)  is the pound, then all the vets in the area.  The local lost and found pages often have good results but there have certainly been instances where a non owner has claimed a dog from the finder.  Our pound will only insist an impounded animal is microchipped (very small fee)  before handing back to the owner, and is quite proactive with their facebook in attempts to reunite lost animals with their owner.    After being in rescue for a long time lost animals are a particular interest for me - I just hate to see people doing the wrong thing.

[Paul777]

On 02/12/2021 at 7:13 PM, giraffez said:

Thanks.

 

Also, I couldn’t even get close to  the dog.  It just kept running away.

Even if I post to facebook, it’s gone by the way my post is up.  Really quite helpless.

 

do you think the vet would take it in?  If I’m heading to work, even if I was able to get the dog, I wouldn’t want to leave it home alone.  It would scare the poor thing to death.  

It is a helpless feeling. 
In my glovebox is a pack of dried liver. Most dogs can be coaxed to me by throwing bits closer to me with each throw until they'll take one from my hand. 
The ones that will not come to me, I'd expect would stay close enough with the treats, long enough to make a phone call and to get help. [Haven't met a dog that did not love dried liver bits]

My local vet clinic, [Tom Lonsdale the raw advocate] is simply brilliant with looking after stray dogs [And they do a heap of work with rescues, emergency boarding, doing operations, de-sexing and are part of a chain with rescue groups. Vets like Tom are no doubt as unimpressed with the RSPCA as most of us are and have stepped up to the plate to ensure a much better fate for rescues at their own cost. Bless them] 
Twice it was a simple matter of finding the owner through the microchip. 

Whenever a dog has been loose, several people in my neighbourhood have stopped to help. 
It's so good to know that so many people care. 

In your situation, I'd be looking at your local vet websites and phone the ones that sound promising and ask if they help with strays. 
I'd expect that a vet clinic is either one way or the other; they'll have the same attitude as my vet, or they'll see it as an unprofitable waste of their time and resources. 
Finding out now where to take a stray will save time when you do come across one. 
 

Edited December 10, 2021 by Paul777