One of my friends emailed me to ask what to do with a lost dog. She wrote:
"My neighbor just found a Yorkie in the Hillandale shopping center. He is not neutered, and has no tags. He is very friendly, but we don't know what to do with him. Anyone have any suggestions? We can keep him for a few days if someone wants him, or should we take him to the shelter."
I suspect that this Yorkie was cared for by someone and its possible that the owner simply lost the dog or the dog ran away. But given the circumstances, it is also possible that the dog was abandoned at the shopping mall.
But in general, whenever we come upon a stray, it is best to use caution as we do not know the dog's history and the dog may behave wildly. In that case, caution would counsel us to first call animal control or your local animal shelter. Also, animal control and the shelter may be able to tell if you someone filed a lost dog report.
While that didn't happen here, instead we have a good samaritan with a heart of gold that found a well behaved Yorkie. For future reference, here are some tips, if you decide to help a stray out.
If you are confident that the dog is friendly (remember, dogs are animals and can act unpredictably), then take the dog to a safe place.
From there, you should canvass the area and let people know that you have found the dog. First try animal control or the local shelter. Its possible that the owner filed a lost dog report. The aninaml control or shelter can take a found dog report from you and they can also advise you on local regulations governing lost dogs.
Try placing an ad in the local paper, they may be free. Online ads may be useful too. Also look to see if anyone has posted a lost dog flyer in the area you found the dog.
If you do find the owner, be sure that the dog recognizes this person before handing him over. If you're not sure about someone's claim to be the dog's owner is legit, then hold onto the dog and try animal control to see if anyone filed a lost dog report.
If you try and are unsuccessful in finding the dog's owner, you then have to decide whether to keep the dog, hand him over to animal control or shelter or to give him to another family.
If you decide to keep the dog, then you should take the dog to a vet. But be prepared to pay the cost unless the vet offers pro bono services. Some will out of the kindness of their heart, but it is not a requirement. Also, if you decide to keep the dog, you should check with the local licensing department to make sure you can claim the dog and are in compliance with the local regulations.
If you decide to turn the dog over to animal control/shelter, please check to see what the policies are on strays. Some animal control agencies will send the dog over to the local shelter and the shelter may shelter the dog temporarily in the hope someone claims the dog and adopts him. But after a certain period of time, the shelter may decide to put the dog down because they just don't have the resources. In that connection, check to see if the shelter is a "no kill" shelter.
Copyright 2010, Top Dog Service, LLC, All Rights Reserved.
No comments:
Post a Comment