It is a nice list, but you need to be aware of what your local ordinances are. In a number of areas people who pick up lost dogs are required to turn them over to animal control within a certain period, or are considered stealing the dog. Where I live this is I think 24-48 hrs. Long enough to try to see if the dog has a microchip, ask around the neighborhood, call names on tags, but also it gets the dog where people look for it. In some places rescuers can leave their info with the shelter with a request that if the owner doesn't turn up they be contacted to retrieve the dog.

Some places allow people to let the animal control know the info about the dog and then they can legally hold onto it for a set period before keeping it or trying to find it a home but not all places. It is important to know this, because rescuers could be accused of committing a crime if they don't follow the correct guidelines.

When in doubt, contact your local rescue group or animal control to get the details.

Good point about animal control,but here in Nashville a pitbull does not stand a chance there.The " Humane Society" will not take one and Metro will not adopt them out and only holds them for three days.I found a mixed breed(I think she was a beagle/hound mix) and they deemed her a pit mix so I kept her for 6 long weeks. I have a tiny ranch house and three dogs that do not like other dogs,but I held onto her until a rescue had room.I tried everything to find her owner,but she must have been dumped.

one should be able to call 911 who should then blast a note to all 'stations' and when lost dog owner calls: happy ending! If a child goes missing and is 'found' nobody is advertising, microchipping or craiglisiting!!!!

Hi this is Christine from Riverfront cats, the one who found the lost dog. I also learned to call 311 which is the county telephone line, connected to Animal Services.

My sister found a dog a couple months ago and foisted it off on me (my dog had recently died). I did the best I could to find his owners - he'd clearly been well taken care of. I posted online, in the paper, walked around neighborhoods where he'd been found, and put up posters. I contacted vets in the area. I contacted local shelters. I checked fora chip.
One thing I learned - Craigslist postings are probably not worth it. I got all kinds of crazy people calling me about that dog, and most of them made no sense at all. I spent 30 minutes arguing with one couple about how annual vaccinations didn't cover heartworm (this dog ended up being heartworm positive). When I asked for proof that the dog was theirs, they suddenly weren't so insistent about anything. I had a little old lady call me and tell me all about a yellow lab she used to have and how her yorkie just died. I had some guy call and ask what I was going to do with "that there dog" if I didn't find the owners.
So, if I ever find another dog, I'm probably NOT going to post it on Craigslist. Or if I do, maybe I'll only leave an email address so that I can ignore the crazies a lot more easily!

Also be aware of Bunchers. These are people that will "adopt" free-to-a-good-home animals or will claim Found critters that aren't theirs. They will then sell these animals to laboratories.

If you find a critter, be SURE you are returning it to its rightful owners.

Dog detective no longer exists
Findtoto.com is great
If breed is unusual or there is something unique about dog,local vets may recognize or if recently groomed,a groomer
Make sure to scan for a chip
Vets might want to scan any " new" pets for chips,ESP if dog was found or given to person
And a staff member in vets office should be in charge of keeping track of lost og posters from various. places,like HomevAgain,and keep even old ones on file
If you call shelters,make sure to include some outside your immediate area and send them a photo.Just saying you found a certain breed dog may not be enough,ESP when you might not know the breed or shelter has misidentified the breed
Frankly,I feel the owner should be the one putting out the most effort,and remember,not everyone uses the web,so put an ad in local paper
Marsha the dog Rescuer

One thing to add to the list is exactly what this lady did - notify the local rescue groups via phone or by e-mail. This notice was posted on the DearTabby mailing list which is the e-mail list used by members of the Cat Network. These are individuals who often help strays and many of them are feeding colonies of cats so they tend to be aware of what's happening in the neighborhoods they frequent or live at and can be an excellent resource. I'm on that list myself and we are regularly posting on there now notices from HomeAgain (the microchip company) about lost animals (dogs and cats) in the South Florida area. We also get notices from Animal Services when ear-tipped cats are taken there. A number of these e-mails to the DearTabby list have resulted in animals being "found".

One related thing I will mention here is the importance of COLLARS AND TAGS. I always encourage people to put collars and tags (with their latest contact information) on all their pets - whether these are indoors or outdoors and whether they're microchipped or not. Microchiping is a great idea but for cats in particular, it may not get your lost pet back home because someone has to actually take your cat to a vet or other facility that can scan the animal and people will often ignore cats. If your cat has a collar/tag, however, and someone is constantly seeing it in their yard or asking for food, that person may get the idea that the animal is lost. Also, indoor pets can get out by accident, someone could steal them - all sorts of things can happen. A collar and tag gives them a fighting chance to get home. One of my felines, Silky, disappeared a couple of months ago. I posted flyers everywhere and combed the neighborhood for blocks looking for him and alerted all the mailing lists and groups I could. What eventually got him home 10 DAYS LATER was his collar and tag when the very nice young man who had started to feed him called me to let me know Silky was with him 23 BLOCKS AWAY! Without that collar, I would have never seen Silky again.

Collars and tags people!

Maribel

Excellent idea, but our cat is a total klutz w/ a collar. TWICE he has gotten snagged: once on a blackberry bush, and rescued by my husband; once on his own jaw (I have no idea how he did that, over-enthusiastic grooming?). Don't know why the safety release didn't trigger in either case. So he is chipped, but nekkid.

Ualagirl - you might try using one of those safety cat collars that EXPAND rather than the ones with the plastic clips. I buy mine at Petsmart. They have two sides connected with a little rubber band thing that simply stretches. I've had my cats get their collars caught in their mouths a few times when I have first put them on. They get over that quickly. The thing to do is not to put the collar so loose that it's hanging. You want to tighten it so that you can comfortably get two fingers between the collar and the cat's neck but not looser than that. If the cat has a very thin neck or is small you may have to open a new hole in the collar which you can do with the edge of a scissor or knife. With the expandable collars it's pretty easy for the cat to simply wiggle out of it if caught on something. I keep extras because my cats sometimes get out of theirs. Sometimes they simply loosen when the cat scratches around the neck area. I simply put the collars back on them or get one of the new ones. I wouldn't put collars on kittens but once they're over 6 months or so they get collared ;-)

Add Facebook to the list of websites. Many areas have a local lost and found pets page similar to this one: http://www.facebook.com/pages/Lost-and-Found-Dogs-of-Ouachita-Parish/147996378600745

It's only been around for a few months, but has already reunited over 40 pets with their owners! I hope it's also taking some of the strain off the animal shelter, where many unclaimed strays are euthanized as soon as their hold time is up.

After reading about Findtoto in the paper I have told everyone about them. It's a wonderful way to get the information out if you've lost your pet. I tend to be a magnet for wayward pets so I know the usual avenues to getting the word out that I found a stray. What has worked for me is my 5 x 8 billboard at the end of my drive. I restrict access to my drive so they have to call the number on the billboard and people are too lazy to walk down(long lane). Without proof of ownership(other end of leash,pictures,vet records etc) I contact the local authorities to sort it out to ensure the pet goes to the right person.

Hello everyone!
This is Christine from Riverfrontcats.com, the one that found the lost dog. Dr. Khuly thank you for sharing this with your readers.

A valuable lesson learned, is NOT to share the type of dog found or put photos on any flyers--only for the flyer at Animal Services. I knew once people saw the photos, this dog is highly adoptable, many people might wrongfully claim it's their dog.

So my flyers stated "FOUND small dog", and the location. I did receive a couple of calls but made the caller tell me what type of dog they lost.

I am also fortunate to be a member of Cat Network (thecatnetwork.org) where I can turn to fellow volunteers who have years of experience with this dilemma for cats and dogs. The person Dr. Khuly cited is a well known animal rescuer and I rely on her advice.

From this experience, I kept a list of names and contacts of those willing to foster a dog the next time I come across a stray dog.

Sure enough the owner of lost dog went to Animal Services and saw my flyer. So dog and owner were reunited in just two days. Happy ending!

Christine
riverfrontcats.com

There aren't many loose pets in our neighborhood, so it was a real coincidence that we found an old Lab wandering loose yesterday afternoon!! It was over 100 degrees and the dog was in real danger of overheating so we took her in and got her cooled off.

Your tips were very helpful, but what did the trick in this case was a simple sign we put in our front yard "Found Dog" - her owner saw it early this morning while he was out searching for her and she's safely back home!