|
|
If you have found a lost pet:
First, determine the temperament of the animal, does the animal appear to be a lost pet or homeless stray. Does it appear to be well fed? Is his coat in good condition? Does he have a collar or indentation marks in the hair around the neck where a collar previously was? All these are important clues as to whether the animal has recently been cared for. If you do feel the animal has an owner, it is important to act quickly.
If the animal is wearing identification tags such as residential, rabies vaccination, or licensing all that is needed is a simple phone call. Check for tattoos on the inside of the dog's ears, gums, and along the inner surface of hind legs. For help tracing tattoos, phone the regional chapter of the American Kennel Club, International Kennel Club, American Cat Fancier's Association, or the International Cat Association.
Call local groomers or run by any local veterinarian, as a free service they will scan the animal for a micro chip or tattoos which provides the animals owners contact information.
You can take the animal home with you or find someone who will keep the pet with them for a short or long period of time once you have exhaustively to find their previous home.
The most valuable resource is often the neighborhood children. Children make it their duty to personally know many pets and will often know if a family in the neighborhood recently lost a pet. Bring the pet walking in the area that he was found, in case anyone might recognise the animal.
Make up simple posters and put them up around the area that the dog was found in.
Watch local newspaper as many individuals will call to run an ad for their lost pet.
Contact your local animal control the following day. Check in 3 days to see if the animal has been re-united with its owner.
You found the owner! Congratulations! However, caution does need to be taken. Reselling animals for breeding, research, and fighting is unfortunately, a thriving industry. Ask for identification and for specific details about the pet. Also, the reaction the animal has when seeing the "owner" should be most telling. If doubts still remain, do not hesitate to ask for veterinary records or photographs.
If you do determine that the pet is in fact a stray, your next step is to find a loving home. Do research into the potential owners to make sure it will be a good fit. If you do decide to bring the pet to animal shelter, research the rate of adoption when choosing one. |
IP Logged
|