What to do if you find a stray dog
Stay with the animal to keep an eye on its movements. This way you are improving the likelihood of the animal being brought to safety.
Tracy McQuarrie, founder of Dogtown SA, has put a few guidelines together on what to do when you come across a stray:
1. Make sure that the dog is a stray and not an escapee from a garden.
2. If you are able to catch the dog safely, take it to your local vet or shelter to be scanned for a micro chip. This is free of charge. If the dog has a micro chip, the owners will be contacted and the ordeal for the dog will be over.
3. If you consider fostering the dog while searching for its owner, ask the vet to check the dog out to make sure there is nothing wrong.
4. If there is no micro chip or you cannot reach the owner, you can either keep the pet until you find the owners, leave it with the vet, or take it to the closest animal shelter.
5. Put up posters in the area where you found the stray dog. Put them up at the main entrances and exits to the area, in community centres, local vets, pet stores, and around ATMs, for instance.
6. Also place an advert in the local newspaper.
7. Don’t give too much detail to ensure that the rightful owner is able to correctly identify his or her pet, telling you the gender of the dog, as well as distinct features. There are unfortunately unscrupulous people who have ill intentions, so keep it simple, for example ‘Labrador found in Arboretum’.
8. Advise the SPCA and send them the details in case the owner approaches them.
9. Should you decide to foster the dog until its owner is found, take care when handing the dog over. You can ask your local shelter for assistance.
Establishing the owner of the dog
1. If you are unsure, contact your local shelter or rescue organisation for assistance. They do this all the time.
2. Ensure the owner has proof of identification and ownership – a photograph of them and their dog is a good idea.
Make sure they are able to give you all the vital statistics – sex, sterilised or intact, colouring, special features and date and place of where they went missing.
3. Keep the dog out of sight from the person claiming to be the owner, then ask them to call the dog by its name. If the dog gets excited and wants to get to the person, then you probably have a match. If the dog does not react in any way, then the claimant is probably not the owner.
4. If the dog seems concerned, scared with their tail between its legs or cowering, then the dog is displaying fear for the person. Take the dog away, making sure the person has still not seen the dog. The dog may have run away for a reason. Inform the person that the dog did not react to them or display signs of recognition.
Steps to take when spotting a stray
1. Try to determine if the dog has a collar or tag on it. Remember to always approach a stray dog sideways, carefully and slowly. The dog will be scared and unsure and you don’t want to scare it away.
2. If the dog has a tag with details on it, it is best to take it to the local vet for safekeeping until its owner can collect it. Otherwise, you could keep the animal safely with you.
3. If the pet does not have any tag but seems friendly, see if it would be happy to hop into your car. Having yummy treats always helps here. Take the animal to the nearest shelter or vet to be scanned.
4. If the animal is at risk of running into traffic, stop. When a dog is panicking and running, you may cause the dog to run away from an area they are familiar with.
5. If the animal is snarling and growling, stop. The animal is giving you a clear message that you are scaring it and it doesn’t understand you are trying to help it. Rather call for help from any of your local shelters. Stay with the animal at a distance to keep an eye on its movements. By the time the rescue people arrives, the animal could have moved and they would be unable to locate it.
By staying there you are improving the likelihood of the animal being brought to safety. Someone may already have contacted the shelter to report the missing pet.
After 10 days of a stray period, Dogtown SA can assist in find the stray a new home. Contact them at network@barkingmad.co.za with the details of the dog. The Barking Mad network will go to work on spreading the word for new owners.
HAVE YOUR SAY
Like our Facebook page and follow us on Twitter
For news straight to your phone invite us:
WhatsApp – 072 069 4169
Instagram – zululand_observer
