If you come across a pet or a stray dog, you have two options available. You can either keep the animal and take responsibility for finding its owner, or take it to the official animal shelter of the parish where you found it. You can also publish the missing pet on the Internet or in local newspapers. Whether you're taking care of the lost animal yourself or placing it in the custody of a local shelter, there are several ways you can help reunite it with its owner.
If possible, take a picture of the pet and post flyers around the area where it was found. Additionally, distribute brochures to local veterinary clinics. Social networks such as Facebook, Instagram and Twitter are great platforms for sharing information in your local community and with your friends; just make sure to make the post “public” so that others can share it too. You should also post a found report and a photo in Petango or Pet FBI.
If you found the pet in your own neighborhood, go door to door with a photo of the animal and see if anyone knows who the owner is. You can also place a found ad in the classified ads section of your local newspaper or publish it on neighborhood sites such as Ring or Nextdoor. If the animal doesn't have an identification tag or a microchip, its best chance of meeting with its owner is usually at an animal shelter. If it has a chip, shelter staff can immediately consult the owner's contact information by calling the microchip company or accessing the online microchip database.
Even if you choose this procedure, it's still recommended that you immediately file a “found” report at the local animal shelter in case the owner calls or goes there to pick up the pet. If you can't keep the pet, you can take it to your local animal shelter or call the local police or animal control department to pick it up.
