STEPS TO TAKE WHEN YOU FIND A PET

When you find a pet, you become responsible for the pet’s safety and welfare. It is most important that every family member agrees to shelter the pet from further harm and to provide food and water immediately. The responsibility is great and the rewarding feeling for having rescued a lost pet and reuniting it with its owner is even greater!

The steps to take when you find a pet that you have actually witnessed being “dumped” will be different from the steps to take when you find a pet that is wandering and is experiencing stress from being separated from its owner. The steps to take for a “dumped” pet will be addressed separately at the end of this checklist.

When you find a pet and rescue the pet, you must DO THE RIGHT THING by assuming that this pet has an owner – that it is not a stray. Every family member needs to realize that no matter how beautiful the dog or the cat is, it is THE RIGHT THING to reunite the pet with its owner. It is the owner that knows the medical history and the emotional well-being of the pet.

The order in which you take these steps is almost as important as the steps themselves to ensure the success of reuniting the pet with its owner.

1. In a few short minutes, you must determine if the pet is just going for a walk without its owner, or if it appears that the pet is displaying a lot of stress from being on its own without its owner. The characteristics that will be displayed by a lost pet are barking and meowing; rubbing up against you to get your attention; walking around in circles and looking dazed; frantically following you if you are walking or entering a vehicle; making direct eye contact with you in the hopes you will not leave them. If the pet is dragging its leash; appears that its coat is very dirty and matted; shows confusion in its coordination; is panting heavily; and is walking very “carefully” on sore or calloused feet – this pet is definitely lost and needs immediate rescue attention.
2. If you decide to rescue the lost pet, write down the location and the approximate time that you found the pet. Stay with the pet in full view of other residents for five minutes, if possible, so that the rescue can actually be sighted. Residents passing by may be able to give you clues as to the identity of the pet. They may offer assistance in transporting the pet or waiting with the pet while you retrieve a carrier from the trunk or a leash.
3. Once the rescue is complete and the pet is brought to your residence, provide food and water immediately. View the pet more closely for possible injuries. THIS IS THE BEST TIME TO NOTE THE PET’S DISTINGUISHING MARKS AND ITS DISPOSITION. It is important to assess how the pet interacts with adults, children, and other pets. Even under great stress, the pet’s personality will still “show itself”.
4. If the pet is injured, please bring the pet to your veterinarian immediately. If it is “after hours” for your veterinarian, a Sunday, or a holiday, please bring the pet to the Animal Emergency Clinic (281) 890-8875.
5. Post your found pet on the Sommerall web site at www.sommerall.org and use the links to Copperfield and Concord Bridge Lost And Found Pets web sites, as well as the link to www.petfinder.com for regional, state and national coverage.
6. Canvas the area where you found the pet, this time on foot, and search open yards and ask neighbors, mail carriers, and any contractors that are working in this area if they are familiar with this pet’s description. Direct them to view your found pet ad on the web site. Check for any lost pet flyers in this area. Keep track of all locations where you will concentrate posting your flyers.
7. Contact Animal Control, SPCA, and Citizens For Animal Protection (CAPS) immediately. Leave your found pet report in person, by web site, or by phone. Request e-mails be sent to you on pets matching your found pet’s description. Contact special breed rescue groups/shelters if your found pet is a pure breed. Contact other public and non-profit shelters as your search continues.
8. Make flyers using a clear photograph and detailed description of your found pet. Be sure to date the flyer and include the location from where the pet was found and the date. Post your flyers in the area where you found the pet, at pet supply stores, veterinarians, grooming clinics and grocery stores that have post-it boards. Critical location stop signs may be used, and are most effective early in your search. Enclose your flyer in a plastic cover to protect it from the elements. Make sure to provide all shelters with a flyer that has a photo of your found pet.
9. Contact all neighborhood veterinarians and grooming clinics, as well as mobile pet vets and mobile grooming services. In addition to your leaving a flyer, leave your found pet report. Check on all lost pets that have recently been lost in the area. A veterinarian can scan your found pet for a microchip identification.
10. Keep a diary of all phone calls, e-mails, inquiries, search results, etc that will enable you to track the success of your found pet search.
11. Place your found pet ad in the local newspaper (preferably the Sunday edition), the GreenSheet newspaper, and the Suburban newspaper. When you are checking the Pets Lost section, never assume that the pet you found could not possibly have traveled as far as the lost pet described in the ad. Pets get “turned around” by being rescued, transported, boarded, etc. If the lost pet even remotely resembles your found pet, contact the individual immediately.
12. Leave your flyer at garage sales and estate sales.
13. REALIZE that vacations, business trips, and ”lost pet confusion” all play a part in your reuniting the pet with its owner. TRY NOT TO GIVE UP EARLY.
14. Take down flyers and give courtesy in all areas when you reunite the pet with its owner.

If you or another “witness” individual actually sees an animal being “dumped, thrown out, or abandoned in any way”, it is important to get a detailed description of the individual, vehicle or bicycle used, license numbers, location and the time of day. Notify the SPCA right away and leave your detailed emergency report. If you are not able to perform a rescue, or an attempted rescue fails, PLEASE PLACE A SIGHTED AD ON THE WEB SITE. This Sighted Ad alerts residents to be on the look-out for an abandoned pet – a pet that has no hope of being reunited with its owner (good or bad). Depending upon your advisement from the SPCA AND depending upon whether you were able to actually rescue the animal, PLEASE TAKE THE ABOVE STEPS IN THE FOLLOWING ORDER: Steps 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. Advise residents and contractors that this animal is a “dump”. 7. 8. 9. 10. 11. 12. 13. 14. Take down flyers and give courtesy in all areas.

When the owner of a found pet or an abandoned animal cannot be located, the following options are in the pet’s or animal’s best interest concerning health and welfare:
1. Adopt the pet and promise yourself to always I.D. the pet and provide a good quality of life for the pet.
2. Place an ad for Adoption on www.petfinder.com and on any web site that allows for the placing of a pet for adoption. NEVER GIVE AWAY A PET FOR FREE. ALWAYS ASK FOR AN ADOPTION FEE.
3. Contact rescues and shelters to set up an appointment for bringing the pet to them for their adopting out. VACANCIES IN RESCUES AND SHELTERS CHANGE DAILY. Call first. You may receive assistance to aid in your bringing the pet to another agency. A pure breed has an excellent chance of being accepted by a pure breed rescue or shelter. To find out what rescues and shelters are accepting a certain breed or mix breed, complete the Quick Pet Search/Advanced Search area of www.petfinder.com.
4. Advise friends and associates of your found pet, and check with them if anyone is interested in adopting the pet. Never give a pet as a surprise gift. Networking is invaluable in placing a found pet. Also check with veterinarians to find out if someone is looking to adopt a pet.
5. Place an ad for Adoption in your area newspapers, remembering to ask for an adoption fee. Screen interested individuals carefully, remembering to ask questions that will allow you to assess their responsibility, their personality, and their motives in adopting a pet.

Prepared by
Jan Perino
Founder
Copperfield Lost And Found Pets Program