"Living With Your Pet Tips": Finding a Stray Dog-What To Do Next!

We saved this article published a few weeks ago on Cesar Millan's website because it lays out a detailed, step by step, plan of attack, so to speak, for helping a stray dog (no attacking necessary!).

Given that we don't know in advance that we're going to see what appears to be a stray dog, the situation always calls for some quick thinking-and the best "quick thinking" is done if we've prepared a bit.

The article advises "safety first", and that means both safety for the animal, and your safety and the safety of others. It breaks down the safety issue into a situational one: say, you see a dog running near or even on a highway other heavily trafficked road, or the danger is with the dog himself: he appears aggressive or terribly sick, for example. If the danger appears too great, stop and call animal control, and if possible, stay at the scene until professional help arrives (that's why you should have the number for your local animal control pre-set on your cell phone.)

                          Photo courtesy of Cesar's Way

But if you can safely lure the pooch into your car and you decide to take him home, the article recommends stopping at a shelter first, so you can have him scanned for a microchip and view firsthand, any pictures of lost pups that may have been posted. And "Don't assume that just because you found the dog wandering the streets that she was abandoned or unwanted...it's very easy for the most beloved pets to go astray." So even if it feels like fate has brought you two together, remember to use due diligence to find the dog's owner, while keeping the lost (or possibly abandoned) pooch safe and well-fed if at all possible-that's what you'd want others to do for your lost family member, right?

Share