Found a stray dog? Here’s how to help reunite it with its family

In most cases, lost dogs can wander very far from home and can become frightened or stressed, making it more difficult for them to find their way back.

In Sacramento, one out of three dogs will go missing during their lifetime. With that statistic in mind, Front Street Animal Shelter is emphasizing the important role finders can play in reuniting lost pets with their families while easing the strain on shelters.

The Front Street Animal Shelter asks finders to try to locate the owner before bringing the dog to the shelter.

“Our city shelter is full, and new stray animals arrive daily,” said Shelter Operations Manager Staycee Dains. “Kennel space is extremely limited, so when community members can help lost pets get back home without entering the shelter system, it makes an enormous difference for the animals already in our care.”

Here’s what to do as soon as you find a dog.

Step 1
Check if the dog’s owner has reported them missing at 24Petconnect. If you see a possible match, note the Animal ID and call 311 (24/7) or 916-808-7387.

Step 2
Text STRAY to 833-511-0426 to receive proven tips to help you find the owner as well as a link to fill out a found dog report.

Step 3

Post photos and location of the found dog online and in the surrounding neighborhood with contact information to help spread the information to reach the owner. Here are some helpful tips and links:

• Make it easy for someone who lost a dog to find you by filling out a found dog report  on Petco Love Lost’s website.
• Make a found dog ad on Craigslist (with a photo) and post to the Nextdoor  neighborhood where the dog was found.
• There are many Facebook groups for lost and found pets  for different areas in and around Sacramento. Post a picture and description of the dog in the Facebook groups near where the dog was found.
• Make found dog posters like in this  video . Hang them at the six busiest intersections near where you found the dog.
• Report the found dog to other local animal shelters .
• Continue to update and re-post your online found dog posts every couple of days

Step 4

Take the dog to a shelter or veterinarian to scan for a microchip. Ask for the microchip number and search the number on the microchip look-up website . If the found dog is wearing a tag with a phone number, call and send a text. People tend to be more responsive to texts than phone calls from unknown callers.

“The best way our community can help is by trying these steps first, and by making sure their own pets are microchipped, licensed with the City of Sacramento, and wearing visible ID tags,” Dains said. “Those small actions can prevent pets from entering the shelter altogether and get them back home faster.”

In an effort to reduce the strain on our already full shelter, the shelter asks finders to try all steps listed above to reunite pets with their families before bringing them in.

If you’ve exhausted all options, you can bring a stray dog or a sick or injured cat or kitten to the shelter’s intake building daily from noon to 5 p.m.

More information about lost and found animals can be found on the shelter’s website.

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