What to do if you see a stray dog?
- Stay calm. We highly discourage the involvement of small children in any rescue attempt.
- Assess whether the dog is in imminent danger, or, if it appears to be injured BEFORE you approach.
- Take good CLEAR photos. If there is a collar, tags etc, try to get in a photo.
- Post the info to the Rescue page AND call a moderator or someone else to assist you.
- If you cannot stay, TRY to wait for someone to show up, so visual contact with the animal is not lost. At the very least, post very good, explicit information about where the dog was last seen and direction heading. Try to get cross streets, mile markers, etc…
- Do not chase after the dog. If it is a runner, it will keep running and possibly get hit. We want it to stay in the area it has a comfort zone established in.
- Put out food (a small amount) to entice the animal and step away from the food. Too much food and/or water at first can kill a starving animal.
- Employ capture techniques. These can be taught to you. If you do not feel safe, again, wait for someone else to arrive.
- By this time a moderator SHOULD be able to let you know where the dog needs to go or who will meet you to get it. If we cannot find a temp foster, more than likely the dog will be brought to animal control (24 hours a day) and lodged there.
- If you are unsure of anything, remember, YOUR safety is first, not the dogs. We want to save every animal out there that needs it but we do not want any human getting seriously injured.