Helping Street Dogs

                                                              Safety First

If you see a dog while you are in traffic for example, it is important to not react impulsively. Brake carefully, turn on your signal and pull your car safely off of the roadway. Go ahead and turn off the ignition and put on your hazard lights to make sure you don’t get into an accident while you are trying to help a needy animal. If you are somewhere that you cannot safely pull over, call animal control and provide them with as much detail as you can about the dog’s location.

Another safety measure you must take is to look for signs to determine the state of the animal itself. The dog is likely afraid, but it may also be injured or even rabid. If it appears that a possibility exists that the dog may bite or attack, don’t come near it. If the coast is clear, approach the dog slowly and carefully. You don’t want to move too quickly and risk scaring the dog to run into oncoming traffic. Speak calmly when you approach the dog and if you are lucky enough to have a strong-smelling food with you, this will help you lure the dog over to you.

First Essential Steps

What is the best course of action after you have lured the dog into your car? This depends on who you ask. The Humane Society recommends calling Animal Control at this point and waiting for them to come to you, instead of driving somewhere with an unknown animal in your car with you.

On the other hand, dog expert Cesar Millan says it is acceptable to go ahead and drive off with the dog in your care. However, he does recommend stopping by your local animal shelter before you decide to take the dog home with you. Should the dog not have a collar or a tag, the shelter will be able to scan the animal for an embedded microchip, which will contain the owner’s contact information. The shelter may also take a picture of the dog and obtain your contact information in case the owner’s show up looking for their dog.

Just because the dog’s owners have not been found, don’t assume that the dog has been abandoned or his previous owners aren’t missing him. The right thing to do at this point is to take a few more steps to reach out. You can post flyers of the dog around town or put an ad on Craigslist, for example.

Few Steps

Friend or Foe -- If a stray is naturally friendly, it may just need to be found. These types of dogs most likely came from a good home, got lost and don't want to be wandering around. If a stray dog literally comes up to you and shows no fear or aggression, catching them or luring them into your car is probably a good idea for a trip to the local animal shelter. If they growl and run away, or just growl and stand their ground, the animal may be feral, and your local Humane Society should be called.

Sickly Looking -- A sickly looking pooch doesn't mean the dog has been ill cared for, it may just mean it has been wandering around for a while looking for its home. It may be malnourished, have cuts, scratches, hair falling out, covered with mud or burrs, and other physical signs that it has been away from human contact for a long time. If it is friendly, you may be able to lure it into your vehicle and get it to a shelter. Food, water and a bath may be all it needs on the road to being found again.

Happy Go Lucky -- This is the easiest stray to deal with, it has just probably been separated from its owner and wants to be found A.S.A.P. If it runs up to you, jumps up, rolls on the ground at your feet and other signs of affection, chances are it wants to get back home right away, and there may even be signs posted in the neighborhood, or local paper, with name and number, a picture and who to contact.