Contents
Should You Adopt a Stray Dog What to Know
There’s no doubt at some time in your life a stray dog will show up on your doorstep. And as a good human it’s natural to want to help a creature. It’s is possible you want to bring them indoors and have dreams to make them your own.
However, before you decide to adopt this rescue dog, there a few consideration before making him part of the family.
Is the Dog Stray or Just Lost
One of the first things to consider before you adopt a stray dog is to find out if he is indeed stray or is this cute canine lost?
Dogs become stray for many reasons: some may of accidentally escaped from the garden. Others are victims of abandonment, or some may be running the streets for some time in a pack or alone making them feral a dogs (who have never or not for a long time lived with a human). So there are many reasons a dog has turned up in your neighborhood. With this said it is difficult to know about the history of a stray dog.
Here are 7 important things to consider when you find a stray dog:
- Is the dog safe and friendly enough to handle
- Consider taking the dog to a vet for a check up visit to check
- Search for dog tags or have him scanned for a microchip or look for a ear tattoo
- Check state laws regarding the adoption of a found dog
- Ensure that a stray dog will get along with other pets and family if you adopt
- Be willing to care for him for 30 days and surrender him to owners if found
If unclaimed, stray dogs can make wonderful pets
Stray Dogs and Considering Adoption
When I would look for animals. In hopes if I took them home my parents would allow me to keep them – good try. From cats to dogs, rabbits and any other creature I adore animals and my belief is you just can never have enough. And everyone of them should live in a house (ponies and all). There were what I thought was wild horses in our area (a small village in Wales). My dad joked if he follows you into the yard you can keep him.
That was a big mistake, because not only did my sister and I encourage one to follow us in but we managed to get two to follow us. We were elated and my dad kept his promise and we kept the horses safely in a neighbours field, only to be heartbroken when some local travelling Roma’s came to claim after a few weeks. ‘Finding’ strays was easy enough when I was a kid, nut the habit of loving and wanting to save animals is the same into my adulthood.
Finding Stray Dogs and Cats
As an adult, I continued to rescue animals in need. I saved a few lost dogs and cats. Thankfully most were lost and I was able to return them to their rightful home.
But in some situations, owners may not come forward or cannot be located. Some of our other dogs came to us in a variety of circumstances: a friend found a husky pup in a dumpster, another a girl giving up puppies on the way to Whistler, and another adopted through a rescue society brining street dogs in Mexico. No matter how our dogs found us, we love and adored each and everyone. They were all gifts to us.
With this said there are some precautions to consider when adopting a stray dog. Below we share a few through things to consider when asking if you should adopt a stray dog.
1. Make Sure the Dog is Safe to Handle
Before you bring a dog into your home its important that the dog is safe to handle, especially if you have other animals or children in the home. Remember this is a new animal and you have no idea how he will react or behave.
Watch for signs of aggression and back off if he growls or bares his teeth. Likewise, if the dog seems terrified of you, he may run off. So, approach slowly and speak gently. You can also bring an enticing food offering such as dog treats, a hot dog, or cheese to let him know you are a friend. If you cannot safely approach him yourself, then you should call animal control staff to assist you.
If you find a stray hanging out around your home a lot, you can place water and some food on the doorstep to get him to trust you. Then you may be able to safely approach him and bring him inside.
2. Health Issues Like Fleas and Ticks
If you have other pets, you may want to keep him in a separate area of the yard or garage. This way you can check him put for fleas and ticks.It is a good idea to give him a bath to rid flea and ticks before you bring him inside. Homeless dogs can have a pretty rough life if they have been living outside for a long time.
If your pets are up to date on their vaccinations. Then you can bring the stray pup inside if the weather is bad. But try to keep them separated as much as possible. If possible use a child safety gate, so the dog can see out of a room but not get too close.
3. Consider a Vet Check Up for a Stray Dog’s Health
If you cannot readily find the dog’s owners and plan to care for a stray dog, take him to your local vet for a check-up. At a minimum, the vet may want to give him rabies shots and one or two other vaccinations. Be sure to see my post about flu and other key vaccinations.
Your vet can also check his general health and well-being and determine if he has any serious health problems. If you have other pets in your home, this is a very important step to take to protect them. You will want to make sure they are not exposed to communicable or other types of contagious illnesses.
Don’t assume that a stray dog has been abandoned. He may simply be lost, so be sure to check for dog tags. Hopefully, he will have a city license tag or his owners’ contact information. But if not, you can have him scanned for a microchip. Microchips are tiny chips encased in glass and have an identifying number that can be read with a scanner. See my post about Microchips and how to change the contact info for more information.
If you take him to the vet for a check-up, the vet can do a scan. Otherwise, most shelters have scanners and can help you contact the registration company which will have the owner’s contact information. Microchipping pets has become a common practice recommended to owners over the past several years. Additionally, most rescue groups and shelters will microchip a dog if he does not already have one.
5. Check State Laws About Adoption a Found Dog
If you have taken a lost or stray dog into your home, check your state laws about adopting a found dog before you take him into your heart! Most state and local laws require a minimum period of time to find the prior owner.
What to do to Find a Dog’s Owner
Contact a shelter and have the dog scanned for a microchip
Register the information with all shelters in case the owners is searching for the dog
Make posters and flyers with the Dr’s picture and your contact information
Look for local Facebook groups about dogs including lost and found
If someone contacts about the dog, make sure they give a description, have photos and show proof of ownership. Sadly, people try to steal dogs for a variety of illegitimate purposes.
Make sure the dog is really lost. Look for lost and found pages and groups in Facebook and post a lost dog notice. Pin flyers to trees and light poles around your neighborhood.
Limit the information youshare to make sure someone does not make a claim that is not true. Ask the person who calls to provide more information such as: gender or markings, do they have photos and others such information. This will help to identify the stray dogs owner.
All reasonable efforts must be made to find the owner since pets are considered to be legal property in most states. This period is usually two weeks to 30 days. If no owner comes forward, then you are allowed to adopt a stray dog after the required period of time has passed.
Make Flyers and Post Notices
Sometimes pets will bolt due to noise like fireworks. They can lose their direction in storms. So watch for flyers and posters to see is someone is looking for a missing cat or a potential dog that looks stray.
Make flyers, posters and place them on mailboxes and poles in your neighborhood. Join lost and found groups such as local Facebook community groups with the details.
5. Ensure that a stray dog will get along with other pets and family if you adopt
If you plan to adopt if the owner cannot be found and do not want to take him to the shelter then ensure that the dog will get along with your household pets and family members. Take him to the vet to check for any diseases he could pass along and get him vaccinated.
Then slowly integrate him with other pets. Keep everyone separated using child gates or fenced-off areas and slowly let them meet through the fences and gates. If all goes well, you can let them be together off leash in the backyard and then inside a large room in your house.
Dogs need a large enough space to meet other dogs so they have room to move around and check out the other dogs or move away if they are unsure. Dogs do not like to be boxed in and need a safe place or route to retreat to. If a dog feels trapped he may lash out.
Make sure he has his own place to eat and his own bed to sleep in. Be sure to see my post Everything You Need to Know About Adopting a Rescue Dog to get a lot more info about bringing a new dog home.
6. Be willing to care for him for 30 days and surrender him to owners if found
If you have fallen in love with a stray dog, be willing to keep him for at least 30 days while you search for the owners. Even if the legal requirement is only two weeks, wait 30 days just to make sure. His owners could be on vacation or be hard to locate for some reason. Just imagine how you might feel if your dog was lost.
Also, be prepared to relinquish a lost dog if the owners step forward and claim him. Even though you may be sad to let him go, you can find solace that he will be reunited with his family and can go back to his familiar home. So please adjust your expectations until you have completed this period of time.
7. If unclaimed, stray dogs can make wonderful pets
Rescued dogs often make the most loyal and loving dogs you can imagine! They have been around the block a few times and are grateful to be in a good home.
If you adopt a dog then make sure to get your no longer stray dog, identification tags, and appropriate license dog license and have him microchipped in the event he should ever accidentally stray.
Concluding Should You Adopt a Stray Dog
Adopting a stray dog is a wonderful gift for the dog and will enhance your life if you adopt for the right reasons. There are tens of thousands of dogs who are in need of loving and caring homes.
And if you are looking for a dog to join your home then visit a local shelter and rescue a dog (or any other pet) you are willing to care for. Simply do a Google search and type in local dog shelters near me.