YOU FOUND A PUP, NOW WHAT?
Thank you for helping the sweet pup that you found! Here are the steps to take next:
Take the dog to any local vet or any Memphis Fire Station to scan for a microchip. If it is after regular business hours, you can take the dog to Animal Emergency Center at 3767 Summer Avenue. This service is free.
Contact local veterinarians, animal shelters, humane societies, and emergency clinics to see if anyone has reported a lost dog.
Make a “Found Dog Flyer.” Keep it simple (like the example below): include a photo, the word “Found,” and a phone number (with area code). Post the flyer near where you found the dog, in outlying areas, and at local businesses who allow flyers, particularly at vet offices. Dogs can travel many miles in one day.
Post a photo (leaving out details like sex or collar color) on Craig’s List in the “Lost and Found” and “Pets” sections, the Commercial Appeal, The Memphis Flyer, Next Door, PawBoost and Facebook. Be sure your posts on social media are “public” and not “friends only.”
Post a photo on Facebook and tag the “Lost and Found Pets of the Mid-South” page. Be sure to include area where the dog was found and a phone number (but not sex, collar color, or other identifying characteristics). Check out their Facebook page for some examples of ways to search for owners.
If anyone contacts you claiming to own the dog you found, remember to request identifying information such as sex, collar color, and other identifying information. You can request that the owner send photos or other identification such as veterinary records. As much as we wish it were not a common practice, people in the community often seek out dogs for a variety of reasons that can cause harm to a dog. Please be cautious when returning any animal.
If the animal you find is injured, please take them to the closest vet. If it is after regular business hours, the Animal Emergency Center is open all night and weekend for emergency care.
Did You Know?
There are no “No-Kill” shelters in Memphis? Memphis Animal Services euthanizes thousands of dogs each year. Pit Bull type breeds are among the majority of those killed. If you drop a pup off at a shelter, they are likely to be euthanized.
The Humane Society of Memphis and Shelby County’s mission is specifically to help injured animals. They do not take in strays that people find in the community unless they have an injury.
If you observe animal cruelty, you can contact the Humane Society to do an investigation. Be as prepared as you can with photos and details. Contact the cruelty investigation team at 901-937-3910 or email reportcruelty@memphishumane.org.
If you can’t find an owner…
It can take several days or weeks to locate an animal’s owner, particularly if the animal traveled a long distance. If you feel like you have made all reasonable efforts to locate the owner and are willing to provide shelter for the dog until a forever home is found, contact us HERE and select ‘Found A Pup’. It can take anywhere from weeks to months to find the perfect forever home, so please note that this is a commitment with an open end date. Our team works diligently to locate homes for our dogs, but we have no way of knowing how long that may take
