Oh My Shih Tzu

Small Athletes Breaking Stereotypes

Finding a Lost Dog on the 4th of July

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Lets face it, finding a lost dog on the 4th of July is not what we want to do. There he is, running around your neighborhood, scared from the nights’ activities. The sky lighting up on fire, the booms…what in the world happened. You’ve managed to coax him into your front yard or backyard… so now what?
If you have the ability, setting up a specific little area for your unexpected guest, may be just the thing to help the dog get back to his home. This can include:

  • Pet bed or other loose bedding
  • Food & water
  • Toys
  • Radio set to soothing music

Lost Dog 4th of July

4 Ways to Help a Lost Dog Find Their Home

Signs

When a friend has lost a dog the first thing that a person does is drive around the neighborhood looking for their dog. But what happens if some has found the dog and it is quietly sitting in the backyard or house and the owner has just drove by? Most of the time we are the ones looking for the signs of a lost dog on street corners, etc. But if you’ve found a dog, why don’t you place a sign in your front yard saying “DOG FOUND!!”.

Microchips

I am not one to immediately take a dog to the shelter when I have found them, only because I live in a county with one of the highest euthanasia rates in the country, so if I can do all I can to help the dog find it’s owners then that’s how it shall be. A step I take is to check to see if the pet is micro-chipped. Obviously I don’t have a scanner in my home, but I can take the dog in to a local vet and have them scanned. Now that the pet has been scanned, and they are micro-chipped and depending on the company, the vet will take your information and give it to the company so the owners can contact you or vice versa. Sometimes though, even when the dog is micro-chipped, you are unable to find the owner because the phone number is no longer in service or they never completed the registration with the company.

Microchipped dog July 4th found dog
Courtesy of www.uvhdc.com

Shelters

Another thing you can do is contact your local shelter to see if anyone has lost a dog matching the description of the dog you found. If there has not been a report, be sure to leave your name and number with the shelter so they can contact you if they are contacted.

Internet

Social networking on sites such as Facebook, Twitter (#lostdog #founddog) can help your little friend get back home. Also be sure to check sites like Craigslist and even the microchips company website. You can also sign up for lost pet alerts in your area with apps such as PetRescuers by HomeAgain.

Here are 2 of my favorite sites for lost and found dogs:

  1. Lost My Doggie – a great resource for listing your lost or found dog. Free to list a found dog, small fee to list a lost dog.
  2. Next Door – I love this site because it really isn’t a pet site. Unlike Facebook NextDoor gives you access to a private social network for your given neighborhood.  From classified listing within your neighborhood to keeping up with neighbors regarding yard sales and lost dogs, Next Door lets you get to know your neighbors again.

I urge you to do what you can if you can to help a lost dog back to its owner. There are many shelters that become overfull at certain times of the year and will make adjustments to give room for all the incoming lost pets. Don’t let your pet or someone else’s become a statistic.

If you enjoyed this post, I’d be very grateful if you’d help it spread by emailing it to a friend, or sharing it on Twitter or Facebook with the share links below. Thank you!

Updated: July 4, 2015

Reader Interactions

Comments

  2. Anu says

    I always have trouble with my dogs during thunderstorms and fireworks. Thanks for the tips. I need all of them I can get. – Petnet(io)

    • Tzu Mom says

      You are right… it’s not our favorite time… we ended up going for a forty minute drive also and when we got back home the girls were settled until I took Katie out of the car and more fireworks went off… Thanks for noticing the header 🙂 and yes I did design it myself!!

  4. Sarah Hadley says

    Micro Chip is the best solution to keep the track of dog location. I had lost a pet when microchips was not very popular and it was very hard to get over the pain of losing a pet.

  6. Kelley says

    I’m an animal control officer. July 5th is the busiest day of the year for me. One of the things I tell people is to check Craigslist. Look under the “lost and found” section. if you don’t see your pet, post a lost pet ad. Seriously, I return pets to owners through Craigslist all the time. People won’t call me (my town is 2.5 square miles), but post on Craigslist right away. I don’t get it.
    Kelley recently posted…Lost Pet PreventionMy Profile

  8. Chelsea Price says

    Great tips! Last year, there were flyers up everywhere about an elderly Lab going missing during the fireworks. I don’t think she was ever found 🙁 I just felt awful about it – what a terrible thing to happen! I will be sure to keep a sharp eye out for any loose dogs this year!
    Chelsea Price recently posted…Happy 4th of July!!My Profile

  12. Sand Spring Chesapeakes says

    When we are out hunting we have heard of lost dogs as all the gun fire scares them or the owner puts a shock collar on them for the first time and doesn’t know how to use it. Sad, just sad. I hope there are no lost doggies this 4th. Great post! I love your look, haven’t been by to visit in a while and I really like it! Have a great fourth.
    Sand Spring Chesapeakes recently posted…Thursday Barks And Bytes~If My Head Wasn’t AttachedMy Profile

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