If you find a dog...

Thanks for wanting to help!

If a dog doesn't have a collar with tags, if they are microchipped, the chip can be their ticket home. You can take a dog to SICSA, Humane Society of Greater Dayton, or most veterinary offices to be scanned for a microchip. You can also now purchase your own universal chip reader on Amazon for around $30.

While scanning the microchip does not provide the owner's information directly, once you have the number, you can look it up in an online database to determine where the chip was registered. Some chip registries now offer forms to contact the owner. To lookup a chip, visit the AAHA Microchip Lookup page.

Due to privacy laws, microchip registries will not tell you who registered a microchip, but will contact the owner for you. Make sure you provide good contact information for the owner to reach you.

If the dog doesn't have a microchip, call your local Animal Shelter to file a Found Report while you search for the owner. From the Montgomery County (Ohio) Animal Resource Center's website:"If you find a dog that is not wearing a license tag and you wish to provide a temporary home, call the Animal Resource Center at 937-898-4457. Give the shelter all of the available information on the dog and a Found Report will be posted at the shelter."

This found report will allow an owner who goes to the shelter to look for their dog to be notified that you have their dog. However, it's not the same as seeing their dog! So make sure you post other places, including a GOOD picture!

If you find a dog who has a license, the easiest way to reunite them with their family is to lookup the license number. It may turn out that they live right down the street.

In Montgomery County, you can call ARC at 937-898-4457 and they can look up the owner of a licensed dog.

If you are not able to locate the owner of the dog after 10 days and cannot keep the dog, then you can reach out to rescues to see if they can take in the dog.

Wonder Dogs Rescue is often not able to take in strays because we simply do not have available foster homes for them. If you are willing to foster a stray, we can often work with you to help you find a home for an abandoned dog.

If you lose a dog you adopted from us...

Post your dog to online Lost/Found sites:

You can also post on social media sites:

Nextdoor
Instagram
Facebook (post to your feed and also on local lost/found pets groups/pages)

If you're able to, print and post flyers near your home. You can make flyers at Pet FBI.

Make sure you provide a recent photo, a good description, and a good contact method.

Accidents happen. Doors and gates get left open, dogs slip collars and run off. It just happens. If you adopted from us and your dog gets out and doesn't come back right away, we are here to help!

Drive or walk around your neighborhood calling for your dog. Depending on how long they've been gone, they may be ready to come home.

If your dog has gotten out and run off before, check their local "go-to" spots.

Check with neighbors to find out if they've seen your dog.

Most dogs are returned home fairly quickly, but sometimes they can end up cities or counties away as a result of well-intentioned folks. Check nearby county or city shelters or police departments.

If your dog gets out often, consider purchasing a tracker for them. Two options are Fi collars or Apple AirTags.

Make sure you let us know when you get your dog back so we can take the post down from our Facebook.