If you find a dog

· Safety: approach sideways, crouch, no eye contact, toss food. A frightened dog may bite, and a loose dog near a road is a danger to both of you.
· Secure them — a slip lead, a belt, a car, a fenced yard. Do not let them bolt again.
· Check for a tag. If there is a number, call it now. Most cases end here.

Any vet clinic, shelter or many pet stores will scan for free, and it takes a minute. Do this even if there is no collar — it is the single most useful thing a finder can do. If a chip is found, the registry can contact the owner. Check the chip on petmicrochiplookup.org to find which registry holds it.

· File a FOUND report with every local shelter, not just the nearest — owners often search a different one
· Post on Nextdoor, local lost-pet Facebook groups, and Petco Love Lost, which uses facial recognition and is free
· Hold back one identifying detail from public posts — a marking, a scar, the collar color — so you can verify a genuine owner
· Photograph them clearly, from the side and the front

A thin, dirty, frightened dog with matted fur has usually been LOST for a while, not abused. Fearful dogs are routinely assumed to be mistreated, and some finders refuse to contact the owner listed on the tag because of it. Weeks outside makes any dog look neglected. Make the call.

Laws vary by state and city, but most require a found animal to be reported to animal control or a shelter within a set period, and set a holding time before ownership can transfer. Keeping a found dog without reporting it can legally be theft, however good the intention. Check your local ordinance.

Ask the shelter about a finder-to-adopter arrangement — many will let the person who found the dog adopt after the hold period. Be honest with yourself about whether you can keep them before you start.

· Petco Love Lost (petcolove.org/lost) — free national database with facial recognition
· petmicrochiplookup.org — free AAHA tool showing which registry a chip is on
· Missing Animal Response Network (missinganimalresponse.com) — guidance for finders as well as owners
· Your municipal code — found-animal reporting requirements are local

Scanning is free, posting is free, and the phone call is free. This page costs nothing to act on.