I Found a Stray… Now What?

It’s happened to too many of us—we come across a stray animal clearly in need of a new home, scoop it up, and take it home to decide the next step. But then what? Below are some ideas that you can share with friends and family who will inevitably face the same scenario. Unfortunately, there’s no quick fix for these situations, but there are definitely some things you can do with a little effort to find your stray a new forever home!

Is it really a stray?

The first step is to decide whether the animal you’ve found is truly a stray or if it’s just been lost by its owner. Check to see if it’s wearing a collar and if the collar has tags with contact information. If it’s not wearing a collar, it may be microchipped. A quick visit to a veterinarian office or animal shelter will connect you with someone who can scan the animal for a microchip, and provide you with information to contact the owner if it does indeed have a chip.

It’s a good idea to post “found pet” flyers in your area and to post a found listing on petfinder.com, craigslist.com, and/or online newspaper classifieds. You can also call local animal shelters and report a missing pet, which they will put on file in case the owner contacts them and to check for a match in their missing pet files. Put yourself in the position of your pet getting loose and not being able to find it or know whether it’s safe or not—you would want to check around and hope that someone made some effort to help reunite you. This is not always the case, especially when an overly-neglected animal is found, but it’s just good practice to try. 

*A note about posting found flyers: Sadly not all people have the best of intentions and use found posters to go pet-shopping. I suggest only putting general details about the animal. If someone calls about the posting, ask them to provide you with distinguishing markers or behavioral characteristics to be sure it’s really their lost pet. I would also ask for a photo to compare.

Stormy: The stray who meowed at our door in 2010.

Provide medical treatment and grooming

Ok, so you’re convinced the animal is a stray. How is its medical condition? If it’s in your financial power, I suggest taking it to the vet for a checkup and vaccinations. If the animal isn’t spayed or neutered, go ahead and get that done as well. You want to find the animal a new home in the best condition possible, and having it checked is going to help you find it a home much faster. And spaying/neutering it will ensure that the number of stray animals in your area will decrease.

It’s also smart to take it to the vet if you have other animals. It may have parasites or other treatable but contagious medical condition that could be spread to your pets.

*There are many low-cost spay/neuter programs that also offer low-cost vaccines. Contact your local animal rescues to find out where the nearest low-cost spay/neuter center is located. Some vets and groomers will also give a rescue discount for cases such as these.

Grooming the animal will make it clean while it’s in your care and will make it much more appealing to potential adopters. Give it a bath, clean its ears, clip its nails, and give it a good brushing. You may need help with this from a groomer, depending on the animal’s temperament and your own grooming experience.

Steps to finding a forever home

If you can’t keep the animal as your own pet for whatever reason, you’ve got to get out there and find it a new home. This is the hard part, but it can be done—just be patient!

Stormy: Now a member of our home!

Step 1: Take a few good quality photos of the animal to use. Take one close-up of the face, one photo that shows its whole body, and one that is a fun/cute photo (if it’s not too scared to get one of these). Sometimes just seeing one photo can be deceiving, so taking multiple photos will give potential adopters a better idea of the pet’s size and characteristics.

Step 2: Write a short paragraph that describes the animal. Include sex, breed(s), color(s), hair length, approximate age, and distinguishing/unique features. Include medical information, such as whether it’s spayed/neutered, up-to-date on which vaccines, and any current medical conditions. Include any temperament information, even it’s just that it’ll get along with any other pets, children, etc. (Make sure it’s a true statement first! See more about temperament below.) Next, write some cute comments about whether the animal likes to play, get petted, etc. and include some details to paint a picture of its personality. And remember, keep the description of the animal positive—if there are any negative issues, find a good way to say it nicely and positively. Last, don’t forget to include your contact information.

Try to make an educated decision about the animal’s temperament. Does it like other dogs/cats/pets; does it do well with children; does it do well with both men and women? If you don’t know, say so. If you do notice something, like a dog who clearly does not like your cat, say it nicely but do include these behaviors. You want the animal to go to the best possible home, for both the owners and for the pet.

*Using phrases like, “Best with children over 13 years old” or “Would do best in a home with other dogs but not cats” are good ways to let potential owners know the temperament without making a negative comment about the pet.

Dog currently in need of home. (Contact me for info.)

Step 3: Post, post, post! Post a photo and description of the animal on your social networking sites and listservs. You’d be surprised at the people who will contact you that are interested or know someone who might be. Ask friends and family to cross-post and share your link to get the word out to as many people as possible.

Post a listing on Petfinder.com. This is a great place to find potential adopters in your area. It’s easy to create a profile and post a listing, and the site has quite a bit of excellent tips and information that correlates with this blog posting.

Contact local animal rescues about the animal. They may be willing to take in the animal, but be advised that most no-kill shelters only pull adoptable pets from local animal control. If the shelter cannot take the animal, ask if they are willing to add them as a foster. This means that you will be the foster home, but the shelter will add the animal to their adoption postings and let you bring it to their adoption events. This will increase the traffic to your animal’s postings and thus increase the likelihood that the pet will be adopted sooner. The shelter may or may not be willing to take care of medical expenses in this case, so be prepared to possibly support the pet financially while in your care.

If the animal is a certain breed, contact breed-specific rescues about taking in the animal or helping you find it a home (another foster home possibility). A quick Google search, or call to the local animal rescues, will help you find a list of breed-specific rescues to contact. The Spot Society is also a great place to look for breed-specific rescues in Georgia.

Post a pet classified ad on Craigslist.com Follow found suggestions from the “found” section above to avoid scams and unethical inquiries. Be extremely cautious of inquiries from these sites. This is undoubtedly my last suggestion for posting adoptables, but it is an option.

Screening potential adopters

Bests Friends Animal Society has a great booklet called How to Find Homes for Homeless Pets, which has a section about screening potential adopters and even has a sample adoption screening worksheet and a sample adoption contract to use. IT also describes how to interpret certain responses which will let you know if the animal is right for the person’s home and family.

Good luck!!!