These are the reasons why responsible ‘lost and found pet’ group admins recommend calling the local rangers when a dog is seen roaming loose and can’t be caught:
– The dog may stray further from its home, become frightened and stressed, and be much harder for the owner to find;
– The dog may be hit by a car, or cause a road crash from a driver trying to avoid hitting it;
– The dog may be stolen by an opportunistic thief, or by someone who decides to keep it for their own;
– The dog may attack a person, or another person’s cat or dog, or may itself be attacked by another dog;
– The dog may encounter a snake and be bitten, or come to some other serious harm, including starvation;
– If it’s a rural area where livestock is kept, the dog may be legally shot by a property owner;
– Rangers are experienced in finding and capturing dogs, and have the special equipment and skills to do it;
– Rangers can identify the owners of dogs that are registered or microchipped, or dogs they are familiar with because of previous incidents, experiences and knowledge;
– The dog’s owners are very likely to have already contacted the rangers looking for their dog;
– If a lost dog is impounded by a ranger, it is kept safe and well cared for by experienced pound staff until claimed by the owner.
– If a dog is being neglected or abused in any way by an irresponsible owner, the pound staff will assess whether it’s in the dog’s best interests to be returned to that owner.
– If a dog is not registered or microchipped as required by law, this will be done before the dog is returned to its owner.
