Out-of-Area Strays Brought to Local Shelters Make Finding Owners Difficult

The Fairfax County Animal Shelter is searching for the owner of a tan Shiba Inu found running in traffic on Thursday, Nov. 17, in Oxon Hill, MD. The dog, wearing a black nylon collar with no tags was caked in mud, had wounds and was limping when he came to the shelter.

The citizen who found the dog told an officer she believed the dog may have been hit by a car; however, she placed the dog in her car, drove to her work in Alexandria, VA, and left the dog alone in her car for five hours before contacting Fairfax County Animal Control.

“Many people believe they are helping a lost pet by taking it to any animal shelter,” says Fairfax County Animal Shelter Director Dr. Karen Diviney. “However, it is imperative that citizens who find a lost animal take it to the animal control facility where the animal was found. It could make the difference between the pet’s owner being found or not.”

Upon receipt of the Shiba Inu, Fairfax County Animal Control took the dog immediately to . The dog was picked up from the animal hospital later the same day, and has been treated at the Fairfax County Animal Shelter while being on a stray hold (the mandatory holding period for a shelter to hold a lost animal to provide its owner time to find the animal). The animal’s stray hold expired Monday, Nov. 28, but it has been extended as shelter staff seeks the dog’s owner.

Shelter staff, who work diligently to reunite lost pets with their owners every day, called the Prince George’s Animal Shelter (the jurisdiction in which the dog was found) as well as local vet clinics in and around Oxen Hill, MD, in search of the owner. While given supportive care at the Fairfax County Animal Shelter, the dog is injured and does need to be reunited with its owner.

In the past month, the Fairfax County Animal Shelter has received several stray dogs found in other jurisdictions, including one dog who was found in North Carolina and driven by the finder to the Fairfax County Animal Shelter. Although the owner of this dog was eventually found, if a lost pet is found and is driven far from its home jurisdiction, the chance of the pet being reunited with its owner is greatly diminished.

Citizens who find a lost pet are encouraged to:

• Note the exact location where the animal is found.
• Call the local police ask them to send the local animal control to pick up the animal. This will give the owner a greater probability of finding the dog if it is kept locally in the owner’s home jurisdiction.
• If a personal travelling is not aware of the local police number or local animal control, dial 911 and explain that you have found a lost animal, tell them your location and ask for assistance from the local animal control. If traveling on a major highway, it helps to have a mile marker or if on a smaller route, provide a landmark to aid police or animal control in locating you.
• Leave all identification on the dog (collars, tags, dog licenses, etc.). This is how local animal shelters reunite pets with their owners.
• If an animal is injured, call animal control locally or drive the animal to a local veterinary clinic. Police dispatch or 411 may be able to assist you in finding a local vet clinic if you are not familiar with the area.
• Do not drive the animal out of the jurisdiction in which you found it. This decreases the chances of the pet being reunited with its owner.

The Fairfax County Animal Shelter has received stray pets from as far away as Utah, when citizens have found them and driven them to this area.

The shelter does have dedicated staff that search for the owners of lost pets. The shelter also holds animals longer than the mandatory state law requires giving owners an opportunity to find pets that may have gone astray.

For more information, call the Fairfax County Animal Shelter at 703-830-1100.