🐾 Help guide
You found an animal. Now what?
General guidance from common rescue advice. Your local shelter or vet always knows your area best — when in doubt, call them.
First, breathe and watch
- Stay a few metres back and just observe for a minute. Is the animal moving normally? Bleeding? Panting hard? Near traffic?
- A dog with a collar and a confident trot is probably somebody’s dog on a small adventure. A crouching, flinching one is scared.
- Kittens or puppies alone are often not abandoned — the mother may be a few metres away, moving them one at a time.
Decide how urgent it is
- In danger right now: on a road, trapped, tangled, in extreme heat or cold, or a tiny baby with no parent in sight. Call your local rescue or emergency number, then post here.
- Hurt or sick: limping, wounds, discharge from eyes or nose, very thin. Post immediately and flag it as hurt — someone with a carrier may be minutes away.
- Hungry or just around: leave water, post the sighting, and let the regulars in your area know.
Approach only if it is safe
- Crouch sideways, avoid eye contact, and let the animal come to you. Never corner it against a wall or a fence.
- A frightened animal in pain may bite even if it is normally gentle — that is fear, not aggression.
- Do not chase. A chased animal runs into roads. A pin on the map is worth more than a risky grab.
Small things that help a lot
- Water first, food second. Plain water in a shallow container is safe for almost every animal.
- No milk for cats or kittens, no chocolate, onions, grapes or cooked bones for dogs.
- Shade or shelter from rain. A cardboard box on its side with a towel is a five-star hotel.
Report it well
- A photo from a safe distance beats a perfect close-up. Even a blurry one helps people recognise the animal.
- Say what direction it went and what time you saw it. Strays move — the trail matters.
- Come back and post an update, even if it is “still there” or “gone now”. Updates are how sightings get closed.
If you take it in
- Get it scanned for a microchip — most vets and shelters do this for free, and many strays are lost pets with worried families.
- Post it on local lost-and-found groups as well as here.
- Keep it separate from your own pets until a vet has checked it over.