Call the rescue or shelter right now, then animal control, nearby shelters and the microchip company. Search carefully, as a foster dog may not see your home as home.
Tell the rescue before you do anything else
Call your rescue or shelter now, even if it is the middle of the night and you feel awful. Use the emergency number in your foster agreement. If nobody answers, text and email as well, then keep going. They hold the dog’s records, chip number and photos, and they may have volunteers who have done this before. Say it plainly: Rosie slipped her collar at 4 p.m. at Oak and 5th, heading east. I am searching now. What is the chip number, and who is calling the shelters? Do not delay the call to look for a while first. You can do both, and a helper can start calling while you walk.
Why this search is different
A dog in foster care may have no idea that your house is home. It may not know the street, its name, or you. Practitioners at Missing Animal Response describe some dogs as aloof or fearful, wary of strangers, and say a fearful dog may run even from its owner. A new dog may also not have a bond strong enough to bring it back. Do not stake everything on waiting at the house. Our post Newly adopted dog ran away: why it is harder and what to do goes through this in depth, and much of it applies. Ask the rescue where the dog came from before you, and how it behaved there.
Who else to tell, in order
Next, call the people who can catch or scan the dog. Animal control for the place it went missing comes first, then every shelter nearby. Give the rescue’s name as well as yours, because the record may show the rescue as the owner. Have the rescue or you contact the microchip company, and confirm whose name and number are on the chip. The AAHA lookup at aaha.org/petmicrochiplookup shows which registry holds a chip number. Then call vets in the area and tell neighbors. Check the rule in your agreement before you post anything, as some rescues want to run the public posts. If yours does, ask them to do it today, and share them yourself once they are up.
Get the ownership right on every report
This matters more than it seems. If a shelter picks up the dog, it needs to know who can reclaim it. In many foster arrangements, the rescue stays the legal owner, but your agreement decides that, so read it. Ask the rescue who should be listed, and whether you may sign for the dog. Bring a written note from them to the shelter if not. Charlotte, North Carolina, for example, says only the owner can reclaim a dog unless the other person has signed permission and a copy of the owner’s photo ID. Shelter hold times can be short, so a mix-up can cost you days. Our post How long do shelters hold lost dogs? has examples. Ask the rescue who will pay any fees.
How to search with little information
Walk out from the spot where the dog was last seen. Use a calm voice, or no voice at all, because a scared dog may not know its name. Sit down, look away and let it come to you if you see it. Do not chase. Bring a helper who has a phone, and ask the rescue if the dog knows anyone else, such as a past foster or a volunteer, since that person may have better luck. Leave the door or gate you can watch open, with food. Print posters with a clear photo, and the words DO NOT CHASE. CALL. In the ASPCA’s national phone survey, published in 2012, 49% of recovered dogs were found by searching the neighborhood, so walking counts.
What to do if you feel guilty
You can feel terrible and still be useful. Dogs get out, even with careful people, and the rescue knows that. The Center for Shelter Dogs tells adopters of dogs with a history of escaping to keep a conventional fence, lock doors and windows, and supervise them outside, which shows how normal this problem is. Tell the rescue exactly what happened, including anything you did wrong, because the details may help the search. If the dog was with a friend or a sitter when it got out, tell the rescue that too. Do not hide it. Ask for one person to be your contact, and agree on how often you will update each other, since a busy rescue can go quiet.
Be careful with callers
Public posts attract scammers. Use the rescue’s number or a phone you can answer, and do not put your address on a poster. Keep one detail off your posts so you can test callers, such as a scar or a marking. Humane World for Animals says to be wary of anyone who asks for money first, or who cannot describe a detail you have kept private. Never send money before you see the dog. If someone has taken the dog in and wants to keep it, tell them it is in a rescue’s care, and pass their details to the rescue and animal control.
When the dog is back
Take the dog to the vet right away, or follow the rescue’s instructions on where to go, as it may have a set clinic. Lucky Dog Animal Rescue says to take a found pet to the vet right away, then take down flyers and update every place you posted. Thank anyone who helped. Then talk with the rescue about what changes before the dog stays with you again. Lucky Dog requires martingale collars for adopters, and says to keep a new dog on a leash indoors and in the yard for the first 48 hours, and never to leave it alone in a yard, even a secure one. Ask for gear from the rescue if you need it. Write down what went wrong, and pass it on to the dog’s next home.
Sources
Missing Animal Response: missinganimalresponse.com/lost-dog-behavior. AAHA microchip lookup: aaha.org/petmicrochiplookup. Charlotte Animal Care and Control: charlottenc.gov/Animal-Care-and-Control/Lost-Found/I-lost-my-pet. Weiss, Slater, Lord, Animals, 2012: pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC4494319. Center for Shelter Dogs, Animal Rescue League of Boston, Escape Behavior handout: sites.tufts.edu/collaborativeforshelterdogs/files/2016/03/CSD-SA-Handout-ESCAPE-BEHAVIOR.pdf. Humane World for Animals: humaneworld.org/resources/how-find-lost-dog. Lucky Dog Animal Rescue: luckydoganimalrescue.org/articles/2024-08/ownership-resource/lost-pet-guidance.