You are driving home and see a dog moving between parked cars. Or a cat you have never seen before appears in your garden and looks frightened and hungry.
Your first instinct may be to take the animal home and start looking for the owner. Sometimes that is exactly what helps. But the safest way to deal with a found pet is to follow a few steps in the right order.
The goal is simple: protect yourself, protect the animal, and give the pet the best chance of getting back to the person who is already looking for them.
Start by deciding whether it is safe to approach
A lost animal can behave very differently from the way they behave at home.
Fear, traffic, unfamiliar people, injuries, loud noises, and exhaustion can make a normally friendly pet run, hide, growl, scratch, or bite.
Do not chase an animal into traffic or corner them in a place where they cannot escape. Move slowly, speak calmly, and avoid sudden movements.
If the animal is showing aggressive behaviour, appears badly injured, is trapped in a dangerous place, or you cannot approach safely, contact your local SPCA, animal welfare organisation, or veterinary service for help.
Your safety matters too. Helping does not require putting yourself at risk.
Contain the pet if you can do so safely
If the animal allows you to approach, try to move them away from roads and other immediate hazards.
A secure garden, garage, spare room, carrier, or suitable enclosed area can give you time to work out what to do next.
Keep a found animal separate from your own pets at first. You do not know their vaccination status, health history, temperament, or how they will react to unfamiliar animals.
Give them access to clean water and a quiet place to settle while you start looking for the owner.
If the pet appears sick or injured, contact a veterinary clinic or SPCA promptly instead of trying to diagnose or treat the problem yourself.
Check for visible identification
Look for a collar and identification tag if the animal is comfortable being handled.
A current phone number can turn a complicated search into a quick call.
Some collars may include a veterinary practice, microchip tag, licence number, or other useful clue even when the owner's mobile number is not shown.
Do not remove identifying items unless necessary for the animal's safety. Take a clear photograph of the collar or tag in case it is lost later.
If there is no visible identification, the next step is a microchip scan.
Ask a vet or SPCA to scan for a microchip
A microchip is not a tracking device. It contains an identification number that can be read using a scanner and connected to registration information that may help locate the owner.
Contact a nearby veterinary clinic or SPCA and ask whether they can scan the animal.
SPCA Randburg advises people who find a lost dog or cat in the area to bring the animal to the SPCA where possible, or to keep the animal safely contained and contact them for collection if appropriate. Their team can check for a microchip and try to trace the owner.
If the pet has a microchip but the registered details are outdated, do not assume the search has failed. The SPCA, veterinarian, or registry may still have useful information or be able to guide the next steps.
Record exactly where you found the pet
Before you drive the animal across town, make a note of the exact area where you found them.
Write down the street, suburb, nearby landmark, and approximate time. Take a clear photograph as soon as the animal is safe.
This matters because the owner may already be searching close to home.
Best Friends Animal Society recommends starting the search for an owner in the area where the animal was found, including speaking to neighbours and using local community groups.
Ask around the neighbourhood
A quick local search can solve many found-pet cases.
Speak to nearby residents, security guards, shop staff, dog walkers, complex managers, and other people who regularly spend time in the area.
Show them a photograph and ask whether they recognise the animal.
Do not assume that a dirty or thin pet has been abandoned. An animal that has been missing for days can look very different from the pet in the owner's photographs.
Contact local SPCAs, shelters, and veterinary clinics
Tell nearby animal welfare organisations and veterinary practices that you have found a pet.
Provide a clear photograph, description, location found, date, and your contact information.
An owner may have already contacted those organisations or may visit them while searching.
Durban & Coast SPCA advises owners of missing pets to contact veterinary practices, visit SPCAs, speak to neighbours, and use social media and neighbourhood WhatsApp groups. A found-pet report on the other side of that search can help the two parties connect.
PawGuard's nearby vet and shelter map can help you find relevant organisations to contact.
Create a found-pet alert
Post a clear photograph with the area where the pet was found and a safe way for the owner to contact you.
Share it in neighbourhood WhatsApp groups, community Facebook groups, local lost-and-found pet pages, and other relevant networks.
You can also create a found-pet SOS report through PawGuard so that the animal can be included in the lost-and-found process.
Avoid publishing every distinctive detail about the pet. Keep one or two identifying features private so you can ask anyone claiming the animal to describe them.
Be careful when someone claims the pet
Most people who contact you will be trying to help. You should still verify ownership before handing over an animal.
Ask the person to provide photographs of themselves with the pet, veterinary records, microchip details, a description of distinctive markings, or another piece of information that would be difficult for a stranger to guess.
If the animal has a microchip, use the proper vet, SPCA, shelter, or registry process rather than sharing private registration information publicly.
A genuine owner should understand why you want to make sure the pet is going to the right home.
Do not rush to rehome a found pet
A pet without a tag is not automatically abandoned.
The owner may be searching nearby, calling vets, visiting SPCAs, putting up posters, and posting in community groups.
Give the formal lost-and-found process a chance to work. Speak to your local SPCA about the appropriate next steps and any local requirements if the owner cannot be found.
Do not advertise the animal for adoption while the ownership search is still active.
If you cannot keep the animal temporarily
Not everyone can safely hold a found pet.
You may live in a complex that does not allow animals, have pets that cannot be separated safely, have children in the home, or simply lack a secure area.
That does not prevent you from helping.
Contact the local SPCA, shelter, animal welfare organisation, or veterinary clinic and explain where the pet was found and whether the animal is contained.
If you must transport the animal, use a secure carrier, lead, or other suitable restraint where possible. A frightened animal can escape again from a vehicle or parking area.
If the animal is injured
An injured animal needs professional help.
Contact a veterinary clinic or SPCA as soon as possible. If you can transport the pet safely, call ahead and explain that you have found an injured animal so the practice can advise you.
Be careful when handling an animal in pain. Pain can cause even a friendly pet to bite or scratch.
Do not delay urgent veterinary care while trying to find the owner.
Small actions can get a pet home
Finding a lost animal can feel like suddenly becoming responsible for someone else's emergency.
You do not have to solve everything yourself.
Keep the animal safe if you can. Check for identification. Arrange a microchip scan. Record where the pet was found. Contact vets, SPCAs, and shelters. Tell the surrounding community. Verify the owner before reunification.
PawGuard can support that process with found-pet SOS reporting and a map for locating nearby veterinary practices and shelters.
The person searching for that animal may be only a few streets away. Giving them several ways to find each other can turn a frightening day into a reunion.
References
- Best Friends Animal Society, "What to Do if You've Found a Lost/Stray Dog or Cat": https://bestfriends.org/pet-care-resources/what-do-if-youve-found-lost-stray-dog-or-cat
- Best Friends Animal Society, "What to Do When You Find a Lost Dog or Cat": https://bestfriends.org/how-you-can-help/when-you-find-lost-dog-or-cat
- SPCA Randburg, "Lost & Found": https://www.spca-rbg.org.za/services/lost-%26-found
- SPCA Randburg, "FAQ": https://www.spca-rbg.org.za/faq
- Durban & Coast SPCA, "Lost & Found", 18 September 2025: https://spcadbn.org.za/lost-and-found/
