In the early morning hours a couple of years ago, a man traveling through Danville on his way home to a city in North Carolina saw a beautiful husky on the side of the road. No houses were in sight and the man put the dog in his car, thinking he would make a good companion for his other dog.
Over an hour later, he arrived home and found that his dog did not get along with the stray he had picked up. He got back in his car and drove the dog back to Danville. He called the after-hours emergency number and asked an employee to meet him at the shelter. One did and the dog was put inside the shelter.
Only a few hours passed before a frantic owner called to report his missing husky. We were happy to tell him we had received a dog matching that description. Can you imagine what would have happened if the man who found the dog had kept him? The dog would never have been reunited with his rightful owner.
A dog accidentally escaped from his elderly owner in a store parking lot and was picked up by a family who claimed ownership of the dog. We paid a reward for the return of the dog.
A sweet little dog wandered from home and was picked up by a man. He took the dog to a clinic to be checked; he then had the dog microchipped. He refused to return the dog to her rightful home citing the fact he was considered the legal owner because of the microchip, despite the fact the dog tried to escape from his arms to get to his real family.
These are not isolated incidents. The stories abound. We are disturbed by the increasing number of people who find a stray dog or cat, post the picture on social media, and then keep them or try to find them a home.
There are many reasons why dogs and cats become strays and it should never be assumed that they are neglected.
If you have picked up a stray animal and have chosen not to take it to the public animal shelter in the locality where it was found, there are legal requirements to consider.
Virginia Code 3.2-6551 requires any individual who finds a companion animal and retains it to contact the public animal shelter that serves the locality where the companion animal was found. Specific information is required, including the location where the companion animal was found, a description, and contact information. The same requirements are in effect for rescue groups and other releasing agencies. Violation of this may result in a civil penalty.
In addition, the same standards of adequate care apply to all stray animals that have been picked up and held in a home. This means that a person who has found a lost animal must provide adequate food, water, shelter, and veterinary treatment.
It is also important to remember that the law never gives clear ownership rights to an individual who found an animal and decided to keep it. After required stray times are fulfilled, shelters and releasing agencies (acting legally, including being registered with the State Vet’s office) become the legal owners and can find homes for the animals.
If the animal appears to be neglected, a private citizen cannot do anything about that, but shelter personnel and/or animal control officers can. In addition, proof of a current rabies vaccination must be provided to the staff or officer.
In this day of social media and taking strays out of localities, public animal shelters remain the best hope of reuniting a lost pet.
