A stray is not automatically unwanted. If you have found a dog, the job is to keep it safe and give the owner a real chance to claim it — not to catch it at any cost, and not to rehome it the same day.

Do not catch a dog you are afraid of.
Even a friendly dog that is lost can bite when it is frightened. A wagging tail is not always a welcome. If you cannot tell the difference between a loose, friendly wag and a stiff warning flag, do not try to catch the dog. Fear reads clearly to a dog, and a frightened person is more likely to be bitten. Chasing can do worse: the dog darts into traffic, or panics and runs. If you are unsure, do not grab.

If you cannot safely catch it:

• Write down color, size, breed, and sex; the exact location, street address or intersection; and which direction the dog is moving.
• Call animal control and report that information.
• Ask neighbors, and anyone outside, whether they know the dog. Children often do.
• Follow at a distance if you can. Some dogs will wander into an empty yard. Close the gate and wait for animal control, or ask around for the owner. Do not corner a dog that wants out.

If the dog is clearly friendly and you can get it off the street:

• Call it to you. Lead it into a yard or a store and close the door. Do not grab.
• Do not lunge or lean over it. Squat, and move slowly.
• Leash it only if it has already approached you and is calm. A slip lead in the car is useful. A leash with a loop, a belt, or a rope made into a noose can work the same way: drape it over the head. Do not snatch.
• If you are in a car, open the back door. A dog that has lived with people will sometimes jump in on its own, and is less likely to bite once it is contained than while it is loose.

Lost is not the same as abandoned.

Do not judge the owner by the coat. A dog missing for days, weeks, or months can be thin, dirty, and sick while someone is still searching. Collars and tags fall off. The signs that a dog had a home are practical ones: it is spayed or neutered, or it has a microchip.

If the dog is safely with you:

• If there is a tag with a phone number, call it and try to return the dog directly.
• If you cannot reach the owner, or there is no tag, call animal control the same day. Ask whether anyone has reported a dog missing, and follow that city’s rules. Some require the dog to be held at the shelter for a stray period, often a few days, before it can be adopted. Others allow you to house it if you file a found report and post notices.
• Have the dog scanned for a microchip at a shelter or a veterinary office. Do this even if you think you know where it belongs.

In Columbus, report it.

Contact the Sheriff’s Department, Animal Control, and the Columbus–Lowndes Humane Society at 662.327.3107. Do not try to rehome the dog for five days. Call local veterinary offices, place a found ad in the newspaper, and post on local Facebook lost-and-found pages.

Other steps that help:

• Make a found-pet flyer, and leave a detail off it. “Small white dog with a collar” is enough. When someone calls, ask them to describe the collar and the breed. People do try to claim dogs that are not theirs.
• Post the flyer where you found the dog, at local shelters, and at vet offices. Ask the clinics whether they recognize the dog.
• Check the lost-pet ads as well as placing your own.

If the owner does not appear:

After the reporting period, you may decide to keep the dog or help it find a home. If it is at the shelter, you may have priority because you found it, or you may need an application in before the hold ends. Ask that shelter how it works. If you can legally house the dog while you search, do that. If you cannot, call local rescue groups about foster space.