Thank you for caring enough to assist an animal in need. The majority of strays in the shelter and those found wandering do or did in fact belong to someone, but because of circumstances beyond their control they became separated from their loved ones. You can help try to reunite your furry find with his or her family by doing a few simple but necessary things.

First, take a picture of the animal. More people pay attention to a photo than just a written description and are more likely to be reminded of an animal they are familiar with if they see their picture.

Next, use this photo to plaster flyers all over your neighborhood and beyond. Put the flyers on sign posts, telephone poles, doors, windshields, etc. Be sure to make your phone number very visible! Animals (especially dogs) can travel long distances very quickly so it may be beneficial to hang flyers in different areas of town as well.

Call all the local shelters - both rescue shelters and municipal shelters and report that you are in possession of a found animal. Send the photo/flyer to them so that they can post it in the shelter and possibly help reunite the pet with its owner if the owner is trying to find them.

Put an ad in the paper. Very often newspapers allow free advertising for found animals and will run it as long as necessary. It can be helpful to include the picture in this ad as well.

Have patience and know that you are doing the right thing by helping someone find their home.

If you aren't able to reunite the animal with its family consider all your options and try to find the best home possible for the pet. Keep in mind that over 19,000 dogs and cats are euthanized in shelters in the Midlands every year and we hope that you will do all that you can from to keep from adding another animal to that number.

To assist you, please click here The ABC's of Finding a Pet a Home and download our pdf file on how to find an animal a good home. With a little time and patience we are sure that you will find this exercise well worth it and will feel great knowing that ultimately, you've saved a life.