Pet tips

Caring people who see dogs running at large aren’t always sure how to help. Some may even want to adopt if an owner doesn’t come forward. In the first scenario, people should report the stray to the Peninsula Humane Society at (650) 340-8200. Picking up strays is among our contracted services. Some people are able to secure the dog themselves in their car, yard or garage, then call us for pickup, or they take the dog directly to our Coyote Point intake facility at 12 Airport Blvd. in San Mateo. You are helping a dog if you get involved at any level. People who wish to adopt a stray they’ve found should bring the dog to our intake facility so we can scan the dog for a microchip. If the dog has a chip, we would prefer to keep the dog at our shelter until we make contact with the owner. When a dog has no identification, people can keep the dog at their home after completing a Found Animal report, a tool we use to make matches when owners of lost dogs visit our shelter. When the dog’s four-day, state-mandated stray period is over, that dog can become your property (we hate that term!) if you’ve made reasonable efforts to find the owner. The law does not define “reasonable efforts” but they would include visiting your local shelter and completing a Found Animal report, posting Found Dog fliers in the neighborhood and posting a message on Craigslist. For years, shelters considered 30 days as the magic time frame; a stray dog would become the “finder’s” legal property after a one month of them caring for the dog. This is not true. The law simply says the person who finds the dog must make reasonable efforts to find the owner. We are grateful when local residents help strays at any level, whether calling to report one or offering to adopt one!

Scott oversees PHS/SPCA’s Adoption, Behavior and Training, Education, Outreach, Field Services, Cruelty Investigation, Volunteer and Media/PR program areas and staff from the new Tom and Annette Lantos Center for Compassion.