Early in the morning a few years ago, a man passing through Danville on his way back to his North Carolina city spotted a beautiful husky on the side of the road. There were no homes in sight, and the man thought the dog would be a good companion, so he took the dog into his car.
More than an hour later, he arrived home to find that his dog had not befriended the stray dog he had picked up. He got back in his car and drove his dog back to Danville. He called an after-hours emergency number and asked his employee to meet him at the shelter. One did so and the dog was placed inside the shelter.
Only a few hours passed before the frantic owner called to report the husky missing. We happily told him that we had received a dog that matched that description. Can you imagine what would have happened if the man who found the dog had kept it? The dog would never have been reunited with its rightful owner.
A dog accidentally ran away from its elderly owner in a store parking lot, and was picked up by a family claiming ownership. We paid a reward for the return of the dog.
A cute little dog came out of the house and was picked up by a man. He took the dog to the clinic for examination. He then implanted a microchip in the dog. Even though the dog tried to escape from his arms in an attempt to go to its real family, he refused to take the dog to his rightful home because the microchip meant he was considered the legal owner. refused to return home.
These are not isolated incidents. There are many stories. We are concerned that more and more people are finding stray dogs and cats and posting photos of them on social media to either adopt them or find homes for them.
There are many reasons why dogs and cats become strays, but they should never be considered neglected.
If you pick up a stray animal and choose not to take it to a public animal shelter in the area where it was found, there are legal requirements to consider.
Virginia Statute 3.2-6551 requires those who find and keep a companion animal to contact the local public animal shelter where the companion animal is found. Specific information is required, including where the companion animal was found, a description, and contact information. The same requirements apply to rescue groups and other release agencies. Violation of this may result in civil penalties.
Additionally, all stray animals that are picked up and kept in our homes are subject to the same standard of proper care. This means that anyone who finds a lost animal must provide it with adequate food, water, shelter, and veterinary care.
It is also important to remember that the law never confers clear ownership rights on the individual who finds and decides to keep the animal. Once the stipulated wandering period expires, shelters and release agencies (acting legally, including registration with state veterinary offices) become legal owners and can find homes for the animals.
If an animal appears to be being neglected, civilians can't do anything about it, but shelter staff and animal control staff can. In addition, you must provide proof of current rabies vaccination to a staff member or officer.
Even in this day and age of social media and removal of stray cats from the community, public animal shelters remain the best hope for reuniting lost pets.
