I found a dog, how do I find the owner?
The shortest route to the owner runs through the chip. Below is how, and what to do if there is no chip.
Have the dog scanned at a vet, a shelter or an affiliated chip reader. Enter the chip number below: if the animal is registered, we alert the owner straight away. If there is no chip, or the number is not known anywhere, report the animal as found, so everyone who filed a missing report can see it. Also call the council where you found it; it is responsible for taking the animal in.
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1
Get the animal safe first
A dog that has just run off is frightened and may bolt into the road. Put it on a lead or into a closed space. Stay calm, crouch down and do not grab for the collar; a scared dog bites out of fright rather than malice.
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Check for a tag or address label
That is the fastest route: a tag with a phone number, a QR code or an address settles it in a minute. A collar from a shelter or a vet is also a clue about where the animal came from.
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3
Have the chip scanned
A chip sits under the skin and is not visible. A vet, a shelter or an affiliated chip reader scans it in seconds, usually free. The map shows the addresses near you.
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Look the number up
Enter the chip number in the field above. If the animal is registered with us, we alert the owner straight away; you will not see their details and need do nothing further. If it is not with us, we check the other databases too.
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Report the find
Even if the chip gives you nothing. Your report goes on the map and is visible to everyone who filed a missing report. We also hold your photo against the open reports automatically through photo matching.
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Call the council where you found it
This is the step most often skipped, and legally the most important. In the Netherlands the council must take in a found animal for fourteen days, usually through a shelter it has a contract with. Even if you want to keep the animal yourself, the find has to be reported there.
Can I keep the dog myself?
Not just like that. In the Netherlands a found animal is legally a found object: you must report the find to the council. It is obliged to take the animal in for fourteen days, usually through a shelter it works with. If you do not report it and keep the animal, that can count as misappropriation, however well meant.
You may look after the animal yourself during those fourteen days if the council agrees; many councils are happy with that and glad no shelter place is needed. If the owner does not come forward within that period, ownership passes to you. In Belgium it runs through the council and the local shelter, with comparable periods.
Where else to look
Besides the chip there are three places where the owner has often already reported the animal:
- Our list of missing animals, filterable by province, town and species.
- Amivedi, the volunteer network that registers missing and found animals.
- The regional Facebook groups for missing animals in your province.
Not sure whether the animal matches one of the reports? Put the photo into photo matching; it holds it against the open reports and shows which ones resemble it.
What we measure ourselves
Right now 390 missing reports are open that your find could match, and there are 31 addresses where you can have a chip scanned for free. 1.443 chips have been scanned through that network so far.
The current counts, with the date they were taken, are on the statistics page.
Frequently asked questions
The dog has no chip, what now?
Should I go to the police?
Does reporting a found animal cost anything?
Will I get the owner details?
What if the animal is injured?
Report the found animal
Free and without an account. Your report goes on the map and is compared automatically with the open missing reports.
Report a found animal