Found a Stray? Now what?
STRAY DOG GUIDE
Your Step-by-Step Guide to Keeping Them Safe and Finding Their Family:
Every day in Comanche County, kindhearted citizens come across abandoned, lost, or wandering dogs. Whether they slipped out of a loving home or were intentionally discarded, the very first steps you take can determine whether that dog reunites with their family or begins a brand-new chapter safely.
Fishy’s Friends Rescue created this guide to help you navigate what to do next — clearly, compassionately, and legally.
1. CHECK FOR A MICROCHIP
Before assuming a dog is abandoned, always start with a microchip scan.
A chipped dog may belong to a family desperately searching for them — stolen, lost, displaced during a storm, or accidentally let out. A quick scan can turn panic into reunion within minutes.
You have two options:
• Visit any veterinary clinic, animal shelter, or pet retail store for a free scan.
Most facilities will scan at no charge and can contact the owner if the chip is registered.
• Use one of our 8 public microchip scanner stations.
Fishy’s Friends Rescue has installed eight 24/7 scanning stations across Comanche County and surrounding areas — making us the third-largest community microchip-scanner network in the entire U.S.
Each station includes:
A universal chip scanner
A QR-code guide for how to scan properly
Links to national microchip lookup databases
Steps for contacting the owner directly
If the dog has a microchip, this is the most efficient way to reunite it with its family.
2. IF NO MICROCHIP IS FOUND
Inside City Limits — 10-Day Required Stray Hold
Per city ordinances, any stray found inside city limits must be held for 10 days while attempts are made to locate the owner.
This includes:
Posting on local Lost & Found groups
Sharing on neighborhood pages
Reporting to the nearest municipal shelter
Notifying local vet clinics
Giving the owner every possible chance to come forward
Outside City Limits — 3-Day Stray Hold
For rural, county, or unincorporated areas, the legal stray-hold requirement is typically 3 days, but we strongly encourage posting during that time to seek an owner.
3. WHAT IF YOU CAN’T KEEP THE DOG?
Temporary Housing Ideas for the Stray-Hold Period**
Even if you cannot integrate the dog into your home, almost any secure space is safer than leaving them on the street.
You can safely house a stray in:
A sectioned-off room
A garage
A fenced yard or kennel
A bathroom or laundry area
A crate or playpen
A rotated “safe zone” inside your home
During this temporary care, please provide:
Fresh water
Regular meals
Shade/warmth depending on weather
A clean potty area
Limited contact with your personal pets, if possible (strays can carry illnesses)
These small acts can completely change a dog’s trajectory.
***MORE RESOURCE BELOW***
4. AFTER THE HOLD: READY TO HELP THEM START A NEW CHAPTER?
Become a Foster for Fishy’s Friends Rescue
If no owner comes forward after the appropriate stray hold, the next step is to connect the dog to a safe path forward.
Fostering is the heart of rescue work — and we cannot save dogs without foster homes.
If you are able to foster the dog:
You will give them a safe place to decompress
Our rescue provides all vet care
We supply crates, food, bowls, harness, leash, and anything else they need
You commit to communication with the rescue, vet visits, and adoption events
We guide you every step of the way
Fostering is 100% free, and you become the bridge between street life and a forever family.
5. IF YOU CAN’T FOSTER — HELP US FIND SOMEONE WHO CAN
Sometimes your home or schedule just isn’t a match for fostering — and that’s okay.
You can still make a life-saving impact by:
Asking friends, coworkers, or family if they can foster
Sharing the dog’s information and photo
Tagging local rescue/rehoming networks
Contacting us to see if we have an available placement
TEXT MON-SAT 8AM-8PM 1-877-863-4749
Because we are a new and rapidly growing rescue, our foster network is still small — and the number of stray dogs in Oklahoma is overwhelming. Your community outreach can be the difference between life and death for a dog with nowhere to go.
6. WHY THIS MATTERS
Every stray deserves safety, dignity, and a chance at belonging. When you take even one step — scanning a chip, posting for an owner, holding a dog temporarily — you become part of the solution to Oklahoma’s overpopulation crisis.
Fishy’s Friends Rescue is here to guide you through every phase, from “found dog” to “home at last.”
7. MORE RESOURCES
Sometimes a found dog needs a little more than just a safe place to land.
Maybe the situation is complicated, the dog is injured, there are signs it was intentionally abandoned, or the owner search hits a dead end. In those moments, having the right tools and community connections can make all the difference.
Fishy’s Friends Rescue has built an entire hub of Lost & Found Pet Recovery and Community Support Resources right here on our website. Inside each category, you’ll find multiple layers of support to help you help them — whether you’re navigating local ordinances, learning how to post effectively on social media, searching microchip databases, connecting with municipal shelters, or figuring out next steps when no one claims the dog.
These pages include:
Links to lost/found networks
Microchip lookup tools
Local city + county ordinances
Tips for photographing and posting a found dog
Guidance for reporting neglect or abandonment
Community partners who may assist
And additional rescue-based support options
