While numerous national parks aren’t that pet-friendly, some have at least a couple of places to bring your pet dog. Nevertheless, in some cases things fail, and a family pet leaves into the huge wilderness that national forests secure. So, what do you do about a lost pet in a national park? It depends.
Recently, Big Bend National Park shared a post after discovering a loose pet in the massive Texas park.
In this case, many in the remarks hypothesized the owners may have deserted the canine. Luckily, after a few days of not speaking with anyone, the park turned the dog over to a regional shelter, where a household was ready to embrace the dog.
The park wrote in response, “Your unbelievable assistance has ensured a pleased ending for this furry explorer! Thank you for all your assistance.”
This case is simply one event where a dog ends up alone in a park, so what occurs if you’re the owner looking for your lost animal?
Outdoors.com connected to the National Forest Service, and they had this to state:
“On a nationwide level, we do not have actually a lost family pet standard of practice, but rather depend on parks to resolve their procedures to discover the pet.”
They did mention plenty of success stories, including ones covered by Outdoors.com. In one current case, a canine fell off a cliff at Pictured Rocks National Lakeshore. A rescue team managed to find the pup safely hours later.
< img width="1200"height ="800" src="https://savageventures.b-cdn.net/wp-content/uploads/2024/01/dog-rescued-cover.png 1200w, https://savageventures.b-cdn.net/wp-content/uploads/2024/01/dog-rescued-cover.png?resize=300,200 300w, https://savageventures.b-cdn.net/wp-content/uploads/2024/01/dog-rescued-cover.png?resize=700,467 700w, https://savageventures.b-cdn.net/wp-content/uploads/2024/01/dog-rescued-cover.png?resize=768,512 768w, https://savageventures.b-cdn.net/wp-content/uploads/2024/01/dog-rescued-cover.png?resize=600,400 600w, https://savageventures.b-cdn.net/wp-content/uploads/2024/01/dog-rescued-cover.png?resize=278,185 278w, https://savageventures.b-cdn.net/wp-content/uploads/2024/01/dog-rescued-cover.png?resize=150,100 150w"alt ="pet dog makes it through 60 foot fall"/ > A lost pet dog in Pictured Rocks National Lakeshore. (Source: NPS)
In short, if your pet is lost, you should get in touch with park officials.
The National forest Service states anyone bringing a family pet to a national park website should prepare ahead, mainly as some parks have actually restricted space for pets, and pet dogs are typically not enabled on tracks and in other areas. These guidelines remain in location to secure pet dogs from “threats, rough surface, rapids, or wildlife, and/or protect sensitive natural or cultural areas in the park.”
Have a look at the main NPS animal page for more guidelines on bringing your family pet to a national park.
What do you do about a lost dog in a national park? Here’s what the National forest Service says about pets missing in the wilderness.