If you walk a dog in LA long enough, it will happen to you. You turn a corner and there is a dog with no person. No leash, maybe a collar, looking lost. First thing: do not chase it. A scared dog runs, and a running dog in LA traffic is the worst version of this story. Crouch down, turn a little sideways, talk soft. If you have treats, great. If not, just wait. Most lost dogs want help, they are just not sure about you yet. If the dog has a tag, call the number right there. A lot of the time that is the whole story. No tag? The next stop is any vet, and it costs nothing. They will scan for a microchip in about thirty seconds. Petco, PetSmart, and any LA shelter do it too. That little chip is how a lot of lost dogs get home, but only if someone thinks to check it. While you are at it, take a photo. Just a clear shot of the face and the whole dog, plus where you found them. Post it on Nextdoor and the local dog groups, and on Ring Neighbors if you have it. Say where and when, and what the dog looks like. Leave the collar color out of the post, so the real owner can prove it is their dog. If you can keep the dog for a night, do. A garage, a bathroom, a crate, whatever you have. Food, water, a blanket. Call LA Animal Services in the morning and file a found report. Not everyone is on Nextdoor. Somebody's grandma is just calling the shelter. If you cannot keep them, take them to the nearest shelter or call Animal Services. That is still a hundred times better than leaving them on the street. We put found-dog posts up on dogangeles.com too, in the Lost & Found section. The faster the right person sees it, the faster the dog gets home. Most of these stories end well. A dog gets out, someone decent stops, a chip gets scanned or a photo gets shared, and by dinner the dog is back on its couch. That someone decent might as well be you.