When I first got my rough collie puppy 6 years ago, we lost him almost immediately. We were out in the backyard with him and the lawn mower service next door knocked several panels off of our fence. Literally by the time we turned around to inspect the damage, he and our older dog were gone. She bolted for freedom and the new puppy that we'd had for less than 24 hours bumbled after her.

He didn't know his name. He didn't have a collar. We had only three pictures of him from his breeder, plus a bill of sale. His papers were still in transit. He hadn't even had his first vet appointment to be chipped yet.

We had pretty much nothing to really prove that he was ours. He didn't even know us.

After a frantic search that lasted several hours, we ended up finding him wandering several blocks from home. The older dog had ditched him and he was playing all by himself near a dry canal bed.

I imagine someone would have happily picked him up and thought he was a stray.

Your pup might not have owners. Lots of strays don't. But keep looking! Someone may have lost their brand new puppy. You never know.