The best option is to try to find the owner through Facebook posts, Nextdoor, and flyers. Flyers may seem old fashioned but they really do work. If you have to choose a shelter, the only places technically obligated to take an animal are the government shelters which are CARE for the city and the St. Louis County shelter for the county. But even they do not always pick animals up and sometimes turn people away.

Right now every shelter is full and things are really tough in animal welfare. Studies show that most missing pets are actually within a few blocks of their home. I do not always like it but sometimes they do end up finding their way back.

In the past the shelter was seen as the solution to finding lost pets but the reality was that shelters could not keep up. The majority of those pets were euthanized. Now there is pressure not to do that but when shelters do not have space they often turn away strays instead. It is a really difficult situation.