What should a walker do if a dog escapes during a walk?

A responsible walker should immediately stop the walk, stay at or near the last known location, call the owner directly by phone, attempt to calmly recall the dog, and file an incident report through the platform. TruePath walkers are required to notify owners within the same session and file an in-app incident report. The walker should not abandon the location to run a wide search until the owner is aware and coordinated.

Does TruePath cover lost dog incidents?

All TruePath bookings include platform liability coverage. If your dog goes missing during a TruePath walk, the GPS walk record is preserved, an incident report is required, and TruePath support can assist with coordination. For any claim involving medical costs or consequential loss, you should also check your own pet insurance policy — platform coverage and pet insurance work alongside each other, not as substitutes.

How long before involving police or rangers?

Contact your local council ranger within the first hour — they are one of the most effective first calls because found dogs are regularly handed to rangers. You can also make a formal police report, which is recommended after 24 hours and is useful for insurance documentation. Police are not a primary lost-animal recovery resource, but a formal record is worth having.

My dog is not microchipped. What should I do?

Focus on the collar, social media, and physical posters. Contact your local council to register the report without a chip number — they can flag the description. Microchipping is legally required for dogs in all Australian states and territories; if your dog is recovered, this is a good time to get it done. You cannot back-register the chip after the fact, but having one from this point forward significantly improves outcomes in any future incident.

Is the dog walker legally liable if my dog gets lost?

Liability depends on whether the walker was negligent — that is, whether they failed to take reasonable care given the circumstances. A gate left open, an improperly clipped lead, or walking an unsecured dog near a road could all constitute negligence. If the dog slipped its collar despite correct fitting or reacted unexpectedly to a stimulus, liability is less straightforward. See our article on dog walker liability for a full breakdown of how these cases are assessed.

Trust & safety

What to Do If Your Dog Goes Missing on a Walk

If your dog ran away from a walker, the first 30 minutes matter most. Here's the immediate action sequence, how TruePath walkers are required to respond, and how to coordinate a search effectively.

By atticus · 8 min read · Last updated 18 May 2026

If your dog ran away from a walker, contact your walker immediately and ask them to stay at the last known location — moving around to search is often counterproductive in the first 30 minutes.

The 30-minute action sequence

Every minute in the first half-hour matters. Here is the order of priority:

1. Call your walker immediately (minutes 0–5)

Do not wait for a message — call. You need to know exactly where the dog was last seen, what direction they ran, whether there is a lead or harness still on them, and what the walker is currently doing. Ask your walker to:

Stay at or very close to the last known location
Keep calling the dog's name in a calm voice (not urgent or panicked — dogs respond to stress in your voice)
Leave your dog's lead, a piece of clothing, or a treat trail near the escape point, as a familiar scent anchor

If your walker is on a TruePath booking, they are required to immediately stop the walk, notify you through the app, and file an incident report. The GPS walk record will show exactly where the walk was when the dog escaped — this is important information for the search.

2. Head to the scene yourself (minutes 5–15)

If you can get there quickly, do. You know your dog better than anyone — your presence, voice, and smell are the single most effective recovery tools. Bring:

High-value treats your dog responds to
A familiar toy or object
A second lead

3. Contact your local council ranger (minutes 15–30)

Council rangers are often the first point of contact when a found dog is handed in by the public. Look up your local council's animal management number — most councils in Sydney (City of Sydney, Northern Beaches, Inner West), Melbourne (City of Melbourne, Yarra, Moreland), Brisbane (Brisbane City Council), Perth (City of Perth, Stirling) and Adelaide (Adelaide City Council) have a 24-hour or business-hours animal management line.

Provide:

Breed, colour, approximate size and weight
Whether the dog is wearing a collar, and the collar colour
Microchip number if you have it handy
Last known location and time

Ask whether any dogs matching your description have already been brought in.

Heads up

Do not split up and individually search a wide area in the first 30 minutes. The most common outcome of a panicked spread-out search is that the dog circles back to the escape point and finds no one there. Keep at least one person stationary at the last known location for the first 30 minutes. Coordinate your search before expanding it.

4. Check your microchip registration (minutes 20–30)

If your dog is found and handed to a vet, council ranger, or shelter, the microchip is how they identify you. Make sure your details are current on at least one of the national registries:

PetAddress (petaddress.com.au) — national registry, used by many vets and shelters
Animal Register (animalregister.com.au) — national, widely used
Central Animal Records — Victoria's state registry (car.net.au), mandatory in VIC for dogs registered in the state
Australasian Animal Registry (aaa.net.au)

If you have not updated your address or phone number recently, log in now while the search is underway. Rangers and vets will try all major registries.

5. Post online (within the first hour)

Local social networks move faster than any official channel for lost pets:

Lost Pet Finders Australia (lostpetfinders.com.au) — Australia's largest lost pet database; create a listing immediately
Facebook groups — search "[your suburb] community", "[your suburb] lost pets", "[your city] lost and found pets". These groups are monitored by thousands of local residents and a post can reach the right person within minutes
Nextdoor — if you have an account, post to your neighbourhood
Instagram and TikTok — for dogs with a distinctive look, a short video can spread quickly

Include: clear recent photos, last known location, a contact number, and whether there is a reward. Do not mention the reward amount publicly.

What TruePath walkers are required to do

When a dog escapes during a TruePath walk, walkers are required to follow a specific incident protocol:

Stop the walk immediately and do not leave the area
Contact the owner directly — phone call first, not a message
File an incident report in the TruePath app during the same session, not after
Attempt recovery — calling, treat lure, staying calm and non-threatening
Contact TruePath support if the dog cannot be located within 15 minutes

The GPS walk record is preserved in the booking history, which means you can see exactly where the walk was when contact with the dog was lost. This is useful for directing rangers and search parties.

FYI

TruePath provides platform liability coverage on all bookings. In the event of a lost dog incident, document everything: screenshots of the GPS record, the incident report, and any communications with your walker. This documentation supports any subsequent insurance or liability conversation.

Expanding the search: hours 1–24

If the first 30 minutes do not result in recovery:

Distribute a physical poster. Print an A4 poster with a clear photo and your phone number. Focus on: the 2-block radius around the escape point, veterinary clinics (dogs are often brought directly to vets), petrol stations, convenience stores, and the local council ranger depot or pound.

Call every vet in the area. A found dog is frequently taken to the nearest vet. Call all practices within 3–4 km of the escape point and give them your microchip number and a description. Ask them to note the call.

Contact the local council pound. This is different from the ranger — the pound is where stray animals are held. Call to report a missing dog and ask them to flag your record so you are contacted immediately if a matching dog is brought in. Visit in person if you can — visual identification is faster than phone descriptions.

Contact neighbouring councils. Dogs can travel further than people expect. If the escape occurred near a council boundary, contact both councils.

What if the dog is not found after 24 hours?

If your dog has not been located after 24 hours:

Contact the RSPCA in your state — they may have received a surrendered animal
Report to local police as a formal record (this is relevant for insurance purposes and is increasingly recommended by animal management authorities in NSW and VIC)
Refresh and boost your social media posts daily
Consider hiring a pet detective or lost animal recovery service — these operate in most Australian capital cities

Frequently asked questions

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