Pet owners turning to the Internet to find lost animals


5 photos
Save Story
Leer en español

Estimated read time: 2-3 minutes

This archived news story is available only for your personal, non-commercial use. Information in the story may be outdated or superseded by additional information. Reading or replaying the story in its archived form does not constitute a republication of the story.

SALT LAKE CITY — Pioneer Day should be a day to celebrate Utah’s rich heritage with family, friends, and neighbors. However, it can turn into a tearful and stressful day if your pets get spooked by loud and bright fireworks displays.

It happened to Riverton resident Shari Johnson on the Fourth of July. She let the family’s beloved dog Sophie out to go to the bathroom before all the fireworks had ended for the evening.

“We were all tired and I forgot she was out there and we all went to bed; and the next morning, she was gone,” Johnson said.

The family sprung into “find Sophie” mode, but a check of the surrounding neighborhood and Salt Lake County Animal Services didn’t turn up any signs of Sophie, an 8-year-old West Highland White Terrier.

That is when Johnson turned to the Internet to post pictures of Sophie on the Utah Lost and Found Pets Facebook page. Those pictures and pleas from the family were shared almost 60 times within a couple of hours, and by the evening of July 5, the family knew Sophie was safe.

Christina Owens and a friend voluntarily operate and maintain the Facebook page. They work with pet owners to find lost animals and with the Good Samaritans who find missing pets to get them safely to a shelter.


There are people that are posting lost pets, there are people who are finding lost pets and posting them, and then we also have people who are on the page that are actually helping us match them all up.

–Christina Owens, Utah Lost And Found Pets


“There are people that are posting lost pets, there are people who are finding lost pets and posting them, and then we also have people who are on the page that are actually helping us match them all up,” Owens said.

Sometimes Owens and her partner even find medical care for pets who get injured before they are found.

Sandy Nelson with Salt Lake County Animal Services said her agency loves social media and the impact it’s having on efforts to reunite lost pets with their owners. They routinely check Utah Lost and Found Pets and the KSL.com Classifieds Lost and Found Pets page to match missing animals with the ones who have been dropped off at the shelter.

Nelson also offered some tips for keeping your pets safe on Pioneer Day:

  • Bring pets indoors before dark and keeping them inside throughout the evening.
  • Close doors and windows and turn on music or TV to keep animals calm and safe.
  • Make sure your pets are wearing ID tags and have a microchip implanted in them.
The animal experts also encourage Good Samaritans who pick up lost pets to take them directly to a local shelter or call animal control to have them picked up.

“It’s someone’s pet, so be sure to turn that animal over to your local shelter," Nelson said, "and that way that animal has the best chance of being found."

Email: solney@ksl.com

Contributing: Debbie Dujanovic

Photos

Related links

Most recent Utah stories

Related topics

UtahScience
Sandra Olney

    STAY IN THE KNOW

    Get informative articles and interesting stories delivered to your inbox weekly. Subscribe to the KSL.com Trending 5.
    By subscribing, you acknowledge and agree to KSL.com's Terms of Use and Privacy Policy.

    KSL Weather Forecast