Lost and Found for your Dog

Many years ago, before there were blogs (or at least, before I knew about them), I had the idea to set up a website where people could report on missing pets and pets they'd found. The idea was to craeat a 24/7 solution to a 24/7 problem that, at that time, had only a 40 hour/week solution. I couldn't figure out how to automate the posting so that it happened in real time, and by the time that technology was readily available we were living in a 24/7 world and I assumed it was no longer a problem.

Just a few weeks ago, though, a couple of unexpected dogs dropped by my house. I called animal control and got their answering service, who asked if I wanted them to pick the dogs up. Having nowhere to keep them and no means of finding their owner, I said yes. The woman at the service told me that someone would either call me or come out. And someone did call me--two days later.

In the interim, I called the closest vet. It wasn't really that I thought they could do anything to help, but when I lived in a small town the local vet would take in found animals on the weekend. It seemed like someone frantically searching for an adorable pair of little lost dogs might call the vet just to see whether they'd been brought there. The vet's office told me they hadn't had any calls, but if I wanted to bring the dogs in they could scan them to see whether they had chips. This was the first I'd heard of that technology, and while I'm an anti-big-brother kind of girl all the way, I thought it was a great idea.

I was surprised, though, to find that animal control didn't respond on the weekend. I was surprised that things hadn't changed all that much since I'd been looking for a 24/7 solution. Surely (I hoped), at least someone else had shared my thought by now. I was delighted to discover that, at least here in Illinois, we have Dog Detective--a website that allows lost and found postings and more. Here's what they have to say for themselves:

We provide FREE registration to anyone who has lost a dog.

Joining Dog Detective is a way to make your dog's information available to someone who may find him or her. Click on Register and fill out the form to add your dog. Your dog's profile will instantly be added to the search feature for lost dogs and a free web page will be generated for your dog.

The site also includes a nice section of reunion stories, a lost poster creator, and more. But the real gold here is the ability to get your dog's description, photograph, and last seen location online immediately, in a place that the person who finds him can search for you.