When one becomes so involved with their own dogs, it is very easy to become involved in your local dog community. Where we are there is an amazing group of VOLUNTEERS who run a facebook page called Pet FBI Ohio. This page shares people’s posts about found and lost dogs in order to alert the local community. They calm people down and give tips and tricks that may help find their pet or the owner. (On a side note– it makes me totally sick when people complain that they weren’t helped by Pet FBI Ohio. It’s a volunteer site and they help more people than you would ever imagine. It’s hard to keep up and they want to ensure accurate information is being shared at all times!) There are also a bunch of local groups that cross post the dogs for the local communities but they typically are always pulling from this Pet FBI Ohio page. Summary– the social media community for pets is amazing.

I always try to cross post, tag and be aware of the local dogs and cats missing in my area. If I see a lost pet poster in my neighborhood or park, I personally call them to ensure that they have posted on Pet FBI Ohio and the Pet FBI database. Recently I was tagged in a post about a missing Jack Russell mix that was literally adopted the day before he went missing. When dogs are first adopted it is common for them to run and it is super unfortunate. This missing JRTM was within 5-10 minutes from my house so we jumped in the car and went searching in the area about 2 hours after he had run. We did our best to tell everyone and anyone who was outside to keep an eye out and not to chase the dog that is on the run.

Before we left our house, and when we decided to call it quits, we asked the same question “Don’t you think there are probably a bunch of people out there looking right now? Do you think we should go? Do you think we should stop”. Take a chance. You may be the one that sees the pet, tells the person that sees the pet or makes the huge difference in this animal’s safety. Now I am not suggesting to go out with a mission to be a hero (although I always say I want to be the hero). I am saying that you never know if you will make a difference. The more involved the better chance of a positive outcome. When we finally called it quits that first night, we did feel a bit of guilt and mentioned that if it was our dog we wouldn’t sleep, but we told as many people as we possibly could and really felt like we made a difference.

The next day I had off, so I drove around again, tracing steps, following the map of places there had been possible sightings. I had no luck of course. We had a softball game that night and as we drove home I decided to check facebook for any updates on the dog because dusk and dawn are popular times for dogs to come out from their hiding spot. As we pulling in our driveway ready to eat, someone posted that they had found the dog but was in need of help. The post was 3 minutes prior to me looking. I stopped and thought to myself “I’m sure somebody has responded”. She then posted again saying she really needed help so I didn’t ignore it this time. I called–went to voicemail. I called again–went to voicemail. I thought well third times the charm–went to voicemail. So I thought okay one more time–and an answer. She said no one has come and they did not have a slip lead, or treats or enough bodies to corner the dog. We rushed out with a slip leash and treats in hand to go help. I called to owner to make sure he was on his way, and thankfully he was!

So as the story goes– This lady was driving home and caught a glimpse of dog in her neighborhood that she didn’t recognize standing in a yard. She hopped out of her car just to check that the dog belonged and noticed her vet walking by. She asked if she knew the dog considering she a local vet in the area and she realized who this little white dog was. They were able to corner the dog against a fence in someone’s yard. The owner of the house came out and instead of asking them to leave he jumped in to help too. Just that day he pulled out some wood from storage so he grabbed the wood and started making a barricade so the dog could not run. The dad arrived shortly before us and managed to get him out of the bushes. One of the women took him and held him tight, and seemed to be about the most calming individual ever (turns out shes really into yoga and motivational speaking so that makes complete sense.). The local vet turned out to be the pup’s original vet when he was rescued from a hoarding situation and was diagnosed with parvo.

All these amazing people who just cared so much for a little white dog came together at the perfect timing in order save him. He had been on the run for over two days and that no easy task especially down the busy roads he traveled. Take a chance with strangers. Take a chance with online communities. Reach out and help wherever you can. I was glad to have helped in the small ways that I did and was glad to be able to watch as others saved them. We all hugged, and hugging strangers isn’t my thing but it just felt right. It’s amazing what an online community can do. All of us had no connection to the dog other than the fact that we are animal lovers and were in the right place at the right time.

But seriously, what are the chances that  one woman noticed the dog wasn’t a normal neighborhood dog, her own vet crossed her path(and the vet personally cared for the dog), the owner of the home just getting wood out that day? But the best part, what are the chances that this dog’s name is Chance?