Lost 16 Year-Old Dog Reunites with Best Friends

Beloved pets go missing every day. In fact, one in three pets will go missing in their lifetime. The feelings of helplessness, guilt, and anxiety plague pet parents when the unthinkable happens. But now thousands of people are turning to Petco Love Lost to get their furry family members home where they belong, and that includes people like Kristin.

Senior Dog Sophie Goes Missing

“I was heartbroken when I lost Sophie; just sick to my stomach,” said Kristin, noting the moment she and her husband will never forget. They left their home to run errands and when they got back, two of their Chihuahuas were in the driveway and their 16-year-old Chihuahua was gone. The front door was wide open, and they feared the worst for their pet who is hard of hearing. Kristin and her husband spent all night searching for Sophie.

Search for Lost Pet Leads to Petco Love Lost

Kristin and her husband spent all night searching for Sophie. “We were panicked and combed the neighborhood but still couldn’t find her. I had a sinking feeling in my gut,” said Kristin.

They posted Sophie’s picture online and tried to get the word out about her going missing. Then, Kristin’s husband found Petco Love Lost, a free resource using pet-facial recognition that helps pet owners reunite with lost pets. That’s where he saw the picture that changed everything.

Dog Is Found with One Photo

A picture of Sophie had been uploaded into the Petco Love Lost database, and she had been listed as “found.”

“My husband told me someone found her 1.9 miles away from our house. That pit in my stomach went away the moment I saw her picture.”

They contacted the woman who took Sophie home after finding her in the middle of a busy road. Kristin and her husband are grateful the woman was kind enough to help their pet find her way back home. “She posted the picture right away. She took really good care of her while Sophie was missing, and it was a huge relief,” said Kristin.

Sophie is back home getting all the love and attention she wants and Kristin feels lucky to have found Petco Love Lost.

How to Find a Lost Dog with Petco Love Lost

“Petco Love Lost is a very easy website to use. It basically said, ‘if this is your dog, click here.’ Then they connect you with the finder. If it wasn’t for Petco Love Lost, I wouldn’t have found Sophie,” said Kristin.

More pet parents like Kristin are turning to Petco Love Lost every day to find their lost pets, as 10 million pets go missing every year in the United States.

Animal welfare organizations are also utilizing the resource to help reunite families and get lost pets back home with their loved ones.