Phoenix, AZ Lost Male Dog, Toby Is Missing

Comments on this Facebook alert

Val A.

2 months ago

❤️🙏

Val A.

2 months ago

🙏🙏

Karla Q.

2 months ago

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Val A.

2 months ago

Lex Harrison 😭😭😭

Lex H.

2 months ago

I have noticed quite frequently that when dogs are lost in areas that are predominantly Hispanic, there is a much higher rate of dogs that quickly vanish and are never seen again. 🤔 Based on my experience, I believe this is often due to "the universe brought me a dog and I should take care of it" mentality. (Which essentially ends up finders- keepers). I couldn't figure for the longest why in certain neighborhoods dogs would just simply vanish. But over the last year I started hearing from multiple Hispanic pet owners that, according to them, it's common in some parts of Mexico to take in a puppy that shows up on your property and care for it. They might believe a free-roaming or stray dog is in need of help and keep it. It's kind of like the universe brought you a puppy and it's your job to take care of it. They see it as "rescuing" the dog. 🫣 Researchers and observers consistently describe a very large population of free-roaming and stray dogs in Mexico. It's common in some communities for relationships with dogs to be more informal. (Think about the very low income areas in Tucson). Dogs may be fed by multiple households, wander neighborhoods, and sometimes become community dogs rather than being viewed as owned pets. Because of that, it's a common mindset in some areas for a family to start feeding or keeping a dog that appears, especially since adoption of street dogs is often encouraged due to the large stray population. This is a pattern I've repeatedly observed in certain neighborhoods: a stronger tendency to take in wandering animals and not look for their owners. I have noticed over the last year, if you can get the finders attention on day one or two they might still return your pet. However after 3 to 4 days or more they will almost never give the pet back. It doesn't matter how many Flyers you put up!!! And even when a large reward like $700 to $1,000 is posted, they still do NOT return the pet. This is because they have bonded with it and see themselves as a rescuer/ hero. It's their dog now. Sometimes they will even pull your Flyers down. This is also a very common scenario in lower income/ Urban neighborhoods. I have watched many many many owners lose their pets permanently to this type of scenario which is why I recommend putting a reward on day 1. It's the critical window before the finder decides to permanently keep the pet. 😭 Unfortunately owners are often told by rescue keeps and volunteers do not put a reward because you'll draw scammers. First of all if my dog is lost I want to do whatever I have to do to find it. I don't care about scammers. Secondly, scammers don't choose you because you put a reward on your post or flyers. Scammers prey on anyone with a Lost Pet because they are emotional/ vulnerable and oftentimes easy prey. Lost pet owners are their target market. If your pet is missing scammers just come with the territory. It's the price you have to pay to get your dog back. Unfortunately many owners that listen to this advice, that don't put a reward, never see their pet again. It doesn't hurt the rescue but it definitely hurts the owner and oftentimes the pet. 😭 In the past when helping these owners look for their pet, I asked how long they've had the dog? Where did they get it from? They told me they rescued it. An alert goes off for me when they say this. So then I ask a few more questions and they tell me they found it running down the street and took it home. NEVER looked for the owner, or they put a flyer up and nobody responded. They believe they “rescued a puppy”. 🫩 These are not my ideas. I'm describing what I've personally observed and what multiple Hispanic pet owners have told me about attitudes toward stray and free-roaming dogs in their culture.

Lex H.

2 months ago

THE DIFFERENCE IN A CRISIS LOST PET SEARCH VS. A REGULAR LOST PET SEARCH 📌 Crisis Lost Pet Search: This applies to a large majority of the lost pet cases in the valley & Tucson. The pet is in danger/ high risk so it's urgent! Normal search tactics are NOT enough!!!! 📍 Pet may be taken, stolen, injured, or killed (traffic, coyotes, heat) 📍 Time window is very short 📍 Goal is fast outcome, not slow, relaxed searching 📍 Requires aggressive action right away: Quick mass coverage of the immediate area via both next door and neighbors by ring apps to quickly reach your immediate vicinity. You need an attention grabbing headline on your post! Reward is 1st (with the amount, nobody listens to the word reward only). Major intersection and City 2nd 3rd info on the pet. Post 3 times a day on next door AND the neighbors by ring apps. (You do not need to have a ring camera to get the neighbors by ring app, and it's free!) Kick off your post by commenting on it every 20 to 30 minutes. After these two posts, then put flyers up. Not before. It takes 10 minutes to put a post on these apps. It takes hours to make a flyer and get them up. The time delay in getting Flyers up is costing pets their lives and owners their pets. VS. 📌 "Regular Lost Pet Search": Slower-paced, more relaxed pet search. "Let me know if you see them." Flyers for awareness, etc. This applies to fewer lost pet cases in the valley and Tucson. These tactics work on cases where: The pet is likely nearby and following normal behavior. 📍 Dog/cat is casually roaming close to home 📍 Main goal is getting sightings and physical search in the area 📍 Focus is walking the neighborhood, knocking on doors, checking yards, checking shelters etc. When we give owners the wrong tactics on day one they don't find their pet. Pets are hit and killed by cars. Grabbed my coyotes. Die of heat exhaustion which is happening a lot right now. Or end up at County or other. Please start assessing the risk of the breed and the dog, as well as assessing the risk of the environment and give the Urgent or crisis marketing tactics to owners immediately instead of regular loss pet tips. Not only does it help owners find their pets but it lowers the number of animals killed or ending up at County shelters. 4th of July influx is just around the corner lots of lives will be lost unnecessarily. Please update the advice and tactics you are giving owners to help change these numbers.

Lex H.

2 months ago

Hi there are some very important things that owners do / don't do that make or break them finding their pet oftentimes. 1. Absolutely put the major intersection and city in the first sentence of your post something like Missing from... 2. Depending on your area if it's high risk for coyotes or pet theft put a reward in the second sentence with the amount. Nobody pays attention to the word reward only. The reward is to inspire people that don't really care about a lost dog to pay attention to or to motivate people to pay a little more attention and go the extra mile to help you get your dog back. 3. The first place owners should post is on Nextdoor and then the neighbors by ring app. These are like a mini Amber alert that go out to your immediate vicinity. Considering most dogs are within a mile of home if the owner acts quickly that reaches many people in your immediate radius. Next door reaches 2- 4 MI Neighbors by ring reaches approximately 8 miles around you North South East and west. 4. Also extremely vital! Never just post and move on! Sometimes when owners do this their post dies. Zero comments. Crickets. You don't want that. Comment on your post a few times after it goes live to kick it off stir the pot what have you so that other people start getting notifications and come and see what all the to do is about. Be sure to like their comments. You don't have to respond with a comment to all of them but it's very important to engage with people in the comment section. 5. Do not put your phone number on your post or in the comments on neighbors by ring if you can help it. The scammers will call you like crazy. Babysit your comments heavily. Every 15 to 20 minutes I would be checking and commenting. 6. Write your own ad do not go with what neighbors by ring offers as a generic one. Don't use a pet poster for your pets picture put an actual big picture of your pet so people can clearly see it when they scroll by. If you act quickly on these apps the first day there's a good chance you get your dog back in a couple hours or less. If you run to Paw boost, the shelter, and all the Facebook groups you are losing time you don't have. Focus on the apps for the first day or two. 9 out of 10 people that find a pet usually put them on one of the two apps. This is because they're already on them for other things. They're not on Lost pet websites they're not on last pet groups. Also don't forget to check the Facebook page called Arizona humane society found pets. I hope this helps. ~Found dogs only Maricopa County♥️ Volunteers feel free to copy and paste.