I have never felt so frantic as I did last winter when my dog, Jeffery, accidentally got out and took off while I was visiting my parents in the mountains of western North Carolina. It was the coldest night of the year and my Jeff Jeff, who is my everything, was nowhere to be seen. I took off running and calling his name, while my parents each jumped in their cars and began searching the neighborhood. I looked at my childhood dog, Maggie and said “Maggie, I need your help.” Within two hours Maggie and Jeffery came trotting up the driveway together. No joke. I could finally breathe.
I was lucky that night, but it isn’t often that lost dog stories have happy endings so quickly. The new lost pet phone alert service, Find Toto is trying to help create more happy endings to those lost dog stories. All you have to do is input the details of your dog’s disappearance, a physical description and a photo. The service sends out recorded phone alerts to residents in the area where your dog disappeared (as quickly as 10,000 neighbors in 30 minutes). A detailed description of your pet, your best contact number, date lost and website information is given in the message as well so they can view a picture of your lost pet. In times of panic, any bit of help is a step in the right direction. I hope you never need to use this, but it is always good to be prepared!
Cassie is the studio manager for Adrian Hitt Photography. She keeps things running smoothly behind the scenes and frequents the blog often with her tips on what’s going on in the dog world. In addition to her work here, Cassie freelances in the local music scene, volunteers with animal rescues and enjoys being outside with her pups. She lives in Nashville and is the proud parent of Jeffery, Ittey and Banjo – two rescue dogs and one awesome orange cat!
