Reuniting Dogs & Owners

[Sue & Waldo]

Facebook finds lost dogs in Knox

Council

21 Dec 12 @ 07:00am by Zoe Lewis

AN average of five lost animals a week are being reunited with their owners thanks to a Knox Council Facebook page.

But the Lost Animals in Knox page isn't just helping local animals.

Recently, a dog that went missing in Macclesfield was found in Kallista.

And he was reunited with his relieved owner after his photo was posted on the Facebook page.

Knox Council local laws project officer Debbie Williams said it wasn't just dogs and cats that went missing.

"We've seen birds, rabbits, a macaw, even a ferret," she said.

She said the page was used by the council for animals they couldn't identify.

Knox Council strategic communications co-ordinator Paul Gallagher said another benefit of the page was that people could post photos of animals they had lost or found.

"We've seen cases where animals are found within an hour, it's self-managing," Mr Gallagher said.

The council also uses the page to give information targeted at pet owners, such as warnings ahead of storms or events that included fireworks.

Mr Gallagher said when the page was first set up about two years ago it was a "brave call" as no other council in Victoria had done it before.

Ms Williams said the page was getting more fans by the day and there had been a lot of positive community feedback.

"It's come along in leaps and bounds."

Details: facebook.com/lostanimalsinknox

[Tassie]

What a great initiative :) .

[Simply Grand]

It's a great idea! ACT Domestic Animal Services has a Lost and Found list on their website where the public can list dogs they've lost or found. I checked it when I found two dogs wandering one evening without id, they'd been listed and their owners had them back less than an hour from when I found them :) Saved a whole lot of stress for the owners and the dogs, and the only pound resource used was the web page.

[Sheridan]

It's a great idea though could get lost in the maelstrom of Facebook. I like the ACT one, though it would be good if people could upload photos of their lost and found dogs themselves which, although indicating it can't be done, actually has to be done by someone from Canberra Connect.

[WExtremeG]

It's a great idea though could get lost in the maelstrom of Facebook. I like the ACT one, though it would be good if people could upload photos of their lost and found dogs themselves which, although indicating it can't be done, actually has to be done by someone from Canberra Connect.

I love this idea! it could also mean that the animal could stay with the person(if they so wanted and if the pound allowed it)who found it until the owner was found rather than go and take up another space at the pound.

[Sue & Waldo]

It's a great idea though could get lost in the maelstrom of Facebook. I like the ACT one, though it would be good if people could upload photos of their lost and found dogs themselves which, although indicating it can't be done, actually has to be done by someone from Canberra Connect.

I think the Council website has a link to the facebook page and this means that individuals can post directly.

[Simply Grand]

It's a great idea though could get lost in the maelstrom of Facebook. I like the ACT one, though it would be good if people could upload photos of their lost and found dogs themselves which, although indicating it can't be done, actually has to be done by someone from Canberra Connect.

Oh I didn't know that about the photos, that's annoying. And the other thing is that of course both parties have to know about it for it to work. But still, it's quite a good system.