April 23 is National Lost Dog Awareness Day

On April 23, the U.S. will celebrate National Lost Dog Awareness Day (NLDAD). This canine-focused awareness day was created by Lost Dogs of America to bring attention to the many dogs who go missing from their homes every day. We are proud that some local rescues and shelters use NLDAD as an opportunity to schedule events focused on lost dogs, such as low cost microchipping. Shelters and rescues can download graphics to use at https://lostdogsofamerica.org/awareness-day/.
With the new animal welfare focus of keeping pets in their home, National Lost Dog Awareness Day continues to raise awareness on lost pets and educates the public that most lost dogs don’t need a home, they just need to go home! An estimated 40 to 60% of “stray” animals in shelters are actually lost pets who need help to get back home.
The tenacious efforts of the combined Lost Dogs of America states’ volunteers, along with over 600,000 fans, have helped reunite over 125,000 dogs with their families since 2011.
All services provided by Lost Dogs of America state organizations are free.
NLDAD was created by Susan Taney, Kathy Pobloskie and Marilyn Knapp Litt – Directors of Lost Dogs Illinois, Lost Dogs of Wisconsin and Lost Dogs of Texas, respectively.
“When a dog goes missing, many families give up looking for their lost pet. National Lost Dog Awareness Day was created to give hope to the families still looking for their dogs and remind the public that not all stray dogs are homeless” explains Taney. “One of our recent success stories was Scarlet, an English Springer Spaniel. I received a call from someone who saw her running through her field. She drove along the field to keep Scarlet in sight, but did not approach her as requested. I arrived and spotted Scarlet in the field. Scarlet stared at me. I knew instantly she recognized me. I opened my car door, crouched down to the ground, started calling her name and throwing out food. She instantly started running towards me and jumped in the car!”
We recently started collaborating with shelters and Good Samaritans to trace microchips that have outdated owner information. This is a free service offered by volunteer group associated with Lost Dogs of America and HelpingLostPets.com. We located owners in 42% of our over 600 microchip cases. We consider this a highly effective way to get lost animals home and increase shelter Return to Owner rates. You can find more information at www.MicrochipHelp.com.

<strong>About Lost Dogs of America</strong>
The Lost Dogs of America website and Facebook page was created and is maintained by the two original founding members of the Lost Dogs network: Lost Dogs of Wisconsin and Lost Dogs Illinois. The site shares articles, ideas and resources developed over years of dedicated expertise. Find them online at www.lostdogsofamerica.org or email them at lostdogsofamerica@gmail.com. Like their Facebook page at www.facebook.com/lostdogsofamerica and find them on Twitter @LostDogsAmerica.