If you know me, you know I love having pets, especially dogs.
Even if you don’t know me but you read my column I’m obviously cuckoo for dogs.
I’m the woman who can’t bear the sad, “give money to help animals” ads, can’t think about the sadness of someone who has lost ther pet, want to cry for a lost pet.
As a writer, sometimes the ideas flood in for various kinds of stories from all kinds of varied sources.
Other times, you have to get out your literary shovel and dig for ideas.
Often, those yield the best ideas.
That’s what happened when I wrote a story titled “Baby come back: Social media works overtime to return lost pets.”
I often saw social media posts by people looking for their lost pet. Eventually, I realized there is a group called Ashland KY Lost and Found Pets. The next time I hit a lull in ideas, I looked into the page and learned it’s an offshoot of Ashland Animal Rescue Fund.
AARF volunteer Nicole Bryant said AARF was overwhelmed with requests to help find pets, or their owners, so for organization’s sake, the page was started.
“I’m not sure the number of animals we’ve single-handedly been responsible for helping reunite, since we post a lot of animals shared elsewhere and it’s always a community effort,” Bryant said. She said most of the animals are in Ashland, but they’re willing to post information from surrounding counties and throughout the region.
From there, I made contact with some of those who had let page viewers know their pets had been returned.
It’s heartbreaking to think you’ll never see your best buddy again.
Catlettsburg resident Rick Keelin understands. His two dogs, Hamilton and Peanut, escaped their fenced-in yard.
“It’s like losing a child,” Keelin said. “You’re vulnerable and hurt, and there’s no guarantee they’re coming back.”
Most could relate to the story, as most have experienced the agony of losing a pet. This story also shined a light on a service AARF was quietly providing — a way to find our beloved, lost animal.
