Hundreds of pets reported missing during storm and lightning in South Australia

Hundreds of pets spooked by thunderstorms in South Australia over the weekend have been reported missing says a non-profit organisation that is urging owners to keep their animals indoors on New Year’s Eve.

Christine Robertson, who co-founded Lost Pets of South Australia, told ABC Radio Adelaide they received hundreds of missing pet reports when damaging winds and thunderstorms lashed the state in recent days.

“Not just the one or two, they [reports] were literally coming in every couple of seconds,” she said.

“It was actually really sad to see because everyone knew the storms were coming … but the level and intensity were unexpected to a lot of people and dogs who were never frightened before suddenly became frightened … they just ran because they were so scared.”

Ms Robertson, who was recognised as 2023 SA Local Hero in the Australian of the Year Awards, said one dog was reportedly let out into its front yard for a wee but it bolted when thunder sounded overhead.

SA Power Networks reported there were about 110,000 lightning strikes in four days across the state, which left about 150,000 homes and businesses without power.

The utility said a few hundred customers in the Mid North and Yorke Peninsula may still be without electricity on Wednesday as crews in regional areas have had their vehicles bogged in recent heavy rains.

“Dogs hear things 10 times louder than what we do, that thunder would have been so loud,” Ms Robertson said.

“With the thunder, they [dogs] have this thing where they run then there’s another clap of thunder in a slightly different place — they run erratically, they’re not just running in one direction.

“Dogs, when they’re frightened, have massive adrenaline.”

RSPCA media relations manager Carolyn Jones told ABC Radio Adelaide’s Spence Denny pets should be kept indoors if possible during thunderstorms or fireworks.

“You just got to protect them from themselves.”

Fireworks warning for pet owners

Ms Robertson says New Year’s Eve is one of the busiest days for the organisation, which also runs a Facebook page with more than 92,000 followers.

“Every single New Year’s Eve it’s exactly the same,” she said.

“We have something like four admins on from 9 o’clock on New Year’s Eve right through to about 7 o’clock the next morning because it is constant once the fireworks start.”

“That’s so predictable that we get a bit angry about that because people know fireworks are going to happen and yet dogs are still left outside.”

The co-founder said almost 20 people would work on New Year’s Eve and the following morning to reunite pets with their owners.

Apart from posting about pets missing, Ms Robertson said they worked behind the scenes to match every reported lost pet to found posts on other sites as well as contacting rangers and vets.

“It’s not just about ‘oh I think I know that dog’ and somebody helps get it home,” she said.

“If someone finds a dog, we’re sending out people to scan them if they’ve got a microchip. We’ve got access to [a] database to get them home.

She advised pet owners to get their four-legged friends microchipped and a collar tag with phone number to help them get home if lost.