As 2014 draws to a close, DogLost has had its busiest year ever. Nearly 18,500 dogs were registered lost or found with the country’s largest lost and found dog service.
Each month the website has 1.5 million page visits as the 82,000 members help dogs by postering or sharing across social media. And this year more than 14,000 people joined us to help reunite more dogs across the country.
Increases in dog theft and dog abandonment have led to the increase which has seen DogLost reunite nearly 7,500 of them. Many of the found dogs were subsequently rehomed by dog wardens after being seen on the website.
DogLost’s helpline remained busy throughout the year and has been extended to 14 hours a day to provide support to owners who have lost their dogs or for members of the public who have found dogs.
DogLost is also regularly asked to help with cats and horses, but this year also had to help fish and small furries !
Partnered with the Kennel Club’s Petlog and the Halo scanner has helped more dogs get reunited, even though the incidents of theft are on the increase. One dog (pictured with two of our co-ordinators) was even reunited after five years !
Media partners, Dogs Today and Countryman’s Weekly, have provided invaluable support in publicising long-term missing and working dogs. And we have rarely been out of the news.
To fight the battle against dog theft and the lack of compulsory scanning by vets and transport authorities, DogLost joined forces earlier in the year with Vets Get Scanning, Dog Theft Action, Pet Theft Awareness and Dog Union to form the Stolen & Missing Pets Alliance to lobby for changes.
Although DogLost is run almost entirely by volunteers, it needs several thousand pounds a month to run the website and the helpline. And we’d like to thank everyone who has donated throughout the year. There are many dog clubs and volunteers who have done everything from baking cakes and doing skydives to running dog shows and sponsored walks. In particular we’d like to thank Working Clumber Spaniels UK, The Whippet Club and Marjorie Coote Animal Welfare Trust for their very generous support.
