$500 REWARD FOR DOG LOST DUE TO FIREWORKS: CHECK THESE SITES IF YOU HAVE A LOST OR FOUND PET

By Miriam Raftery

July 5, 2020 (El Cajon) – Each year, more pets go missing on July 4 than any other night of the year. Fireworks the last two nights locally frightened many dogs and cats, prompting some to run off and become lost. Pawboost has now set up lost and found pet sites on Facebook for local communities to help reunite lost pets with their owners. 

On the PawBoost El Cajon page, Cheryl Clarke-Kauffman, who is offering a $500 reward for the return of her beloved dog, Munch. “He is my life, my companion, my best friend,” Kauffman says.  “Please help me find him. I am lost without him.” 

Munch, a white male poodle mix with brown eyes,  went missing at 6:30 p.m. on July 3rd in the vicinity of Avocado Ave. and Chase.  Kauffman says she took his collar off to scratch his neck shortly before loud  fireworks startled him.  If you have information on Munch please contact Kauffman via https://www.pawboost.com/p/6317619. 

If you are missing a pet locally, there are several other things you can do in addition to listing your pet on Pawboost.

You can check the El Cajon Animal Shelter website, which has a listing of lost and found pets, as well as a list of adoptable pets for whom owners haven’t been located.

Also check San Diego County Animal Services website, which has photos of pets turned into two shelters (Bonita and Carlsbad) serving the unincorporated county areas.  

The Bonita shelter is typically where loose pets found in unincorporated areas of East County are taken.

It’s important to keep checking daily, even if your pet is not there at first, since people who find pets may not bring them to a shelter immediately. 

You can also enter your pet on the Finding Rover app, which uses facial recognition software to identify found animals.

Before your pet goes missing, microchipping is also strongly recommended, since microchips have enabled reunification even in pets that traveled long distances or were turned into shelters years later.

The free online NextDoor forum for your neighborhood is also an excellent way to let your nearest neighbors know about your missing pet, or if you’ve found a lost animal. Many pets are reunited regularly with owners on this site.

Posting notices on your own social media, as well as flyers in your neighborhood, and notifying local media are additional steps you can take to help locate your lost pet.

Of course, keeping pets indoors on the Fourth of July, or whenever fireworks are occurring, is another important step to help keep them safe at home.