Champ was lost for 167 days! He is finally back home! Make sure you read his story.
As of today, the two organizations have already reunited 423 dogs with their families this year! Luckily, 393 families welcomed home happy, healthy pets! Although 30 other families received the unfortunate news that their dogs did not survive their time on the loose, they at least were made aware of their pets’ fates and were able to take some comfort in having closure.
Of course, not a single one of the 423 dogs that have been returned to their owners since January 1, 2012, would have made it back home without each and every one of the 18,189 people who are fans of Lost Dogs Illinois and Lost Dogs of Wisconsin on Facebook.
Both individually and together, our fans are returning pets to the families that love them and, as a result, are also reducing the number of “strays” in shelters in both Wisconsin and Illinois. And this, of course, has the added benefit of saving tens-of-thousands-of-dollars for the cities and towns spread across both states. Great job, fans! Thank you!
One of the 423 dogs that has been returned this year thanks to your efforts is a dog named, Champ. Champ was missing from his home for six weeks before he was spotted on an island by some attentive factory workers. After luring Champ off the island with a few cookies, the workers sent Champ to the Chicagoland Shepherd Rescue in Chicago where he was cared for and loved for four months…until a volunteer named, Mary, saw him.
Describing Champ as “the happiest dog” at the Chicagoland Shepherd Rescue, Mary recognized Champ instantly from the picture Lost Dogs Illinois had of him on its Facebook page. Because of Mary’s commitment to reviewing LDI’s Facebook page regularly and her involvement in “the dog business,” Champ was reunited with his family after being away from home for a total of 167 days!
That’s when Champ’s owners figured out that their dog had swum more than 20 miles away from his Shorewood, IL, home before those factory workers rescued him from that island in Aurora! That’s when they really appreciated the effort and attention to detail that people invested in getting Champ back in their loving arms. That’s when they realized no one, not a single Facebook fan, gave up hope that Champ would be reunited with his family.
And, that’s when what we already knew was reaffirmed – no matter where you are located and no matter where a dog is reported as missing or found, it is because of your keen eyes and persistence that LDW and LDI are able to successfully get dogs back to their homes. Not a single one of our fans is too far away to help us reunite pets with their families…and we’re glad all of you, including Mary, know it!
Lost Dogs of Wisconsin 