Reunited: Love Found!

In early August, Samantha and her fiancé, James, were devastated when their beloved 15-year-old cat, Penny went missing after slipping through a door left slightly ajar. Heartbroken and fearing the worst, Samantha uploaded a photo of Penny to Petco Love Lost, a reunification platform that had recently been added to Dakin’s website. Over the next several days, she would anxiously await any news that would bring hope.

Petco Love Lost offers a free, searchable database designed to help reunite lost pets with their families. It features reports from individuals and thousands of shelters nationwide to broaden the search and increase the chances of finding your missing companion. By uploading a photo of a lost or found pet, the platform's facial recognition technology searches the database for potential matches.

On August 13th, Dakin's Kitten Street Team brought in an older calico cat. Staff scanned the cat for a microchip and found one registered to an individual named Samantha. Unfortunately, the microchip was a dead end as it only listed an outdated phone number and old address. Dakin Animal Resource Counselors submitted the found animal report with Petco Love Lost, and remarkably, the image matched a cat that had been reported missing. Early the following morning Samantha and James arrived at Dakin and were reunited with Penny. The reunion was emotional and Samantha was moved to tears with the relief that Penny was safely back in her arms.

Penny is now back home with her family, thanks in large part to Samantha’s wise decision to use Petco Love Lost in her search for her kitty. Along with the dedicated work of staff, and the Kitten Street Team who found Penny, Petco’s platform was key in reuniting Samantha and James with their lost companion.