I actually belong to a facebook group here in our community that is for missing pets so I learn from them. Even though I no longer have any pets (all passed away last year from old age)I still get very emotionally involved when someone else's goes missing. I'm always keeping an eye open for stray dogs and cats. We have several feral cat colonies here so you can't always be sure that it is someone's pet unless they are approachable.

We had one pup named Poncho that was missing for 4 months. He was a rescue from hurricane Irma that had devastated his home in Puerto Rico and a family adopted him. He had only been in his new home a couple of days. He got out Thanksgiving night. He was spotted all over, one city to the next, but never caught. Finally, 25 miles from home, he wandered in to a large property near Ormond Beach and decided he liked it there. The guy that lived there had no idea who Poncho was and that he had been on the news and in the local paper until someone told him. The owners decided to let him stay where he had found a home and a family. A very happy ending!