EL PASO, Texas (KTSM) — National Pet Day is Tuesday, April 11 and for many families in America, a pet is what turns a house into a home.
A pet can be seen as a loyal companion who sticks by their owners’ side through anything and everything. This kind of bond between a pet and owner has been linked to show health benefits such as decreased blood pressure, less anxiety and has shown to reduce symptoms of PTSD, according to a study done by the U.S. Census Bureau.
Around 49.6 percent of homes in the U.S. have at least one pet, according to the Census Bureau. A pet can be any kind of domestic or tamed animal ranging from a reptile, cat, fish or bird but in the United States a dog is the most common pet, according to the study.
So, what happens when you lose your four-legged companion?
Nextdoor and Pawboost have partnered up in case that happens, and also share tips on pet safety.
The Nextdoor app is a neighborhood network that connects an individual with neighbors, local businesses and public agencies around the area to help them find their lost pet.
PawBoost is a social media app that allows a pet owner to put in their pet’s details such as their personality or features which is described to be like an “amber alert for your pet,” according to the app.
Caty Kobe, head of community for Nextdoor, spoke to KTSM 9 News and shared how to use PawBoost with Nextdoor.
“Once people have created a post about their lost pet on PawBoost, they can simply click the ‘Share on Nextdoor’ button. Users are then taken to Nextdoor, and a pre-populated post with all the pertinent details will pop up, which includes a link to the original PawBoost entry. Simply publish this post to Nextdoor, and your neighbors will be able to join the efforts to find your lost pet.” said Kobe.
Kobe says the partnership between the two apps started in February and since then, they have had hundreds of posts listed with the hashtag “reunited” on Nextdoor, signaling that a lost pet has been found and is back with its family.
Kobe also adds that PawBoost and Nextdoor have been successful in finding dogs, cats, birds, turtles, snakes, pigs and even alpacas. One of the more successful stories the apps has seen is when a dog was found more than 400 miles away from its home after being lost for four years.
