April 17, 2009

Facebook.com helped Shane Meide get his lost cat of two years, Bob, pictured above, back home. (ZT Pet News Photo Illustration)

NEW YORK -- Though the stray cat had a microchip, his owners' contact information was out-of-date.

So Amber Wallin, of the Animal Humane Society's Coon Rapids shelter, in Coon Rapids, Minn., was set to put the male, adult cat up for adoption, until she had a fleeting thought -- why not try searching on Facebook for people with the same name as the owners' listed on the microchip.

Shane and Nicole Meide had just joined the social networking Web site one week before Wallin tried to reach out to them.

It turns out, their timing couldn't have been better -- Wallin found Shane Meide's private profile, and sent him a message.

"Four or five hours later I got a response from Shane, saying 'Oh my God, you found Bob,' " Wallin recalled.

The pair exchanged numbers, and now, two years after he disappeared from his family's East Bethel, Minn., home, the cat, Bob, is back home with his family.

Wallin said it was the first time she has utilized Facebook, or any other online site, to reunite lost pets and their owners.

"I just thought, 'You know, it's a shot in the dark, but why not just give it a go?' Facebook is such a popular site," she said.

Bob had previously arrived at the Twin Cities shelter in "good shape," Wallin said, noting that someone had clearly taken pity on the stray, feeding him regularly.

Wallin said she knew she had to be wary when operating on Facebook, and that she could not assume someone was who he or she claimed to be. But in 2007, the Meides had filed a "missing pet" report with the Humane Society, so Wallin used that information to correctly identify them.

Bob's life with his family has since returned to normal, Wallin said. Shane and Nicole Meide were also thrilled to have their cat back -- as clearly evidenced by Shane Meide's profile picture of a reclining, peaceful looking Bob.

"It's definitely very unique," Wallin said. "By no means have we been able to reunite all other strays and their owners through this method."

She recommended that people stay up-to-date on their pets' identification tags, and that if they move or change their number, to update their animals' microchip information, as well.

Amy Lieberman is a staff reporter for Zootoo Pet News. She can be reached at alieberman@zootoo.com