Senior Citizen Reunites with Lost Cat Missing for 11 Days Thanks to Helpful Neighbor and Free, Easy to Use AI-Powered Technology, Love Lost

National Nonprofit Petco Love Celebrates National Good Neighbor Day and the Impact of Community in the Search for Lost and Found Pets Nationwide

SAN ANTONIO, Sept. 23, 2025 /PRNewswire/ -- Sharon and her beloved cat, Louie, are happily back together after a terrifying 11 days when Louie went missing from their Ridgefield, Washington area home. When Louie was lost, Sharon turned to Love Lost, a free, easy to use, national database powered by AI photo-matching technology that has reunited more than 140,000 lost pets with their families. Thanks to Love Lost and a good Samaritan in Sharon's neighborhood, the stressful and scary ordeal has a happy ending.

Now, ahead of National Good Neighbor Day on September 28^th, national nonprofit organization Petco Love is sharing Louie's story to inspire pet lovers to take action in their community and be a good neighbor if they find a lost pet. One photo of a missing cat or dog in a neighborhood could reunite that pet with their loving family simply by uploading to Love Lost. The database enables neighbors to use AI technology to 'unite to reunite' lost and found pets.

When Louie got out of Sharon's home through a window, her family looked everywhere. "It was devastating. I couldn't eat, I couldn't sleep. He's part of our family," said Sharon. They went door-to-door in their neighborhood and to Love Lost partner, the Humane Society for Southwest Washington. Shelter staff recommended she upload Louie's photo to Love Lost and create a free lost pet profile. Sharon received a message through the Love Lost chat feature from a 'good neighbor' who saw a cat on the roof of a vet's office. The neighbor and Sharon discovered Louie hiding in a storage lot behind that office. Louie and Sharon finally reunited after 11 days. "We were just thrilled. When I posted on Love Lost, it was easy to use. If it had not been simple, I probably would not have finished it. I'm very grateful. Thank you, thank you Love Lost for bringing Louie home."

To be prepared in case the unthinkable happens, pet parents can upload a photo of their dog or cat to create a digital profile on Love Lost. If their pet goes missing, they can easily and quickly report the pet as lost on Love Lost. Its AI technology will compare their pet's photo to photos of all the pets posted in the database and pets posted in nearly every major animal shelter in the United States, like the Humane Society for Southwest Washington, and on Nextdoor and Neighbors by Ring.

Every second counts when a pet is missing, and good neighbors can make all the difference. This Fall, Love Lost is launching a new feature called "Search Party" which will be available for those who have lost a pet. This empowers pet parents to quickly rally on Love Lost and organize help. "When a pet goes missing, almost every pet parent has help from the community to find their pet but 75% of them find it difficult to manage and organize help," said Aaron Klein, Director, Product, Petco Love. "Search Party can reduce the mental and emotional burden on pet parents by offering structured ways to ask for help like printing out flyers, posting on social media, and coordinating where people should be searching. More reunions can happen quickly and collaboratively through Love Lost in neighborhoods across the country."

When Norman, a 6-year-old dog went missing, his pet parents, Bryan and Heather, searched throughout their community in Vermont for days and turned to Love Lost. After uploading Norman's photo and listing him as lost, Love Lost prompted them to share their post on Nextdoor as well. "It would have been very easy to give up hope as we were shouting into the woods for him, and looking everywhere, but we kept going because of Love Lost and good neighbors in our community. We never would have found him without everyone's help," said Bryan. Norman was missing for 4 days and found miles away, before he was joyfully reunited with his pet parents and dog siblings. "We have such a love for these strangers in our community, there's no way we can describe how grateful we are," said Bryan. "Some people might not even have pets of their own but yet they would still go out and look for him, and that's really appreciated," said Heather.

Upload a picture of your pet today to Love Lost —so you're one click away from help if they go missing tomorrow. If you a find a lost pet in your community, you can upload their picture to help get them home safely. Love Lost is a powerful, easy-to-use platform that helps reunite lost pets with their families across the country. It's free, fast, and brings families back together – like Sharon and Louie.

Media Contact:
Crystal Bugary, Petco Love, [email protected]

About Petco Love
Petco Love is a life-changing nonprofit organization that makes communities and pet families closer, stronger, and healthier. Since our founding in 1999, we've empowered animal welfare organizations by investing nearly $425 million in adoption and other lifesaving efforts. We've helped find loving homes for more than 7 million pets in partnership with Petco and organizations nationwide. Our love for pets drives us to lead with innovation, creating tools animal lovers need to reunite lost pets, and lead with passion, inspiring and mobilizing communities and our more than 4,000 animal welfare partners to drive lifesaving change alongside us. Is love calling you? Join us. Visit PetcoLove.org or follow us on Facebook, Instagram, X, Threads, and LinkedIn to be part of the lifesaving work we lead every day.

SOURCE Petco Love