SPRINGDALE (KFSM) - Losing a pet can be a sad time for any owner, no matter how your furry-friend disappeared.
“Every day when I come home, I just know that I am going to be alone,” said Ashley Mott.
Mott says her dog, named “Little Girl” has been missing for almost two weeks.
“I think about her, and I go through pictures, and I kind of obsess over it,” Mott said.
Without her dog by her side, Mott says her home just isn`t complete anymore.
“It`s very empty,” Mott said. “You`d have to pick her up to get into the bed. So, I go to get in bed, and think I have to pick her up. And then I realize that I don`t, because she is not there.”
Mott says she's turned to social media to search for her dog.
“I checked several Facebook lost-and-founds, and garage sales, and Craigslist,” Mott said.
Facebook pages, and Craigslist ads, are becoming places for people to post about missing dogs.
However, some say people are on the same pages trying to sell dogs they stole, which is why animal shelter officials say you should get your dog micro-chipped.
“A lot of times, dogs that are possibly listed as stolen are actually at the animal shelter because they just jumped the fence, or got under it,” said Courtney Kremer, Director of Animal services for Springdale. “A lot of times we get dogs in that are micro chipped, and we are able to get them home that day, or the next day.”
If your dog is stolen, and you happen to find it in someone else`s yard, you can prove it's your dog with a microchip.
“You`ve got a leg to stand on if you go to civil court and they can scan the dog and prove ownership that way,” Kremer said.
And, to keep a thief from stealing your dog, animal shelters suggest starting with the easiest deterrent.
“[Owners] need to have the gate padlocked so people aren`t as enticed to just go back there and get them,” Kremer said.
Springdale Animal Shelter officials tell 5NEWS pure-bred dogs are usually the target of thefts because they can be sold for hundreds of dollars.
The shelter also tells 5NEWS, if you pick up a dog for free from an ad, you may want to check it for a microchip to make sure it wasn't found and given away.