From Lost2Found: Front Street Shelter's Program Helps Reunite Pets With Families

SACRAMENTO (CBS13) — The city of Sacramento is working to reunite dogs and cats in shelters with their rightful owners.

The program started last year when the Front Street Shelter won the Petco Innovation challenge, getting $250,000 to launch Lost2Found.

They created the text-based program to help lost pets get home in less than six months. So far, the program has taken off.

Bobby Mann with Front Street said owners can text 'STRAY' to 555-888 and get details on how to get their pets home. He said the Lost2Found program provides a wealth of information on your phone.

The first thing you get is a list of all the stray animals in the local shelters to browse through.

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The program gives owners links to Craigslist and local lost and found pages, nearby shelters, and Finding Rover.  You're able to view pets at the shelter every three days for two months to make sure you won't miss your pet if it comes into a shelter.

Originally, one in 10 cats and 1 in three dogs were reunited with owners. Now, in less than six months, Lost2Found appears to be working.

"Within just piloting, we had nearly 1,500 people that used the program to get their pets home and we've seen nothing but great results," Mann said.

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Now, this technology will be spreading across the country. Some owners like the idea of free help just a text away.

"If people don't when to look, where to look, and how to look, how do we expect to find their pets?" Mann said.

The app also provides the physical address of where the pets were found.