Good News! 
. Finally A Happy Ending!
Chinu, a 1 year old male Pomeranian dog missing from Ludhiana is finally reunited with family on March 10,2014. The dog was spotted just 1 Km from the dog owner’s house. Chinu is in good health and very happy to reunite with family.
Ms Jyoti, the owner of Chinu shared her experience with Missing Dog Helpline. Transcript of the communication is below:
MDH: How you came to know that Chinu is missing:
Ms. Jyoti: We realised Chinu was missing from his usual sleeping spot when we checked on him in the morning. Our gate was locked but there is a small gap which he could escape from.
MDH: Whom did you call/ contact first?
We immediately asked the neighbours if they had seen Chinu. We then asked local tea sellers, Dhaba owners and early rising people as we realised Chinu was missing from 6 am.
MDH: Did you find any Helpline Service when you found Chinu is missing?
No helpline. Only your website (www.ilostmydog.in)
MDH: Any organization that helped you in any manner:
Again, only your website helped us www.ilostmydog.in
MDH: Did you try to file an FIR?
Maybe we would have if more time had passed. But the general feeling is, that authorities are are usually not even effective at finding humans let alone dogs so we didn’t really think an FIR would be helpful.
MDH: Did you distribute posters?
Yes, we printed posters. We distributed some initially at all the local pet shops. We then planned to give posters to vets, schools, bus stands, local businesses, Malls, but thankfully Chinu was found before we went out to distribute the posters.
MDH: Did you declare some reward for information?
We hadn’t publicly announced an award yet, then Chinu was found. Maybe if we hadn’t found him, we would have then offered a reward.
MDH: Do you feel declaring Reward works in such cases?
A reward may definitely work, providing more incentive for people to search for the missing dog. And for any captors to return it. However it’s important to prevent a culture of dog abductions for rewards.
MDH: Have you been contacted by someone seeking money to provide clue of Chinu?
No, we hadn’t.
MDH: What was the duration of this lost/ found case?
Just under two days.
MDH: How stressful was you life during this period?
It was a very stressful time. Chinu is a member of the family. We went through a mixture of emotions, from trying to ready ourselves in case Chinu wasn’t found, to also continuing search efforts and retaining hope.
MDH: Did it hamper your daily work?
Yes, completely. We put aside ALL our domestic and professional duties to find Chinu.
MDH: Who informed about the location of Chinu?
An immediate neighbour spotted Chinu whilst returning home. She immediately informed us and we went and recovered Chinu.
MDH: What was the health condition of Chinu when recovered?
Chinu was in generally good health, but probably because he was found relatively quickly. He was however quite dirty from wandering the streets. His collar had been removed by someone, possibly leading us to believe he had been taken and then later released. Chinu was extremely happy to see us when we called out his name. He was also hungry and ate his food very quickly once he got home.
MDH: Any suggestion for other dog owners?
If you love your dog, make every effort to try and recover it because your efforts will in most cases, pay off. This is what we did to help find him:
1) Immediately inform all your neighbours
2) Search the immediate area at least up to a 2-3km radius
3) Ask people who are permanently stationed in your area, such as stall owners, milkman, postman, chowkidaar etc
4) Contact this website www.ilostmydog.in ( now www.hachi.dog)
5) Contact pet shops and vets etc
6) Use Social networking such as Facebook and Whatsapp to raise awareness
Generally the attitude of common people is that of disinterest, “People don’t do this much for lost (human) relatives, you are doing all this to find a dog” is something we heard commonly, but don’t let this deter you or dampen your spirit
But above all – PREVENTION! Ensure you take all steps to make sure your dog doesn’t run away or get stolen in the first place.
Thank you to all the volunteers of this website for their help.
-Jyoti, Chinu & Family
