A Neighborhood Rescue: How the Neighbors App Reunited a Family with Their Pups

As Lauren and her family were getting ready to visit relatives for a Thanksgiving celebration in 2023, chaos ensued as the family realized their 2-year-old German Shepherds, Ali and Rajah, were nowhere to be found. Unfortunately, one of the exterior doors had been left open, and Ali and Rajah had gotten out.

“We live on a major road," Lauren explains, "and we were scared they had gone to [that] road. Our first reaction wasn’t the best. We were worrisome.”

This wasn’t the first time Ali and Rajah had escaped, nor were they the first animals to have gone missing in Lauren’s household. The family once had a cat that also went missing and from that experience, their first instinct was was to create a post on the Neighbors App. With pet profiles already created, Lauren activated them and simultaneously canvassed the neighborhood.

Meanwhile, Lauren's playful pups were perfectly fine, and were enjoying a dip in a duck pond not far from home. Thankfully, a neighbor was walking his dog when he saw two gentle German Shepherds. Having seen countless lost pet posts on the app, he immediately posted his own video of the dogs.

"Back at home," Lauren recalls, "we noticed there was a post [on the app] of German Shepherd dogs that were at our neighborhood duck pond. We made contact with [the owner] of that post and sure enough we had friendly neighbors to corral the puppy dogs."

Lauren’s fiancé Clay was able to connect with the neighbor to arrange a time to retrieve the dogs. Clay wanted to compensate him, but but the neighbor insisted that knowing Ali and Rajah were safe was the best reward.

“If it hadn’t been for [Ring], we wouldn’t have been able to be reunited as quickly, and I’m almost certain they would have made it to the local shelter, which can be traumatizing for the dog and the parents. [Ring is an] amazing tool," Lauren remarks, "and [we] couldn’t be more happy and thrilled to reunite as our one big, happy family."

Reflecting back on the experience, Lauren concludes, “[We will] always pay it forward. We’ll always make sure we put our effort [out there]. Any time there’s an animal in need, we will be there.”

Every day, countless pets are reunited with their families thanks to the Neighbors App and the Ring community. From all of us at Ring, to you, thank you for being an active member of the community and for helping to make neighborhoods safer! For more information on how to create a Pet Profile to prevent your pet from going missing, visit here.

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