How Search Party for Dogs Is Reuniting Pets with Their Owners

Picture this: The fridge is stocked, snack bowls are overflowing, and friends and family are filing into your home to watch the Big Game. There’s excitement in the air—for your team, for the commercials, for the night ahead.

Then, just before the halftime show, you realize something’s wrong.

You haven’t seen your dog, Shadow, in over an hour.

You call his name. You check the bedrooms. His favorite spot by the window is empty. In the buzz of doorbells, greetings, and game-day chaos, Shadow slipped past your guests—and now he’s officially missing.

Instead of panicking, you open the Ring App and start a Search Party. This new AI-powered community feature alerts nearby participating outdoor Ring cameras to help look for your lost dog. Neighbors receive a real-time notification, and if their camera detects a possible match, they can choose to share that information with you.

We created Search Party for Dogs because we believe pets aren’t just pets—they’re family. Best friends. And with more than 10 million dogs going missing every year in the U.S., we knew this was a problem technology and community could help solve.

Since launch, Search Party for Dogs has already helped bring home more than one dog a day—and this is just the beginning. Ring is committing $1 million to help equip animal shelters across the country with Ring camera systems. The aim is to assist the more than 4,000 U.S. shelters in leveraging Search Party for Dogs to help reunite more lost dogs with their families and achieve the shared goal of reducing the time dogs spend in shelters.

Now, we’re putting Search Party on the world’s biggest stage—to show how neighbors and technology can come together when it matters most, so more lost dogs can find their way home.

Search Party for Dogs builds on what we believe is a simple human truth: neighbors want to help their neighbors. The stories below showcase the real-world impact of Search Party for Dogs. These aren't just stories about finding lost dogs. These are stories about communities coming together, the relief of reunion, and the peace of mind that comes from knowing your neighbors have your back when it matters most.

Safe and Sound in Surprise

With beautiful desert landscapes and a relaxed outdoor lifestyle, Surprise, Arizona, is the perfect destination for adventure and exploration. And that’s exactly what curious Husky Shepherd Lainey set out to do in the wee hours of one morning.

Early one morning, Kurt took his beloved pup Lainey outside for a routine bathroom break before returning to bed. Lainey wasn't one to wander far, so when she hadn't come inside after ten minutes, Kurt began to worry. He went outside and knew instantly she had executed her great escape, as his garbage cans were tipped over and Lainey was nowhere to be found.

Determined to bring Lainey home safely, he searched on foot for half an hour with no luck. Disappointed but not defeated, Kurt created a post in the Neighbors App, transforming his solo mission into a community-wide effort.

While continuing his search by car and talking to neighbors on and off the app, one neighbor reached out with a sighting. Kurt learned that Lainey had traveled about a mile and a half from home, exploring the neighborhood's greenbelts.

"It's a horrible feeling when your pet is gone and the more resources you have to find them the better," Kurt stated. She was part of his family, and her safe return meant everything to him. "I thought Ring could only be used for security," Kurt continued. "It has changed now in its purpose for me."

Gone (and Found) in Fifteen Minutes

Sometimes you don't have to know people or pets that long for them to feel like family. Sometimes it's an instant connection that pulls you together, and when severed, it can feel like a great loss. That's exactly how Kylee and Remy felt when their beloved Nyx disappeared.

Kylee and her boyfriend Remy have had their seven-year-old Husky, Nyx, for six years. In need of a new home, the couple adopted Nyx from a friend, as they knew he'd be perfect for their family, along with their three other dogs.

One day, Kylee let the dogs out into their fenced backyard. After about 10 minutes, she went to check on them and counted: one, two, three... no four? “Where was Nyx?” Kylee wondered. She checked his usual hiding spots, but he wasn’t there. She looked in the neighbor's yard where part of the fence had recently come down and still, there was no sign of Nyx.

That’s when Kylee and Remy discovered a hole dug under the fence. They were shocked that Nyx, a big dog, had managed to dig himself out through a hole about 1.5 feet deep.

The couple divided their efforts. Remy conducted a traditional search on foot, while Kylee posted on the Neighbors App. Within 15 minutes of posting, Nyx was found.

A neighbor commented that someone had recently appeared on their Ring camera with a dog matching Nyx's description. The neighbor facilitated a meeting, and Kylee, Remy and Nyx were soon reunited.

"I don't think we would have been able to find him if it weren't for the Ring App," Kylee recalled. "I was really happy with the way it worked out."

A Day and a Half of Hope

Losing a pet can sometimes feel like losing your best friend. Your partner in crime. Your safe space. For Lilianna's four-year-old son, that's exactly what it felt like when Truffle went missing.

Lilianna is a mother of three children and one rambunctious Labrador named Truffle. Her family adopted Truffle at four months old as a gift for her eldest son. The two share the same birth month and year, and have grown up together as best friends and partners in crime.

One Saturday morning, Lilianna let Truffle outside for a routine bathroom break. Having just installed a new gate, she thought it would be okay for him to play in the front instead of the backyard. While inside, Lilianna looked out and noticed Truffle was gone.

She immediately checked her Ring camera and saw that the gate was slightly ajar, leaving just enough room for Truffle to escape. "I was scared about what could have happened to Truffle because we’re near a major road and I was worried he would get injured," Lilianna said.

The next day, while in her Ring app, Lilianna discovered the Neighbors feature and saw countless posts from neighbors who had found their lost pets thanks to the Ring community. She posted about Truffle, hoping for similar results. Within hours, a neighbor commented that they'd seen him and shared the location. Lilianna searched the area but came up empty.

At 7 AM the following morning, the same neighbor called. Truffle had been spotted again in the same area, but this time with another dog. Lilianna and her kids raced to the location and her eldest son instantly spotted Truffle and called out to him.

"I never knew that security cameras could help find a dog," Lilianna reflected. "It's amazing knowing that we can use Search Party to help our neighbors find lost pets. A lot of the time [these] are more than pets. They're part of our families and it's amazing to have Search Party."

Stories like these happen every day thanks to you, our Ring community, working together to facilitate reunions between missing pets and their owners. These reunions are the catalyst for the work we do at Ring and inspired the creation of Search Party for Dogs. To learn more, visit: https://ring.com/search-party.