Shore Animal Control Uses Social Media to Return Lost Pets

SEAVILLE – Social media has become a tool to help reunite pets with their caretakers. Shore Animal Control, the largest private animal control company in South Jersey, uses social media daily to return pets in the many municipalities they serve. Linda Gentille, manager of the company, comments, “Our goal is to do everything possible to locate caretakers rather than take the easy route and drop off at the shelter. Our nine animal control officers all have access to our Facebook page and immediately post any lost or found pets. Usually within two hours we can relocate pets with their family.”
Local officials understand that returning pets to families rather than taking them to the shelter not only reduces stress on pets, but saves tax payers money. Shelter costs each municipality pays are based partly on the number of animals taken to the shelter each year.
Shore Animal Control’s Facebook page has almost 6,000 likes and a weekly viewership of 30,000 to 50,000, making it the “go to” site for lost and found pets. They work in conjunction with the Cape May County Animal Shelter and Adoption Center to share information in the goal to find owners. Dr. Nick Holland, owner of the company and Shore Veterinarians, states, “Facebook is one of the greatest things to happen to help in relocating pets. Of course the ideal situation would be every pet would have proper external identification, however that is not always the situation. In cases where external ID or microchips are not present, we turn to social media.”
SAC has a loyal following on their Facebook page of people who love animals and help share postings. To visit the page and follow the local animal community awareness program they created, please go to ShoreAnimalControl.com which will take you to their page. The majority of pets lost and found are in Lower Township and Wildwood. The officers from SAC would like to encourage all residents to tag and license their pets for the safe return of their pets. Any lost or found pets in the following municipalities: Lower Township, Upper Township, Wildwood, North Wildwood, Wildwood Crest, West Cape May, Stone Harbor, Woodbine, Estell Manor, Buena and Buena Vista, can call 1 (800) 351-1822. Any other municipality can contact their local police to locate their animal control officer.