What would you do if your pet went missing?
You might panic, understandably.
You would probably then turn to social media.
And if you live in Dundee or Angus, there is no doubt which Facebook page you would turn to first.
The Missing Pets, Dundee and Angus Facebook page has reunited thousands of panic-stricken owners with their missing pets since 2013.
It all started when Linda Quinn, 63, became a volunteer at Cats Protection in Dundee.
The retired social worker helped the charity to rescue and rehome stray cats – but something didn’t sit right with her.
She explains: “I would see some beautiful cats come in, not microchipped. And I would just know that they weren’t a stray cat – they were somebody’s pet cat.
“But sadly, with no microchip, there is no way to tell. So a lot of cats were rehomed into different families.
“So that is where the idea for me came from to do the page.
“I would take pictures of the cats and put them on the page and help track down their owner and it was amazing.
“That gave me a right buzz. Even today, I still get that buzz.
“People just started following the page and the numbers just grew and grew.”
As the page quickly grew in popularity, Linda approached Nicky Beaton – a friend a fellow animal lover – for help.
Between them they covered the page from 8am to 11pm, 365 days a year.
Linda, who has fostered hundreds of cats for Cats Protection, says: “Nicky did night shifts and I did day shifts.
“We worked like that for about three years, just the two of us.
“And we just built it up from nothing to what we are today. It has grown so much.”
Today, the page, now run by a team of 12 volunteers, has more than 38,000 followers.
The group also has 14 volunteer scanners across the region, from Dundee and Brechin to Arbroath and Longforgan.
Scanners are used to check missing pets for microchips.
Many of the volunteers are pet owners who the page has helped at one time.
Missing Pets, Dundee and Angus Facebook page gave founder a purpose in life
Linda, who has long struggled with mental health issues, says that running Missing Pets has given her a purpose in life.
“When I first started the page, I was unable to work as a social carer anymore because I was struggling with my mental health.
“That’s why I was able to give so much of my time to the page.
“The page gave me something to focus on. So it has really been a huge help to me.”
A large part of Missing Pets’ success is down to its strong network of connections in Dundee and Angus and beyond.
The group works closely with local councils, police stations, animal shelters, kennels, and the Lost Dog Trapping Team.
Linda says: “We all work together.
“We recently donated scanners to about five different police stations so they could scan lost dogs for microchips when they are handed in.
“But if there is no chips they come to us and ask us to put a picture up on the page.”
The group even carries out night-time searches in remote parts of the local area.
Recently, it has been focusing its efforts on fundraising to buy more specialist searching equipment which could help track down animals faster.
This includes cat traps, thermal imaging scopes, heated gilets and torches.
It has raised more than £12,000 in the past year through auction and bingo events.
Nicky, 53, says there are also plans for its new volunteer-run ground search team to undergo training to effectively capture missing pets who require trapping.
She says: “None of us are experts and don’t claim to be.
“We are always learning new ways to find lost dogs, taking advice and help from those who know exactly what they are doing and have been successful many times over.”
Dundee dog reunited with owner after two weeks on the run
Indeed, the group has countless success stories in the bag.
Last year, it spearheaded a huge search for Lady the chihuahua, reuniting her with her Monifieth owner after seven days.
The happy ending followed a major operation involving spotters, feeding stations, CCTV and even drones.
It also led the search for a Bulgarian rescue puppy who ran off just four days after moving to Dundee.
Marcusa was trapped with the help of a Livingston-based dog search group thanks to the tempting smells of hotdogs and sardines.
But perhaps one of its most high-profile search and rescue missions is that of Gala – the Dundee dog who has made a bid for freedom not once but twice.
The first incident took place in 2021.
Owner Paulina Ruranska recalls: “I wasn’t even at home when it happened. It was late at night and my flatmate accidentally let her out.
“I let Missing Pets know and they were able to spread the news.
“This grew a lot of interest from local people who were very keen to help me look for her.
“I was getting a lot of calls from people who had seen Gala.
“It was hard to stumble across somebody who hadn’t heard about Gala going missing.”
Missing Pets then got a phone call from the owner of Emmock Farm, who had spotted the Bedlington terrier on his land.
Paulina says:Â “Volunteers set a trap with smelly food inside, but Gala, instead of going inside the trap, went into the farmer’s duck pen – and ate one of the ducks.
“The birds were very noisy, it was the middle of the night, they managed to wake up the farmer and he was able to capture Gala.”
Missing Pets replaced the farmer’s duck, who was “very understanding” about the ordeal.
The second incident, which took place last summer, saw Gala disappear while being walked along the Corrie Fee trail from Glen Doll in Angus.
For the next two weeks, Paulina searched high and low alongside members of Missing Pets, who also recruited help from drone pilots, rangers from the Glen Doll and Balmoral estates, Glen Clova Hotel staff and residents of Glen Muick.
After the implementation of expert guidance, Gala followed a scent trail to Paulina’s car in Glen Doll car park, where her owner had been sleeping for 14 nights.
Paulina says: “It felt very surreal when I opened the door and I saw Gala. I couldn’t actually believe it was her so I kept asking her if she was Gala because I thought that I was seeing a ghost.
“I thought, ‘Am I having hallucinations?’
“Gala is doing well now. She is now on a lead though unfortunately, until the end of her life.
“I am now too scared to let her go without a lead, even in the park. I am traumatised enough.
“Each time she went missing shortened my life span probably by a decade. I’m surprised my hair hasn’t turned grey after what I went through.
“I am always and forever grateful to Missing Pets Dundee. I have such a great debt that now I am a Missing Pets volunteer helping with the new ground search team.”
Rescued pets include iguana, tarantula, snakes and horses
And it’s not just cats and dogs that the page helps.
“We have had budgies, parakeets, snakes, hamsters, horses, a sheep – we have had everything on that page,” Nicky says.
“An iguana was once spotted on the street by someone who was on the bus in the Ninewells area – the iguana was just casually having a wander.
“We also once had a tarantula – we think that it maybe escaped out of the pet store.
“Someone had seen it in their close and then proceeded to barricade themselves in their flat.
“I’m glad it wasn’t me who had to go pick that one up.”
But sadly, not all missing pets are found alive, while some are never found at all.
Nicky, who owns two cats and two dogs, says: “As pet owners ourselves, we know how important it is to get the missing pets home, even if it is a sad outcome, so we also retrieve deceased pets, scan and either take home or hand into local vets.
“All owners should have closure, that is what it’s about.
“There’s nothing worse than not knowing where your pet has gone.
“Even if it is bad news, you are at least getting closure and you can then move on.”
Nicky, who lost her own cat in the 1990s, can empathise with pet owners who are grieving the loss of a pet.
“I know from losing a cat and never finding her it always stays with you.
“When she went missing, we put up posters throughout the whole neighbourhood – this was before the days of Facebook – and after two weeks we got a phone call back to say someone had found her deceased lying on their grass and they had put her in the bin.
“We don’t want that for any owner. That’s not nice. So you do need closure – even if it is bad news.”
Missing Pets Facebook page ‘would never work without support of public’
Both Linda and Nicky stress that the page would never work without the loyal support of locals.
Posts on the page are often liked and shared by thousands of people.
“We are very fortunate to have the support of the public,” says Nicky.
“We always say that to every member who messages in.
“Followers send in information and sightings, they will offer to go out and pick up injured animals for us and take them to the vets, they will help put up posters, every neighbour will be out looking for their neighbour’s missing cats.
“It would 100% not work without the support of the public.”
Linda adds: “I am very proud of Missing Pets.
“I never imagined it would grow to what it is today
“It has been a wonderful journey.
“Even now, I still get a buzz when we help an animal get reunited with its family.
“That is really what the page is all about.”
Conversation