Never underestimate the power of social media. A lot of people laugh at it a lot, and there are a million memes floating around, but the truth is that in this day and age, social media has a lot of power and impact. Just ask Stephanie Lyon from North Tonawanda, and she’ll agree without hesitance.
Her one-year-old pit bull, Franklin, slipped out of his home on Monday, January 28, 2019. After that, he wasn’t seen for eight days. To make matters worse, however, Franklin went messing when North Tonawanda was hit by sub-zero temperatures and a blizzard.
Worried for her dog, Stephanie went out and hung flyers with pictures of Franklin, asked strangers she walked passed if they’d seen him, and visited shelters in case he’d already been found. Despite those great efforts, they weren’t the reason that Franklin was eventually found.
You might already know the reason the dog was found: social media. Stephanie works at the BAC for Women, and one of her co-workers uploaded some posts asking if people in the area could keep an eye out for the pit bull. Naturally, the post of the missing pet spread quickly.
Stephanie shared, “On the one post, I had over 3,000 shares and I never expected it to reach anyone.” She’s lucky that it did!
The North Tonawanda Dog Control Officer Eric Salisbury said, “There were lots of tips, leads and comments on Facebook pages. We followed up on every one of them.” He was just as eager to find the dog.
Eventually, they received the phone call that would lead to Franklin. They were told a dog had been seen hiding under a dump truck in a storage yard, growling and crying. It was Franklin.
Thankfully, he was okay. Franklin had lost over twenty pounds from being lost in the blizzard and not having eaten in over a week and was dehydrated, but he didn’t suffer any long-term or serious injuries. While watching the video, you will notice the poor pup’s ribs sticking out. The dog is now recovering.
Stephanie’s final message is, “I just really hope that it gives others hope that if they are missing their pets that there is a strong chance that they’ll still be out there and alive.”
If you’d like to hear more about Stephanie and her journey to reuniting with her dog, watch the video down below!
