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FindToto.com Helps Family Find Lost Pooches

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Jul 8, 2009 6:11 pm US/Eastern

FindToto.com Helps Family Find Lost Pooches

PITTSBURGH (KDKA) ― The Wizard of Oz's "there's no place like home" mantra has taken on a whole new meaning.

FindToto.com is the new poster pass outs and neighborhood searches in hopes of finding your lost animal. If a pet goes missing, its worried owner can turn to FindToto and for a price send out thousands of automated calls to their neighbors asking for any information they can provide.

The Vash family was at a loss when their dog Indy went missing on the Sunday before Memorial Day. They went the traditional route, plastering light poles with flyers and canvassing the neighborhood for their beloved animal.

"He grew up with our kids, and he's a member of the family – a much loved member of the family," Kathy Vash said.

When frustration peaked after two days of searching, the Vash family turned to FindToto.com.

Once registered, the Web site collects vital statistics about the pet – age, color, lost location – and then a phone bank calls a pre-selected number of neighbors. Five hundred calls cost about $95. According to the site on Tuesday, the service has been 85 percent successful in the last 120 days if contacted within 48 hours of losing the pet.

It takes the service just 15 minutes to call about 1,000 people, saturating the neighborhood with the call to help.

"We got a phone call, and a lady said, 'Oh, that dog. He was in my yard and my husband said 'I think that's the dog from the phone call we got!'" Vash said.

Within an hour, Indy showed up just a few blocks away.

"He was filthy and hungry but otherwise he wasn't harmed," Vash said. "I could tell he hadn't slept very well because the first thing he did after he got a bath was sleep for a long time."

Since the call is not soliciting any goods, it can still call neighbors even if they are on the Do Not Call List.

"With two kids and a job, you miss your dog, but you can't afford not to work to look for your dog, but it spread the word so much faster than we could have," Vash said.

(© MMIX, CBS Broadcasting Inc. All Rights Reserved.)

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