Riders of the Storm

On Tuesday, June 2, Craigslist’s North San Diego area listed four lost or found dogs. On Wednesday, June 3, after the unexpected lightning storm rolled through, 25 lost or found dogs were posted that afternoon on Craigslist.

At around 2:00 p.m., June 3, my wife found a stray dog on Lake Drive in Cardiff. The brown female shepherd was tired and thirsty and jumped into her car willingly. “Ruby” became one of those 25 postings.

We fielded ten calls looking for lost dogs, some as far away as Fallbrook and Escondido. On June 4, Ruby’s owner, Courtney Mitchell of Encinitas, called and identified her dog, and the two were quickly reunited.

Spooked by the storm, Ruby had jumped over a six-foot fence, ran across six lanes of El Camino Real, and made her way through a mile of thick sagebrush before reaching the street in Cardiff.

In addition to posting signs and using the internet, Dan Desousa, spokesman for the San Diego County Animal Shelter advised the need to report a lost dog with all area animal agencies. There are 11 serving San Diego County.