We Lost A Good One This Week
by admin
It is with great sadness and a little anxiety that I report that lassiecomehomenc.org officially shut down this week.
Lassie Come Home is a website that I have referred to at least once a day for the last several years. It was started and maintained by just one woman after losing her dog and never finding him. Via email, anyone that lost or found a pet could submit a photo and description to be listed on the site. Big colorful photos and full descriptions of the animal are extremely helpful when trying to match a dog to his owner (cats too). Someone’s description of a “brown lab mix” may be what I would consider a “black hound dog” (you would be surprised how close black and brown can be). Many people do not know dog breeds and easily list the dog incorrectly.
Forsyth County Animal Control offers a similar list on their website. However, it has far less detail, no photo capabilities and only covers Forsyth County. Anyone looking for a cat has dozens of “tabbies” and “DSH’s” to search through… with no photos or extended descriptions to limit their search. Furthermore, every animal that goes into the shelter is listed on that page and it can be an exhaustive hunt to find the right one.
The thought of not having this resource upset me enough to contact the developer. I asked the reason for shutting down and if she would be willing to let me take the site over. Three things make me think that is probably not a good idea. One, I am certain she would not shut down without a very good reason (one that I may not be able to overcome either). Two, there is an enormous time and money commitment, as the site is completely donation-funded and volunteer run. Three, just visiting the site and seeing the lost and homeless furbabies often leaves me feeling blue… working on the site full-time would be extremely emotional. It has been several days and I have not received a response to my email. Perhaps it is best that way.
This is certainly a great loss to the pet community – I salute you Lassie Come Home creator for all you have done!
Kudos Amber… It was incredibly brave of you to even ASK Jill if you could take over! However, I think you are right. Regulating Lassiecomehomenc would be an incredibly huge responsibility – maybe even a full-time job – and it would be awfully hard on you.
I do hope someone takes up this cause. The screenshots you chose also make me realize that if nothing else… someone needs to work on taking down the missing/found animals that no longer need to be on the site.
For example, I happen to know that the Alaskan Malamute shown in the first image, whose name is Jack, was picked up by Davidson County Animal Control on 2/19/11 following a call by some disgruntled neighbors who found him having, um, relations with their unspayed female dog. Not realizing that he was neutered, and fearing that their dog would become pregnant, they went out and immediately had their dog spayed (Good job Jack! score one for our team!).
Jack stayed “in jail” for a day or two and was then retrieved by his owner, who left the shelter a little poorer and a little disgruntled with his neighbor… but hopefully he learned a lesson about letting his dog roam the neighborhood!