Missing pets group widens its scope
Owners of pets that go missing will have a better chance of being reunited with their furballs thanks to a successful crowdfunding effort that has netted the cost of a second thermal scope for a Perthshire social media group.
Missing Pets Perth and Kinross has been essential in hundreds of cases of lost cats and wandering dogs.
The Facebook page’s founder Katie McCandless-Thomas expanded what the group could do when she invested in a thermal scope so the pets could be made visible at night using the animals’ body heat to light up the screen.
The specialist equipment was a big boost and helped return many animals to their worried owners.
Katie asked fans of the page to help fundraise enough money - £2500 on the www.justgiving.com page to buy a second thermal scope.
She has now shared the good news that the target had been met and even surpassed.
The crowdfunder page recorded £2610 had been donated.
Katie thanked all who had helped buy the second scope, saying: “A huge thank you everyone for all your kind donations as having a second thermal scope is going to help more dogs across Perthshire and the rest of Scotland be quickly and safely reunited.
“More and more dogs are going missing in terrain which is not the easiest to search like woods, moorland and even hills and mountain areas.
“The thermal scope picks up a dogs body heat across a large distance that wouldn’t be possible to see with the naked eye.
“People have kept donating above our initial target set, so any money that is not spent on the scope we will put towards other equipment that will help missing pets in their time of need.
“The scope which we currently have has helped multiple dogs be reunited and we are pleased we will soon have a second to help even more dogs and their families.”
The scope will be in use around Perthshire very soon.