While New Year's fireworks brought some outside to watch the show, others say they're still looking for pets startled by the noise. Mat-su Borough Animal Control says there's typically more missing pets during the holidays.
In a desperate last attempt, Meg Lum continues to search for Lola, a small year-old black pug. Lola isn't not Lum’s puppy, but she was dog-sitting Lola for a friend in Wasilla when the pug disappeared in the back yard on New Year's Eve.
“She went down there and did her business,” Lum said. "The fireworks went out in the sky and was very big -- she took off and I thought she’d be right back, and she didn’t.”
Lum says she's searched everywhere, and that Mat-Su Animal Control told her she’s not the only one.
“He said because New Year’s Eve is always a huge hit for them, and because we had four hours this year (for fireworks), he said it’s going to take two days to know how many dogs are missing because of it,” Lum said.
Lum talked to neighbors on the street, knocked on doors, and made more than 100 signs and posters to hang on posts in the area. She even posted on Craigslist, where she joined dozens of others who say they lost or found a pet during the New Year’s Eve celebrations. Many of them are blaming the fireworks.
“Now the dog is gone, and I feel horrible about it,” Lum said.
A similar story in Anchorage had a different ending for Mary Sue Anderson and her missing dog, Sherman.
“It was New Year’s Eve and there were the fireworks,” Anderson said. “It was noisy and loud and he always comes back, and he didn’t come back -- not that night.”
Things looked up, however, when a couple found Sherman in the parking lot of a nearby Carrs grocery store.
“Sherman had an adventure,” Anderson said. “He was happy to come home with me and it was a big relief to find him.”
Lum says she'll continue to look for Lola. She has notified the owner and the family is offering a $1,000 reward for the puppy, which they say they bought after their children lost two uncles.
Click here for or more information on what to do if you find a dog or if you lost one.
Contact Christine Kim at ckim@ktuu.com
