When Butler County pets go missing, Butler PA Lost and Found Animals is there to help.

Founded in 2011, Butler PA Lost and Found Animals is a public Facebook group that works to reconnect pets with their owners.

“We've gotten very successful,” said Diane Joy Bennet Waller, the group's founder. “We have so many amazing members that take many hours out of their day to help these animals and their owners.”

The group has more than 7,000 members and hundreds of stories from owners who've been reconnected with their pets. Success stories reside on a separate page, Happy Endings for Butler PA Lost and Found Animals.

Members post pictures and information about missing pets on the group's page and often go out into the community looking for the lost animals, give advice to pet owners and more.

Tammy Lynne Stellfox, one of the group's moderators, first got involved when she saw a dead dog on the side of the road.

“I wanted to post on social media to find the owners, and I found the group,” she said.

That was more than three years ago. Since then, Stellfox has spent countless hours reconnecting pets with their owners and teaching others how to do the same.

In addition to posting on the group page, there is much owners can do to find their pet, she said.

“Once a pet is reported missing, we tell owners to make fliers, call the humane society, police, call everyone,” she said. “We also set up live traps, and I teach people how to use them.”

It's not always easy.

One of the biggest problems the group faces is a lack of support from local governments.

“If we see an animal tied up outside with no food or water we can call the police, but they never want to get involved. I don't know why,” she said. “So we have to watch an animal suffer.”

Butler County doesn't have a humane officer who can intervene in these situations.

“The problem is we have no one behind us to enforce animal laws,” she said. “We're fighting as hard as we can for the animals, but we keep losing battle after battle after battle.”

Shellfox is also one of the few who goes out to notify owners when their animal is deceased. If no owner can be found, she or another member will bury the animal.

Melissa Bulfone is another one of the group's moderators.

“I've always been interested in the group,” she said. “I probably just saw a post, and before I knew it I was heavily involved.”

As a moderator, Bulfone shares the job of making sure community rules are followed, checking the status of posts and making sure everything is running smoothly.

Members often provide situation updates to those in the field if an animal is found or spotted on another side of town or in another county, she said.

“Dogs don't realize there are county lines,” she said. “We had a dog from Pittsburgh matched in Ohio. He was lost for a year.”

The group also makes use of microchips that can be implanted in pets. Members can scan stray animals to recover owner information.

“We strongly encourage chipping your animals,” she said.

The microchips cost around $60.

In addition to moderating the page, Bulfone also goes out making fliers and looking for lost pets.

“I'll find myself driving around looking for animals at 10 or 11 at night,” she said.

Bulfone said the group has fostered a close community of people who are passionate about taking care of the pets in the community.

“There's a lot of friendship,” she said. “It's an amazing group of people. It really is.”

To connect with the group look up its page on Facebook.