BROOMFIELD, Colo. — A couple in Broomfield reached out to Denver7, wanting to share their story with others after their new puppy was lost and then sold on social media by a stranger.
Haley Hoffman and Galen Huston said they had only had their new puppy, Mandu, for about a week when he went missing earlier this month.
“We were on a spontaneous ride to go get some food and he wanted to come with us,” Hoffman recalled. “We were driving home down Wadsworth — from Arby’s, I think it was — and we noticed that he was no longer in the car, and the window had gone down more than it was before. And, we instantly started freaking out. Like, it felt surreal. We were running up and down the street trying to find him.”
They searched “all night,” Huston added.
After arriving home without Mandu, Hoffman and Huston put the power of social media to work, posting pictures and pleas for help to Facebook, Instagram, and Nextdoor. They also contacted local animal control departments and shelters.
They were flooded with hundreds of responses from neighbors and strangers wanting to help, but they also were introduced to the dark side of social media’s reach. About a week after losing Mandu, Hoffman received a text message with a screenshot showing someone looking to sell the dog online.
“[The post] explained the story exactly, like around the same time we lost him, the same place we lost him that night,” Hoffman said. “And she was like, ‘Adoption fee is $100.’ It said it all the way at the bottom of the paragraph. And I was like, oh my goodness. Like, my heart dropped.”
Hoffman said she reached out to the account selling Mandu, hoping they would be excited to reunite him with his family. Instead, Hoffman said she struggled to get a response, and when she did hear back, she was told Mandu had already been sold and there was no interest in connecting her with the buyer.
Thankfully, other neighbors online — along with the Broomfield Police Department and Broomfield Animal Services — were much more eager to help.
“I made one final post on Nextdoor and Facebook, saying how he was sold and how I really appreciated everybody’s help but I don’t know if there’s much else I can do to get him back now, and within the next hour, there was like hundreds of people messaging me trying to find ways to get him back,” Hoffman recalled. “They were able to figure out who he was sold to, and from there, animal control was able to convince that person to give him back.”
The reunion was an emotional one, to say the least. Hoffman said she broke down sobbing when Mandu ran up to her, and Huston said the officer had no doubt they were his rightful owners. Now, they both are hoping to help others avoid the heartache and stress they’ve been through.
“If you find an animal, just please contact the shelter,” Hoffman said. “You may think that they may end up in like a no-home situation or, like, end up on a kill list or something. But really, they have a whole lost and found list. They really do everything they can to help reunite animals to their owners… Spread the word that you found the dog to try to find their owners instead of just, like, rehoming them or assuming their story.”
Denver7 reached out to several animal control departments throughout the metro area to learn more about this issue. While occurrences do not seem to be common, we were told that individuals are not required by law to turn in stray dogs they find to animal shelters. They are, however, strongly encouraged to do so, and to at the very least, alert local animal control and shelters so they can monitor lost and found pages.
The sale of animals does violate the policies of Nextdoor, Facebook, and Instagram. However, it does still happen, which is why those looking for a new pet are encouraged to adopt from a shelter and not buy over social media.
Animal control officers urge current pet owners to microchip their pets, and to ensure the chip is registered and up to date with current residence and contact information. They also said current veterinary records and pictures of owners with their pets (such as a selfie) can help prove ownership.
