I haven’t written in awhile and felt that now is a good time to do so. We at Lost Pets of The Hudson Valley have recently reached 19,000+ “Likes” and something about that number really hits me. Maybe it’s because we are now within 800 “Likes’ of the big 20,000. It’s all still very surreal. When I started this venture back in June of 2012, I knew that if enough people believed in my idea, that this Page would be very successful. It took a long time. Many months of begging friends, family, and many complete strangers to give my Page a “Like”. It was a slow-go the first six-months, but now we are closing-in on 20,000 members, a little short of four-months away from the two-year anniversary of this Page’s inception. That is pretty neat. I remember early on when a reporter, who wanted to do a story on my Page when it was at around 370 “Likes”, said that they couldn’t see how a Page like this would work. I replied, “If enough people believe in this, it will work and be very successful.”. This person still didn’t believe me. The great thing about this Page is that everyone who is a part of it, believes in what we are doing and knows it works. It is so great to see so many people join this Page and help out complete strangers who are desperate to find their furry family members.

I remember being a kid and wanting to save all of the pets that were stuck in shelters and bring them to a big fenced-in field and let them run and play and live life the way an animal should; being free and not in a cage all day. As I grew older, I realized that this was a very ambitious dream of mine. I still wanted to do something to help. I never could figure out how I could help animals in need until that day in June of 2012. It’s not a big farm for all the homeless pets to roam-free, but it does help those who have a home and have temporarily lost their way, get back to their respective families safely.

Now, none of this would be possible if I didn’t have the help that I have. As the Page grew, so did the amount of attention needed to keep this Page running without skipping a beat. I have found the three most passionate people in the world to help this Page continue being successful. Stacey, Christine and Kim have helped make this Page even more helpful and successful for those who have needed to use it. As a good friend’s father once said, “You are only as good as the people you surround yourself with.”. And thanks to them, I think this Page is pretty great.

In closing, I just wanted to thank you all for being a part of this Page and helping so many pets who have lost their way, find their way back home safely. I always knew this Page would work and be successful, but never did I Imagine it would be this quick and successful. Since October, we have had a really great Website that I plan on expanding and making even more user-friendly this Summer. As it stands now, we have six incredibly loyal sponsors. Dutchess Overhead Doors, Sirius Play Dog Training and K9 Nose Work (R), John Fischer Photography, Barrytown College of UTS, Friends of the Feathered and Furry Wildlife Center and Volz Auto Group! We can’t thank them enough for their support and faith in our mission. I am really excited to see this Page grow and help even more pets in need. Having so many great people being a part of this makes me really proud. THANK YOU, HUDSON VALLEY AND BEYOND.

-Bentley