WHEN a family pet goes missing it is very upsetting for the owners, after all, good pet owners consider the pet as much a part of the family as the rest of the clan.

Prior to the surge in social media, when a pet was lost the only avenues available to owners were calling up the local pound and drawing up pamphlets to letterbox the local area. Facebook has changed things dramatically, with one post having the ability to reach the computer screens in hundreds of households within seconds!

The facebook page Penrith Area Lost and Found is gaining popularity, but more members are needed to increase the network in order to reunite lost pets with their owners.

Over the last few weeks there have been a few great outcomes where people sharing the pics of found pets have managed to get to the computer screens of owners.

"The goal here is to assist pets and owners being re-united," said Naomi, the website's admin.

"We hope to build a community of people willing to assist reunions by offering transport for chip checks, assisting with catching hard to catch stray dogs, scouring neighborhoods for lost pets, putting up posters for lost or found animals, offering overnight bed and breakfast for animals found after the local vets have closed and other assistance of that nature.

"Please message us if you would like to help with any of those things. If you wish to post a lost or found animal, please message us with a pic and the details and we'll get it up on the wall asap!"

Penrith Area Lost and Found is a totally not-for-profit page and the volunteers give up their free time to manage it. If you haven't already, join now - you never know when you might need it yourself or you may be able to assist other pet owners find their loved ones.