Once, back when I was just a young piglet, I lived with my daddy and mommy in the basement of our house on the near eastside. My dad said good-bye to me every morning before he left for work at the community college. I knew he worked there because he took me to visit a couple of times. One time a little boy there saw me and cried “Look, it’s a plig!” and another time, well, I wasn’t used to elevators so I made a little mess. Anyway, one day after the Big Guy left, I found the back basement door open and ran out into the yard. It wasn’t hard to snout the fence open.

Being the adventurous, impulsive pig that I was, I started to follow my daddy’s trail to school. Needless to say, mommy became hysterical when she saw me high-tailing it down the alley and lured me back with some apples. I shiver to think what would have happened to me if I’d become a statistic that day. Unfortunately lots of other animals think they’re doing the right thing when they leave their house, and become lost.

I also heard of a little pot-bellied pig who was wrapped in a blanket and left in field with a note, “Please take care of me.” Now there’s hope for pets in these situations.

There’s a website called “Pet FBI,” an Internet lost and found service for pets, serving all of Ohio. It’s an all-volunteer non-profit group (and it could use your charitable help). You can report a lost or found pet – like Bella, the dark grey miniature Italian greyhound with a white spot on her chest, a white tip of tail and white tips on paws. She’s under 1', 5-10 lbs., 18 months old with a black collar with diamond like gems around it. She was last seen in Hilliard on December 29th and needs medication. Or, there’s the thin mixed-breed cat, white with black spots “like a cow,” who is very friendly and was found in an alley with no collar in Grandview on December 27th.

There’s lots more information about adopting pets, companion animal legislation and upcoming pet-related events on the website, which can be found at: www.petfbi.org