DENVER (KDVR) – The public Facebook group, Colorado Lost or Found Pet, received hundreds of new member requests over the 4th of July weekend from people who either lost or found a pet.

“When I looked at my phone and looked at Facebook the notifications for the lost and found page, [they were] just blowing up, of people wanting to join the group to post a lost pet or a found pet,” Administrator for Colorado Lost or Found Facebook page Kathy Vazquez said.

Vazquez said on Sunday, that the public group that has about 24,000 members, received 70 new requests. Then Monday, on July 4th, another nearly 100 people requested to join, which is something she has never seen in her three years as an admin.

“So many pets scared to death and just running,” Vazquez said.

She said the group does everything they can to try and help the people posting on the page. Additionally, she wants pet parents to remember it’s their responsibility to keep their pets inside during fireworks.

If you lost your pet over the holiday weekend she suggests you post all over social media, including their group. She said to post on other apps like Nextdoor.

“More pets go missing on July 4th than any other day in the entire year,” Vazquez said.  

She also suggested checking local shelters.

“Shelters see more found pets brought into the shelters on July 5th than any other day of the year,” Vazquez said.

If you found a pet, another member of the Colorado Lost or Found group made an informational sheet with local shelters you should take the pet into based on your jurisdiction.

Colorado Lost or Found informational sheets