Reuniting Families: Animal Care & Control’s Newest Position

Published on February 20, 2025

 One of the strays in the shelter the Pet Reunification Specialist is trying to reconnect with its family.

By Morgan Newell

For Melissa Knicely, Public Information Specialist at Charlotte-Mecklenburg Police Department (CMPD) Animal Care & Control, it only took one open gate and a few seconds to lose her three dogs.

“It was like you could snap and that’s how quickly they were completely out of sight,” Knicely said.

Letting her dogs outside before leaving the house, her regular morning routine, quickly turned into one of Knicely’s worst nightmares. Her pups ran through her open back gate directly into a busy road. Knicely remembers that day like it was yesterday. She remembers the tears falling down her face while she ran after them, the repetitive bumping of their treats she was using to lure them back, and the fear of thoughts she never wanted to cross her mind—what if she never sees her dogs again?

“Thankfully I found them all,” she said. “But to this day, I still have nightmares about losing my dogs.”

That feeling drove Knicely and the Animal Care & Control team to seek out a position dedicated to reunifying lost pets with their families.

“It’s great to get animals adopted. It’s even better to get animals home,” Knicely said.

Knicely said most of the intake at Animal Care & Control’s Byrum Drive building are strays. This takes up a significant portion of the resources and crates. The faster they can get the pet reunited with their family, the better it is for everyone involved.

Animal Care & Control’s Melissa Knicely with one of the stray dogs. 

“When you have someone dedicated to this [reunification], you can feel the impact,” she said.

That’s where Pet Reunification Specialist Ashley Shrewsbury comes in.

“I like to look at every pet as if they have an owner, and my job is to find those owners. Sort of like a pet detective,” Ashley Shrewsbury said.

Before stepping into this role, Shrewsbury volunteered and worked within the shelter for 15 years. That was more than a decade of watching animals not get back home to their families. So, when it came time to answer the call for this job, she was ready.

“I know how worried the owners are and being able to be the person to make that call to let them know I have found their baby is one of my favorite things to do ever,” Shrewsbury said.

Shrewsbury uses a mix of technology and crowdsourcing to find the owners of these lost pets. If dogs are man’s best friend, microchips are hers. The chips give personal information she can use to contact a lost pet’s family. If there’s no chip or the information isn’t up to date, she uses voting records, social media, and other creative means to find someone who could claim the lost pet. This recently worked when a chip’s information led to a dead end, but those resources assisted in a reunion.

“I made contact with him [the owner], and it turned out he was looking for the dog at the very moment I was calling to let him know she was here,” she said.

Beyond those methods, Shrewsbury also uses social media and public safety apps like Ring Public Service Site and Nextdoor. Her new favorite, Petco Love Lost, pairs missing reports and facial recognition tech to make possible matches.

“Using the facial recognition technology, I was able to reach out to the owner and got their dog home that same day,” she said.

 

One of the stray dogs Animal Care & Control is trying to reunify with its family.

Shrewsbury says the work is long but important. While it isn’t easy, she says it makes a difference in the end. For them, this position goes far beyond just reunification. She and Knicely know because of this position, they are making families whole once again.

“I have served multiple positions during my employment at CMACC, and this one has by far been the best and most rewarding,” she said.

Animal Care & Control (ACC) has an entire page dedicated to Lost and Found pets. The Animal Care & Control team encourages all pet owners to microchip their pets. Their next microchipping event is on May 10, but you can find more microchipping events on the Lost and Found website (linked above).