As you might have guessed – I love dogs and Florida! Apart from making wonderful companions, dogs are often the unsung heroes involved in solving many mysteries. In my Hunt for Justice Series books, Judge Willa Carson solves mysteries in Tampa Bay and has two adorable labradors, Harry and Bess.
It’s no coincidence that I gave Willa Carson two dogs since Tampa is one of the top pet-friendly cities in which to live. According to a 2019 survey by Wallethub, Tampa ranked 3rd out of 100 dog-friendly cities. Tampa also ranked 10th for the most affordable city to own a pet and 17th for pet health and wellness.
Of course, as a home to so many pets, it’s inevitable that some of them will become lost or escape at some point. Fortunately, people like PI Jamie Katz have devoted their careers to tracking down missing pets.
Based in South Florida, PI Jamie Katz opened her business in 2015 and has successfully tracked down and reunited more than 150 pets with their owners. According to Katz, on average 16% of missing animals are never found. Due to her determination and sharp investigative skills, Katz has achieved a 66% success rate. She has stated that only 10% of her cases involve stolen pets. Most of the time she is commissioned to find an animal that has escaped from its home.
Image courtesy of Jamiekatzpetdetective.com
So just how does she do it? Katz has created a strategy to help pet owners track down missing animals through commonly used tactics such as posting signs and calling animal shelters. With a degree in criminal justice, she is also prepared to support clients with complicated situations where a pet has been stolen.
Katz encourages pet owners to contact her as soon as possible once a pet has gone missing. She helps the owner create neon yellow ‘missing’ signs and place them strategically throughout the area where the pet vanished. For the next two weeks, Katz follows up on any leads she receives. In more complex cases, Katz may call upon her own dogs, a Britain Spaniel, and a Terrier mix, to track down missing pets.
Image courtesy of Jamiekatzpetdetective.com
In 2016, Katz made headlines after she solved a fake kidnapping case, in which a beloved boxer-shepherd was snatched up by an alligator after chasing ducks in a pond. Although the story had a tragic ending, Katz was able to provide the owner with some closure, knowing that dog was not missing or stolen. In 2018, she again received an onslaught of media attention after she successfully tracked down a French bulldog in Fort Lauderdale who had been missing for six months. Katz became particularly famous after she helped located Michael Jordan’s daughter’s pomeranian who had gone missing.
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