An Atlanta woman has found her dog after the search went viral

Update: According to Riley’s Twitter account, Hazel has been found.

Atlanta-based writer Hannah Riley’s 10-year-old dog, Hazel, went missing when a vet’s office employee took her out without a leash and she escaped.

In a matter of days, their story has been shared across corners of the internet with hundreds of friends — and strangers — coming together to bring Hazel home.

With the help of social media, the internet is rallying around Riley for support, creating fliers, TikToks, and raising more than $10,000 for search efforts.

Here’s what you need to know.

Hannah Riley is a writer based in Edgewood, Ga. She works for the Center for Just Journalism, a nonprofit that works with media organizations on how they cover public safety issues.

Her dog Hazel, whom she calls her “heart dog” because of their strong bond, is a 10-year-old papillon mix, and is white with light brown patches in her fur. Riley adopted Hazel six years ago.

“I saw Hazel’s picture on the Atlanta Humane Society website and beelined it,” Riley told The Inquirer. “She was a little rough around the edges — growled at the volunteer who tried to pick her up — but once she was placed in that little visitation room with us, the rest was history.”

Riley added, “It’s barely an exaggeration to say we’ve been attached at the hip for the last six years.”

Everything went awry when Riley went to Toronto over the weekend and received a call from her pet sitter.

On Saturday, Riley’s pet sitter told her that Hazel had ingested the sitter’s Delta 8 cannabis gummies and that they had taken her to a nearby emergency veterinary clinic.

But when an employee at the St. Francis clinic took Hazel outside unleashed, the dog bolted.

Details have been scarce and Riley has described frustrations with St. Francis and the office’s corporate parent company, Thrive Pet Healthcare, which she claims has been largely uncommunicative with her.

Riley said a vet manager said Hazel escaped with a catheter remaining in her leg and a hospital tag around her neck. The dog is microchipped.

On Sunday, Riley said she heard that a man found Hazel running across the large DeKalb Industrial highway near the vet’s office. But he allegedly handed the dog to a woman who was waving her arms and he assumed was Hazel’s owner. The details are fuzzy, Riley and her supporters are working to make sure neighbors know who the dog’s rightful owner is.

Thrive Pet Healthcare confirmed that Hazel escaped while in the office’s care but declined to go into specifics. They would not share surveillance footage with Riley.

Thrive said in a statement that it was “deeply saddened” by the incident. “Our regional leadership is and has been in communication with Hazel’s family and remains supportive of the search.”

Riley said a vet manager shared that the office has a search team and has solicited help from local businesses. But since going public, sharing her story and frustrations on X (formerly Twitter), internet detectives are also stepping in.

Hazel’s story has gone viral, with posts about her escape being viewed more than a million times on X.

As the days went by, more sleuths have stepped in, sharing Hazel’s flier, recruiting help from local animal shelters and volunteers, and making their own TikToks about the situation.

It’s become a real fixation for some — right up there with Princess Kate Middleton’s whereabouts — with viral tweets about “finding Hannah Riley’s dog.”

With the help of herfriends, Riley has launched a volunteer sheet with tasks — like shelters to call and nearby businesses to take fliers to — where those called to act can sign up to help.

A friend also launched a GoFundMe to help raise money to put toward ad space — a billboard is in the works — to spread the word. It collected more than $10,000 in less than 24 hours. Any leftover funds will be donated to a local animal rescue, according to the fundraiser.

The large-scale mobilizing is not lost on Riley.

“Honestly, I think I would be feeling a million times worse right now if I didn’t have this army of people both looking for Hazel and looking out for me, emotionally,” she told The Inquirer. “I feel so wrapped up in people’s love and care. If this were happening to someone else, I know I would be doing the same thing. It’s the most relatable nightmare for any pet owner. I can’t say how much comfort it brings me to not feel alone in this.”

Riley said she’s considering a lawsuit.

“A woman called me last night to let me know St. Francis had lost her dog,” Riley said. “She had threatened to sue to prevent it from ever happening again [to someone else], and here we are.”

According to the American Humane Association, one in three pets will go missing in their lifetime, amounting to about 10 million lost animals each year. But the frequency of how often a pet goes missing from a veterinarian’s office is not easily traced.

Riley said next steps include purchasing billboards and other ads. She and her friends are also looking into tracker dogs and other professional services. But there have been no sightings of Hazel since Sunday.