Hurricane Irene stormed up the Atlantic coast in late August, leaving destruction in her path. In the chaos that ensued during and after the storm, 22 horses from Schoharie County, N.Y., went missing. The animals’ owner, Leland Neff, believed the horses had been swept away during the storm, but turned to an organization some horse owners might not be familiar with in an attempt to find his horses.

Stolen Horses International, a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization, and its companion website NetPosse.com–an electronic network that circulates images and information about missing and stolen horses–often deal with horses taken from their homes, but jumped at the chance to help Neff in the search for his horses.

Debi Metcalfe, founder of Stolen Horses International Inc. (SHI), has seen countless missing horse reports over the years and began the campaign after a personal experience led her to realize the realities of missing horses.

"I didn’t ask to do this," Metcalfe said. "I fell into it because we became victims