When Toby ran away, I called every shelter in my neighborhood and within 30 miles from us. I told each shelter a description of Toby and emailed them pictures of Toby, and I posted a lost dog ad on CL. Someone reposted my ad onto facebook. A nice lady found Toby in downtown Gary on June 2nd and had animal control pick him up June 7th. The nice lady didn't see my lost dog ad on Facbook till June 10th. She called me immediately saying she may have found my dog and where to find him. The shelter who picked him up had my lost dog flyer and never once called me the entire week they had him.
What a crazy story, but glad you got Toby back home. How did you know he was at the shelter? Didn't the shelter microchip him? Our dogs have all been chipped by the shelters before our adoption. (Should be part of the "fees" you paid.) In our past dogs, our info & the shelter info was listed. Never had to use it, but glad it's there if some type of misfortune happens.