California Hero Dog Who Located 62 Lost Pets for Free Has Medical Bills Covered by His Community

Plato's owner helped the dog develop his natural tracking skills by playing hide-and-seek with the pup

If you lose a dog in California's rugged Santa Cruz Mountains, Plato the Dude should be your first call.

The 10-year-old Shiba Inu mix is beloved by his community and its Nextdoor social network for his kind heart and astonishing tracking skills. Using the latter, Plato has located over 60 lost canines in California's San Lorenzo Valley area.

"Plato is a natural. He wants to get the job done," the pup's owner, Micahel Fradin, tells PEOPLE.

Fradin adopted the dog about 10 years ago from a local who could no longer care for the canine. Plato arrived at Fradin's home overfed but "extremely calm."

"He's always been a very affectionate and loving boy," Fradin adds.

As Fradin became more active with the dog, Plato's natural tracking skills became clear.

"We came to find his attachment with Steph, my girlfriend at the time, was unbreakable. Where she went, he followed. We started noticing this pattern and quickly capitalized on his attachment to us by playing hide-and-seek with him. It took no time at all to recognize he had a natural talent for following our scent trails," Fradin says of Plato's talents.

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After a few months of playing hide-and-seek with Plato, Fradin saw a post on Nextdoor about a local couple who lost their Yorkie. This post led to the first real-world test of Plato's tracking skills. Fradin and the dog offered to help the couple and tracked the lost little dog to a spot alongside a stream the pet had been washed down.

"He always got a treat playing hide-and-seek, and this day was no different," Fradin recalls.

After Plato showed continued interest in tracking, Fradin started performing test tracks on hikes with Plato and his friends' dogs.

"He wasn't always successful at first, but he was persistent," Fradin says, adding that a successful track is Plato's favorite reward.

"After finding a lost dog, Plato holds his head high as if he just won a lifetime supply of cheeseburgers," his owner adds.

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Since finding that swept away Yorkie, Plato has gone on to locate 61 more missing pets from his community. Locals have learned to reach out to Fradin and Plato when their pets disappear.

"They know to call and message us directly when there's a pet missing in the area. People also find us on Nextdoor, which has helped us not only connect but it's given us a platform to help each other," Fradin says, adding that every one of Plato's tracks is a "community effort."

While Plato has had plenty of success sniffing out pets, his record isn't perfect. Occasionally Plato can't find a pet, or the trail ends with a deceased animal.

"In Plato's mindset, I can confidently say these are the times when he's most depressed and withdrawn from me. Often, after a failed track, he secludes himself and chooses to be distant. His life goal is to find every single puppy," Fradin shares.

The emotion surrounding missing pet cases is one of the many reasons Fradin and Plato do not accept payment for their tracks.

"How do you charge a grieving human being $500 with no guarantee of the outcome? We can never stand in Plato's way, so I chose to empower him versus impede him," Fradin says.

Plato's devotion to reuniting families has earned him countless fans in his community — a group that quickly came together to help Plato when he had a moment of need.

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When the San Lorenzo Valley area learned that Plato was recently diagnosed with congestive heart failure, the community raised the funds needed to cover the hero dog's treatment.

"San Lorenzo Valley is a tight community; people are so supportive of each other," Fradin says.

"Plato's tracking is one way to contribute. It feels great to have people recognize him," he adds.

Feeling healthy and frisky, Plato is focused on the future. The dog is working to help rescue canines develop their tracking skills, so they can have an opportunity to learn and give back.

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