TAMPA, Fla. — A Polk County woman has been dedicating almost all her time to tracking down and catching abandoned and lost pets through her organization Crossed Paws Pet Rescue.

The organization's founder, Stefanie Badillo, says the group has rescued hundreds of animals.

On a recent Wednesday, Badillo was out searching for a lost dog based on sightings from South Lakeland to the Christina area of Mulberry.

“I’m tracking a little chihuahua that has been roaming Lakeland highlands and Christina since December,” she said, explaining that people had been posting updates about seeing the dog on social media.

Badillo and her friend, Mariann Motola, set up a small trap in some bushes along Lakeland Highlands Road. They put some turkey meat inside as bait in hopes of catching the dog.

Badillo said trying to save as many lost and abandoned animals as possible is very important to her.

“I can’t ignore them on the side of the road dying, starving to death," she said. "I just can’t."

Just a few minutes after putting out the trap, Badillo and Motola got a text about someone who had possibly seen the little chihuahua just down the street. They drove to the reported location and spotted the dog in someone’s fenced-in backyard.

Badillo threw some turkey meat into the backyard, and the dog came over to eat. But when she put out a trap, the dog ran away, and they didn’t see it again that day.

Badillo has a kennel where she keeps dogs that have been abandoned so she can house them until she can adopt them out to local families. She also takes some pit bulls to Maine where an organization finds them homes.

Badillo says she enjoys her work, even though it is all-consuming.

“I don’t know why,” Badillo said about her passion for what she does. “I don’t know why God has got me on the mission. But he does. I’ll save them.”