OMAHA, Neb. (WOWT/Gray News) – As a Nebraska man searches for his missing dog, spam callers continue to amplify his heartbreak by sending photos purportedly of his dog but created using artificial intelligence.
Travis Proulx’s dog, Lila, escaped his home in Papillion when his in-laws came in through the garage. Since Aug. 10, he has been searching everywhere for the dog — from drainage ditches and nearby neighborhoods to the Nebraska Humane Society.
“She is quite an escape artist… She hasn’t been seen since,” Proulx said. “Every time I lay down to rest, I think I hear her barking, and I get up again to go look for her.”
Lila has been in training to become an official service animal for Proulx. He suffered a couple of heart attacks a few years ago, and now, his dog looks after him.
“She knows when my blood pressure is out of line. She can sense if I am having severe heart complications. She knows if I have taken my meds or not,” Proulx said. “She provides me many other services on top of that.”
Proulx’s friend, Stephanie Alger, owns Lila’s mom and says Lila and Proulx had an instant connection. She has helped with search efforts by posting signs at multiple locations, speaking with police and even hiring a K-9 private investigator.
Alger has also been fielding phone calls and texts about Lila to take the pressure off Proulx. She says most of the calls she has received are spam and says some have even sent her purported photos of Lila that were created using AI.
“It was clearly obvious it wasn’t her. You can pull up the images, look at them — you can tell they are not true images,” Alger said. “One person went to send me another photo, and instead of the photo, it said project in progress.”
While the artificial images of Lila are fake, the heartache is real for Proulx.
“One of them, he actually was starting to think that it looked like her and went on a complete ‘it could be her,’” Alger said. “I had to do a comparison and show him and go, ‘This is Lila. This is obviously not.’”
WOWT spoke with a digital forensics detective at the Bellevue Police Department about the rise of AI technology.
“We are aware of AI being used to commit or depict crimes,” the detective said. “We have not come across many cases of AI being used; we caveat that with ‘yet.’ We know it will happen, and we need to be prepared. Across the nation, we have seen a rise in AI-generated crimes. There is no telltale sign or easy way to determine if a video or image is real or AI.”
For now, the search for Lila continues.
“Her birthday is in 11 days, same day as my stepson,” Proulx said. “I just need her home. I need her home.”
HOW TO SPOT AI IMAGES
Police shared the following tips about how to spot an AI image:
- First and most important: Slow down and take your time.
- Look for unnatural features: Are the eyes properly aligned? Does the clothing match/fit the person? What about their jewelry? Often, AI-generated hands have too many or too few fingers.
- Do the objects in the background of the photo/video appear natural? AI can struggle blending the focal point with the background. Things could look “blotchy.”
- Does the lighting in the image/video appear natural? Is the lighting changing in an unnatural way? What about the shadows? Are the shadows consistent? Very often, AI-generated images will have jumbled text, and logos will not be accurate.
Police say some websites, like one from Northwestern University called “Detect Fakes,” can help you test your skills at spotting an AI image.
LOST PETS
The Nebraska Humane Society has tips on what to do if you have lost your pet or if you have found a lost pet.
Copyright 2025 WOWT via Gray Local Media, Inc. All rights reserved.
