Brandi Buys has lived in South Utah County her entire life. Lovingly known as “The Lost Dog Lady,” Buys has earned the love and respect of many different community members. Her small and large acts of kindness have had a lasting impact and a ripple effect that has inspired others to do good as well.
Buys is a mother of three and a doting grandmother of one (with another grandchild on the way). At first glance, she seems to have a pretty ordinary life. She works an 8-4 job and lives modestly within her means. With a closer look, however, you’ll see a hard-working woman who dedicates her free time and saves up any extra money she can to serve her community members—both the human and four-legged varieties.
If you’ve ever had a lost dog, you’ve probably heard of Buys or benefitted from her extensive knowledge of dog trapping. She’s quick to drop almost anything to rescue a lost, stray, or abandoned canine. She often brings her 4-year-old granddaughter—whom she watches from 4 to 11 each day—along on her rescue missions. She lovingly explained that her granddaughter knows how to put on a slip lead and has become her little sidekick on dog-rescuing missions.
Buys estimates that she traps over 50 dogs a year. Some are easier to approach and coax into traps than others. She explained that in most cases, it takes up to four days to trap a dog. The process requires patience, persistence, and an understanding of how canine mannerisms work. Dogs that have been abused or abandoned are usually harder to trap.
It’s illegal to take a dog home, even if you suspect that it’s been abandoned. So, Buys has to serve a “legal stray hold” on each dog she catches. A legal stray hold refers to the legal period of time an impounded animal must be held in an animal shelter before being adopted, released, or sold. In Utah, the legal stray hold law states that stray animals must be kept in safe and humane custody for a minimum of 5 business days before they can be adopted.
Buys never planned to adopt any of the dogs she rescued; she simply wanted to make sure the lost, escaped, or abandoned animals made it back home or ended up with loving families.
That all changed when Buys got a call about an abandoned chihuahua mix dog in West Mountain.
After a few days of tirelessly working with her granddaughter to trap the dog, she brought him to the animal shelter to serve the required legal stray hold. Her granddaughter asked to see the little guy at the shelter, and before they knew it, he’d wriggled his way into their hearts. He became the first rescued dog Buys adopted and is still a treasured part of her family.
Serving people
When she’s not busy rescuing lost and stray animals, Buys spends her spare time serving the community in other ways. She helps manage a local free food pantry on the corner of the Payson City Center. Buys explained that no one seems to know who originally set up the little pantry. However, she said that Kepi Heimuli, another local do-gooder, is one of the people who first decided to start putting food into it.
Thanks to her efforts and the selfless donations of locals including Buys herself, the pantry has become a valuable source of food security for those in need.
Unfortunately, Buys and Heimuli soon learned that sometimes people take advantage of others’ good deeds. In 2024, the pantry began to be regularly ransacked of all its contents by individuals from outside of Utah County. Community members would later find much of the donated food discarded in nearby garbage bins.
To rectify the problem and make sure the donated food actually made it into the hands of locals who could use it, Buys, Heimuli, and others set up a Facebook page for the pantry. It’s called “Payson and Surrounding Residents Online Pantry.” Now, residents of Payson and surrounding South Utah County communities can scan a QR code to submit a request to join the page.
Members of the Payson and Surrounding Residents Online Pantry page are invited to make a post if they need specific food items. Then, other members of the page often reach out if they have that specific food item and are willing to donate it. Buys explained that often, the needs are as simple as a gallon of milk or a can of soup. Just enough to help a family make their next meal.
Buys also regularly makes food kits that contain a recipe card and all of the ingredients needed to make that recipe. She said that she turned her office closet into a food storage for those in need. She also purchased another refrigerator where she keeps perishable items she plans to donate to families in need.
Buys said that in almost all cases, those who ask for a meal or a simple item of food often turn around and donate to someone else later on when they’re in a more financially secure place.
Besides helping with the local food pantry page and rescuing animals, Buys also helps Payson resident Kat Vasquez run an annual Sub for Santa group. She’s constantly looking for ways to improve the lives of community members who have come across tough times.
Serving isn’t always easy, especially when you run across a few bad apples who take advantage of your efforts. Buys explained that she recently got to the point where she thought, “I just can’t do this anymore. I’m exhausted.” But then, she saw the community Facebook post where her own friends, neighbors, and sometimes even strangers nominated her to be featured in this Serve Daily issue.
“I felt so loved,” Buys emotionally explained, “I feel like I have an army behind me that helps me accomplish this. Without everybody else, I couldn’t do what I do. I even have people donating food for my traps. I have Smith’s that will contact me and say they have rotisserie chickens they’re getting ready to throw out. I couldn’t do what I do without what I call ‘my village.’ You guys think I do so much, but I couldn’t do it without you.”
Buys explained that there will always be people who take advantage of others, but it’s still worth it to serve and give because so many people truly do need it. After going through a particularly ugly experience with someone who tried to take advantage of her kindness, Buys said that she focuses on her intentions.
“I just keep doing it because it makes me feel better regardless,” she said. “I know it’s frustrating, but we’ve just got to remember that our intentions are good and if theirs aren’t, that’s on them.”
If there’s one message Buys wants to get out to the community, it’s that anyone can help someone else. Even if you don’t have a lot yourself, sometimes the smallest gestures mean the most. Buys also suggest being aware of the needs in your immediate community.
“You might have a neighbor who is struggling and they just don’t dare say anything,” she said. “Go put a secret box on their porch with some necessities in it. Watch your neighbors, watch your elderly. I can’t tell you how many elderly people need food.”
Once, Buys helped a single person who hadn’t eaten anything in a while, and made note of his generous response.
“When I went to him, he said he would rather it go to a family, but I did get him to take it,” she recalled. “A couple of weeks later, he said he’d gotten a job and wanted to give back. I have a lot of people who do that.”
Buys’ efforts prove that a simple act of kindness can have a ripple effect on an entire community.
“Treat others the way that you want to be treated,” she said. “We’ve all been there and had a rough patch. Just try to give as much as you can. One can of soup that you have in your pantry that you think you’re never going to use can change somebody’s life. I know that sounds dumb, but one can of soup can feed a family.”
