Gatekeeper K9 Rescue

09/08/2025

TJ (now Rigby)

"I haven't seen it like this since the 80's"

A comment made to me not long ago by a long time dog control officer. He's now retired.

TJ is part of a trio dumped in Brewerton NY in early August. As the days went on one of his sisters would be captured, and then one more, but he had other plans.

Sightings in the original location became more and more scarce before then starting up along the offramp from 81 N to Bartel rd.

Soon thereafter he was seen a mile south on the side of 81 N with a significant limp.

The Brewerton community had great concern for TJ and many were trying their best to help him. If you've been here any length of time you've heard me use the word counterintuitive when describing the process of recovering a lost dog. So in an effort to quiet things down I posted on the local community page with some requests including a direct private contact to me with any sightings rather than posting them publicly.

Monday morning I recieved an email from Trish who lived on Ladd rd extension. She had just seen him in her front yard for the second time.

The day before I had placed feeding stations nearby. One being about 50 feet from where she had seen him. A few hours later he had found it. I also asked her to leave some food out as she headed out that afternoon.

Monday evening I checked her food which had been eaten. So I placed the trap In her front yard. Just 5 minutes after leaving TJ made his first appearance just passing thru. By midnight he had not returned and experience told me he needed to be conditioned so I latched the trap open and went home for a couple hours sleep before my work day started.

1:30 am he visited but only danced around.

5:00 am he returned and after about 15 minutes had worked his way completely in the trap.

So the trap was reset about 3pm and just a few hours later he was safe again.

The significant limp turned out to be a dangling broken leg. Sadly due to the length of time the break was left untreated he had to have his right back leg amputated.

He is still recovering at CNY SPCA and will need an understanding home filled with love very soon. His two sisters are also looking for their forever homes.

Thank you Trish for your kind heart and hospitality.

Thank you Katie for helping TJ get patched up.

Thank you CNY SPCA for giving TJ a chance.

Chatting in the parking lot that night, Katie said to me; "you will never be able to do enough, so you have to find a balance somehow".

While I know she's correct, I dont know how to do that.

All day long every single day dogs are left to fend for themselves right here in CNY.

TJ, now Rigby, my greatest wish for you is that you'll be the rest of your days.

Always remember,

Until next time....

08/17/2025

River

If there was ever a textbook new adoption escape and rescue story, this would be it. The lessons are many from River's time on the run and my biggest wish is that someone can learn from these stories and help the next.

In mid March 5 Cane Corso puppies were dumped in the middle of the night on Route 80 right on the Nedrow / city line. River was captured a few hours later after finding herself stuck in a pond on a nearby property. I would later capture 3 of her sister's on that property while her last sister would be found along Onondaga creek on the Southside of Syracuse. I never posted their story.

Fast forward to mid July and River found her forever home. She went home on a Saturday and to gramma's house on Monday where she was let out into the yard alone by a family member and promptly found a week point in the stockade fence and siezed her opportunity.

A few sightings came in Monday evening and then she vanished until Friday afternoon where she popped out on a nearby property I had been eyeing on the map.

Unfortunately, she was immediately pursued off that property setting in motion a continuous 24 hours of travel, sightings, chasing, two visits on Route 81, more chasing and finally returning to the original property from Friday. All in 100 deg temps.

Anticipating her return I had a feeding station waiting for her.

My first suggestion is always food at point of escape. I see and hear, "not familiar with the area" daily. I can understand that thought process, however it's irrelevant to an animal. The point of escape is the most familiar location to the dog.

In River's case, when she reappeared 5 days later her collar was gone. It's my belief she spent a couple days hung up on something delaying her return that I would have expected the first 24 hours.

Throughout River's ordeal I always felt home base was our best plan. She had even returned there Friday in her travels.

The importance of food... food changes behavior. How well do you think and process stress when you are hungry ? It's no different for a dog. After finding her meal Saturday evening she was out of sight until Sunday afternoon when she immediately headed back for home base.

Every time she would visit home there was interference of some kind so we had a trap awaiting her which she was more than happy to walk right into.

I have to thank River's new family for putting in the work 24 hours a day to bring her home. I am confident is River's future.

Newly adopted dogs need time and patience. Imo the first 3 months should be spent at home only. These poor dogs have been thru so much and the amount of overstimulation they are dealing with cannot be ignored.

River's 3 sisters, Aqua, Brooke, and Marina are still awaiting their forever at CNY SPCA. They are small Cane Corsos at about 60 pounds and such sweet souls if you have a place on your bed for some dog hair.

Always remember :

06/23/2025

A Martingale Collar Could Save Your Dog's Life

06/23/2025

06/22/2025

Dog free to good home....

A sentence that makes anyone in rescue cringe. Private rehomes are one of the most common scenarios in which dogs become missing.... I've lost track how many I've helped.

Maya, as her new dad has named her, had been seen in the Fayetteville NY area for approximately a month. She had claimed a couple vacant homes as hers on Lynacres Blvd that backed up to a golf course.

An amazing nieghbor across the street began leaving food for Maya at the vacant home.

As luck would have it, that house was being painted..... by Maya's new dad. He had an immediate connection with her and decided he would find a way to help her. A friend of his had a connection with Cuse Pit Crew, who's founder Stefanie reached out to me. Sometimes it's a long convoluted path to help for these lost souls.

It was determined that Maya had been given away recently and promptly fled from her new unknown people...... who then made no attempts to look for or help her. After making contact with both niether her original or new owners wanted her back. An all too familiar story on this page, and many others.

The unwanted animal crises we are in all comes down to responsibility. We need people to be responsible with their decisions to get a pet.

Maya has settled in nicely with her new Dad Sean. I wish the same for every dog left to fend for themselves by those who should have protected them.

Thank you to the nieghbors of Lynacres Blvd. For your cooperation in helping this girl.

Huge thank you to Chyanne's Pet Palace for fitting Maya in on a Sunday last minute to groom her. I know she felt better getting cleaned up and detangled.

04/21/2025

The generosity of our dog loving community never ceases to amaze me.

When we created our Amazon wish list we discussed how it would be nice to have the ability to print our own fliers. We decided to add a laser printer to the list never expecting anyone to order it.

A few weeks ago we got the biggest surprise when Aria's mom Crista sent us the printer on our list amongst other things.

Crista will tell you I never let her rest when it came to fliers , esp in targeted areas such as Strathmore in Syracuse.

Those fliers are the only reason Aria is back where she belongs with her mom.

We've had an amazing relationship with Syracuse Printing Center for several years now who gets us fliers even same day at times and at less than his cost. But the ability to have zero down time waiting for fliers is a game changer.

I hope to get this machine set up soon and ready for the next lost soul that needs it.

Thank you Crista. More dogs will have happy endings thanks to you.

03/31/2025

I think about your dog, but I am only 1 person.

There are few things in life as consistent as change.

I have put this post off for a few months now. For over a year my life has been in a period of transition. Most recently I have relocated and had to integrate my 4 dogs with Wendi Czirr 5 dogs. The best interest and safety of all dogs is of utmost importance to both of us.

If you've submitted a help request in the last few months you've seen a note stating I wont be responding. This, among other things is the reason why.

Few people reading this can appreciate the work that goes into recovering a dog and how that trickles down into your entire life.

I recently made 4 trips from Oswego to Baldwinsville in one day to capture a dumped dog while trying to work on things I needed to get done for myself.

Not long before that I had two dead batteries in my truck 3 hours away after capturing a dog in Olean NY after months of others attempts. Not being able to shut the truck off I had to stop at a Walmart and buy the batteries and tools I needed to change them at midnight so I could go to work the next morning.

Just 2 examples of what it takes to live this life. I have many more I wont bore you with but the point is your plans for the day are never yours as was the case this past saturday because someone else decided to dump their dog on Amber Rd on Onondaga.

In many of these cases my phone blows up with dozens of messages of how sad the situation is, the dog needs immediate help, the dog wont survive, the dog is injured, the dog is in the road, and the list goes on.

Yes it is sad, but almost never is any of the rest of it relevant. The process is the process. It cannot be rushed for any reason. We are all on the dogs time. The rest of the drama only brings uneeded attention to a situation wed prefer be invisible. Social media is the worst thing to happen to many of these dogs. I lost count of how many people I asked to move along Saturday afternoon.

So when i see comments like "no sign of the trapper", "WTF why wait until tomorrow, the dog needs help now" along with all the other expert advise that is spewed on social media like "you need to post sightings so we know where to look" it wears on you.

I was even recently berated by someone who begged me to help get a dog back that they gave away online pregnant and after giving birth those upstanding folks dumped the dog in a wildlife preserve. After returning said dog i recieved a screenshot that she was listed on FB for free once again. I asked them to "not do that again. Let me find a rescue so she gets properly placed once and for all". They didnt like that. I later found out this person runs a free pet page locally and is one of the many contributing factors to the endless mess we are in. No worries, this dog is now in an amazing forever home. No way was I going to turn my back on the dog.

I am frequently unable to make contact with dog control and am left housing dogs overnight and having to deal with it in the morning, cutting into my work day.

Why do I say all this ?

Beyond the work it requires to first get the dog eating,then place a trap, then sometimes change traps or make adjustments and condition the dog I have to factor in the entire scenario. Do i have a responsive owner ? How public is this case, how much interference am i likely facing ? How big will the waste factor be on this case ? Meaning how many hours or days will be wasted due to folks interfering with the process. Do we have to flier ?

Almost none of the lost or found or sighted posts include any useful information such as location which means those details have to be tracked down. Most often manually because the poster will never respond. The list goes on.

Ive said it a hundred times, if i agree to take the case i will see it through..... sometimes that means months of daily work.

I think many believe I drop a random trap in a random place and the magic box presents a dog. The majority of the work is usually leading up to that which can take weeks in some cases.

So please dont ask for updates 2 hours after i say im working on it.

The number of dogs being dumped is unprecedented which means the number of people willing to do such a thing is much higher than I'd hoped. And in too many of these cases I work my ass off trying to be everywhere and work against everything possible only to have the dog euthanized once caught. I know we cant save them all but its disheartening to say the least.

Stop having "accidental litters".

I try to keep these posts educational and heart warming. I don't do drama, but the reality is the reality. The really great happy endings are not the norm.

Rescues, please do all you can to get folks to take the flight risk seriously. Insist on martingales. I know you can't make anyone do it and you are all drowning. But I see the exact same scenario over and over until infinity.

I was asked not long ago if I regretted starting this. I will never regret helping a dog in need. I regret the hope that I would see more good than bad.

I absolutely love helping these dogs, and feel such piece out in nature working to be in the right place to give your dog a lifeline to help....just me and the ticks 🙄

Many have said you need to charge for this and make it your job.... I struggle with this idea immensly. Who pays for the dozens of dumped dogs and who pays for the dogs of less fortunate folks who love their dog more than anything. Its not the dogs fault.

Maybe I'll attempt a social media/patrion push someday. Although I hate that idea.... something to keep thinking about I guess.

I still have a lot I'm trying to get thru for myself so please understand I'm doing more than I really can daily and if I cant respond its not because I don't care.

I think about your dogs, but I am only 1 person.

Here is a collage of most of the innocent souls I've helped since my last post ...... almost all of them are dumped dogs. Please stop throwing your dogs away.

I dont normally say boo to anyone, but I'm tired. Compassion fatigue is real folks.

Much more I could say but I'll stop rambling. Thank you everyone for your continued support. I definitely can't keep going without it.

I think about your dogs........

11/29/2024

April

In mid October I was contacted by the Cortland County SPCA Cruelty Officers and dog control requesting help with a dog they had been attempting to trap for about a month.

As always I had too many irons in the fire but knew I had to help this poor pup. It had been determined that this girl had originally been dumped on state lands on Taylor valley Rd on or about April 1st.

In 6 months she had only moved about 5 miles where another homeowner had been seeing her daily in her yard.

Being unwilling to enter a standard trap I advised SPCA to simply leave food and pull their trap entirely and I would make the hour trip down in the coming days when I could arrange some time. If you read Aria's story recently, this was the dog I was referring to.

My best option was setting up the enclosure and conditioning first to see her behavior. Later that day she made her first visit and entered nicely.

The next morning before sunrise I made the hour drive once more to set the trap and bring this girl to safety.

After 10 hours staring at my steering wheel she finally returned, ending her 6 month long lonely journey.

After just 10 short minutes sitting quietly with her she was getting pets and showing us how much she appreciated the help.

I will never find words to describe being the first humans to have contact with a betrayed dog after 6 months of avoiding humans at all costs. It is simply one of life's most incredible experiences. I am lucky.

April is safely at Cortland County SPCA awaiting her forever home. One where she will never be alone, hungry, or scared again. One where she will be .

Don't forget

11/25/2024

Another wish list thank you, this time going out to Heidi O'Rourke and Rhonda Hutchins. I can't thank everyone enough for the amazing support.

Our wish list can always be found on our website under the donate tab. Along with all other methods of payment/donation.

https://www.gatekeeperk9rescue.org/donate

11/23/2024

A big thank you to Judy Scatko and Ann Kulak for the donations this week from our Amazon wish list. It will all get put to good use getting lost souls back home or onto a better life. Thank you !

11/17/2024

Aria, I'll do my best to keep it short.....

I have been thinking about what to say on this post for the last 3 weeks I've been working to capture her.... I've been running from one to the next for weeks .....

Aria's family recently relocated from Buffalo NY to Fayetteville NY.

Upon her very first day alone in her new home Aria was able to escape her crate, jump on the kitchen counter, lift an ajar window, tear out the screen and escape. Initially, she would stay in her new yard for a short time but as neighbors saw her alone in the yard and attempted to help her, she was left with no choice but to retreat.

In most cases a dog in this scenario would simply return home overnight, even if only briefly to eat..... Why I always suggest food at the point of escape.

Aria, however, is different. She would quickly travel to Wegmans and then to the vicinity of Woodchuck Hill Road. The next sighting would be from Christine on a trail camera she used to monitor cats. Christine just so happened to be a friend of one of our board members, Amy. So the dots were quickly connected and Christine began leaving food for Aria in case she returned. Two days later she did however the food was already eaten by the cats. Aria would once again relocate.

She had now made her way to the Jamesville Grove neighborhood adjacent to Jamesville Beach and park. Once again we encountered wonderful folks who left food for her and allowed us to use their property to capture her. One home in particular she had made several visits to. That night a trap was placed there but not set with the plan to set in the morning. Her times were always the same, mid morning thru mid afternoon. Pretty much opposite most lost dogs.

I have a rule for myself which is one at a time. I fully commit to any dog I agree to take which means 24-hour-a-day work until they are captured. That's the only way to be successful. But, anyone who knows me well will tell you I don't use the word "no" often. Which puts me in very tough spots frequently. I was also supposed to be in Mcgraw the following morning to capture another lost soul dumped 6 months prior in state lands. I had promised Cortland County SPCA Cruelty officers I would be there prior to the most recent info on Aria. As hard as I try I still cannot figure out how to be in more than one place at once. Not wanting to let either dog down the plan was for Amy and Christine to set the trap that morning while I was in Mcgraw..... Unfortunately Aria would once again encounter folks in their yard and move on yet again and never make another attempt to access food at the trap.

Next she would spend a couple days in the Lafayette Road area along Route 81. Again that was short lived and she moved across route 81 and was then spotted on the south side of Syracuse.

Whenever I have a dog in Syracuse I contact everyone's favorite DCO Barb to give her the info in the event dog control was getting sightings. To my surprise after sending pictures to her, she replied, I saw her today !

Aria had now moved to the west side of Syracuse on the border of the Strathmore neighborhood. A feeding station was placed here and 4 days later after no sightings she hit the food and spent 10 minutes eating.... very typical behavior.

Given the 5 cats, 1 opossum, 2 raccoons, and countless crows I was also feeding I decided the enclosure was best to place since I can control what triggers the door. After 5 nights of no sleep she would return once again for 42 seconds and leave never returning again. It is my belief the cats were protecting the food and Aria was not going to stand up to them. She was never very food motivated anyway.

After another week of no sightings, Aria's mom had been busy placing fliers all over the area and we finally got the call we had been waiting for. Aria had been spotted twice a day for the last 8 days on Will Ave in the Strathmore neighborhood. Matching up the provided pictures with what I was seeing in person I was able to locate the exact location she was seen bedded. She was still there so the trap was quietly placed nearby and a scent trail laid leading back to it. In less than 30 minutes Aria's month long ordeal was over.

Aria's mom was once again traveling back from Buffalo when this happened so she hung out with me in the warm truck getting some snacks waiting for her mom to arrive.

In an interesting bookend to Aria's story I trapped yet another dumped dog this morning, just 12 hours after she was reunited with her grateful mom.

There is not a single person in animal rescue who is not burnt out at the moment. We are all doing more than we can and it will never be enough to keep up. Thats the hard truth. My greatest wish is that someday every rescue will be "out of business".

I will post the stories of the two lost souls abandoned by their people in the near future. I simply have not had time as is often the case.

Funds are dropping daily and we could really use the support of our community that has always kept us afloat. Besides the dozens of hours each dog requires, they also require hundreds of dollars to capture. Our biggest ongoing expense is fuel and food.

If you are able to donate, please do so. I cannot continue the exhausting yet rewarding work I do otherwise. I have always been so humbled and shocked by the support my work has received.

https://www.gatekeeperk9rescue.org/donate

Thank you to Christine, Carol and her husband, Amy, Crista - Arias's mom and all the folks that took the time to call in sightings... You are the reason she's warm tonight.

Welcome home Aria. I have no doubt you will be the rest of your days.

Always remember and .

Welcome home sweet girl !

10/28/2024

106 days ....

Chloe was lost in Bolivar NY while out for a walk with her Dad and K9 buddy.

The simple act of removing her leash would result in 106 days of work.

After months of trapping attempts with traditional traps including a large enclosure it became painfully obvious Chloe was not having any visible trap.

Chloes Dad contacted me regarding the use of the collarum to finally capture his beloved family member. The collarum is placed beneath natural ground cover and is released by the pulling action of the dog. A cable is thrown over the dogs head to prevent them from escaping. A highly effective tool if deployed correctly.

Due to the 3 hour drive I advised him I would be happy to help her if he could handle the prep work which is extensive and highly detail oriented.

He was happy to help any way he could and in no time at all Chloe was conditioned to the location we needed and it was time to bring her home.

I made the 3 hour drive to Bolivar, set the collarum and we waited only a couple hours for her to arrive. In true lost dog fashion she made me sweat with a teaser visit earlier than her normal time, but did return after dark when all was quiet and she felt safe.

After more than 3 months on her own Chloe was going home.

While the gratitude these dogs show for being helped is obvious, I so wish I could read their minds.

Welcome home Chloe. I'm so happy for you.