07/22/2024
Arty is home! Dog owners, please read for a real-life example of how to take care in approaching a lost dog.
After escaping from his boarder's house 3 1/2 days ago, this morning Artemis is SAFE!! His owners cut their vacation short as soon as they heard that he was missing, and they headed straight to where he got lost. Fliers were made, friends jumped in and posted all over social media. Pete Storm of Browncoat Drone Services was contacted to do a drone search. One of their friends contacted us and we gave advice, but were not able to get fully involved until yesterday (we've got several cases going on right now, one which is proving to be horribly time consuming, and the dog is just not cooperating!). Pete was out yesterday morning with his drone, but the weather was not cooperating. First, it was too foggy. After waiting a few hours for the fog to burn off, the sun became too intense for the drone search. Thermal imaging cameras are used (because you can't see anything through the trees if using a regular camera). So, they pick up the heat/temperature changes within their view. When the temps are as hot as they have been, you get a lot of "false positives". So, Pete packed up his toys and went home. But, one great thing about Pete is that he is also MARN trained in lost pet rescue, just like Laura and I! (As well as Bob Swenson and his team with Lost Animal Resource Group - LARG, and Carmen Butler with Professional Pet Trackers!!) So, we ALWAYS coach the owners about calming signals, and the do's and don'ts of searching so that you are not actually pushing the dog away. And when the owners were not hanging signs or driving around looking for Arty, they were doing more research about the "calming signals" that Pete and Laura and I were telling him about (and likely others on social media were telling them, too). But, as with anything, you can read and study and listen all that you want, but when the time comes to actually use the information, many times your emotions cause it to all fly out of the window. And that almost happened this morning. The owner received a real-time sighting of Arty in the woods, about 2 miles from where he was last seen. It so happened that the owner was currently on that same street, driving around and looking! He called me right away to tell me that there was another sighting. I asked when the dog was seen, and he said "seconds ago!". And then....."I see him! He's at the wood line!" I could hear his excitement building, and at that point my job was to reel his emotions in and talk him through this. He stopped his truck and got out and starting calling to Arty. I nixed that very quickly! Arty responded just as I knew he would -- he ran into the trees. That's when the owner realized that we were all right -- his dog did not recognize him! I got the owner to sit on the ground and we started talking -- how old is Arty? What is Arty's favorite thing to eat? He answered "Arty loves treats", and "Arty is a good boy", and using words that Arty would recognize. He had treats in his truck, so he went to his truck to get them. He also had a squeaky toy (which Arty loves!). But, after he squeaked it quickly 3 times, I told him to stop, and not over do it. He slowly walked back to his sitting spot, and we continued to talk. Arty was now standing back at the tree line looking at him. The owner turned himself so that he wasn't facing Arty and continued to talk to me. And I had him occasionally squeak the toy, and toss it in the air and catch it. "He's coming towards me!" "Just stay calm, I can hear your excitement building and we don't want to push him away again." "Ok, ok". He continued to talk as Arty slowly approached. And then "I've got my hand on his collar!!" It took a few seconds longer for total recognition to hit and then "He's licking my face!". They hugged for a bit, and then he worked his way back to the truck with him. I told him that I was staying on the phone until he was safely in the truck with the doors and windows closed. Very soon, he was safe! And on the drive home, he fell asleep, using his owner's arm as a pillow. Phew!!
