Keegan is home after an 8 day adventure! We generally don't contact people offering our assistance, simply because there are so many lost pets, and we have such crazy hours, that we wait for owners (or Animal Control) to contact us. We simply can't work 24/7 week after week. But this one got to me: 1) because it's a golden, and 2) the owner seemed to be doing all of the wrong things (which people on social media were suggesting). And I couldn't understand why they had not contacted us -- so many people suggested that they do! Well, I messaged the owner, and her immediate response was "what can you do for me, and how much will it cost"? Legitimate questions, but not what we normally get (other than the price -- we don't charge!!). Well, after talking for 2 minutes I understood -- she had several scammers contact her. One wanted $5,000!!!! And tried to lay a guilt trip on her when she said no!
So, once we got passed that, we were smooth sailing. There had been 2 sightings at the same house, although a few days apart. That's where we wanted to start. The home owner was more than happy to let us set up a camera and feeding station on his property, and ultimately a trap if needed. So, we put food and a camera out, sprayed with liquid smoke, and headed home. And 3 hours later, who showed up? Keegan!! So we waited for him to eat and leave, and then we headed over to set the trap. I called the owner to tell her the plan -- she and her husband had met at Home Depot and were about to head home. I asked if she'd bring a scent item, so, in the middle of the Home Depot parking lot she tells him to take off his shirt. She didn't say why -- she was too excited at the fact that the dog had shown up already! I wish I was a customer in the parking lot, watching this man take his shirt off in the nearly freezing temps, not knowing why, but obeying his obviously excited wife! After asking her to make a McDonald's run, too, I hung up the phone. But, I do know that she
UPDATE: The pup was microchipped! She's been missing since the Spring. The owner (80 years old) travels between New York and South Carolina rather frequently, and she got lost on one of the trips. We don't know any other details at this point, but the owner is contemplating whether or not to reclaim her -- at 80 years of age, a large dog is difficult to handle. Hopefully, it will work out for what's best for the dog.
A week ago today, AC deputy Lussier contacted us about a black lab mix that was wandering in Sheraton Hills east, but they were not able to capture her. The owners of the property where she kept returning to were incredibly nice, and allowed us to set a trap and camera. We got her on camera for 3 days, but she never stepped into the trap...not even a paw. So, we pulled the trap, and then all 3 of us (Melissa, Laura, Terri) met there to set the Missy trap. We were happy -- the ground was perfectly level, so we didn't have to do any "landscaping" in order for the door to swing smoothly. There was no tall grass to pull in order to keep the movement from tripping the camera, and not limbs to trim. It was the easiest setup we've ever done! And when we tested the door, all 3 latches connected! Perfection! And then the darn dog didn't show up for 3 days.... *sigh*. I've been taking my phone with me to bed, and had it on silent. But, every time I woke up, I would check. (We have cameras out for 3 different cases right now). At 4:30 this morning, she showed up and went in the trap to eat! Yay! So, I thought about the gameplan for the day -- we have to go and set another camera for another dog, so what to do first??? I let my dogs out, and gave them 1/2 of their breakfast so that they would let me go back to bed. At 7:00 my animals wanted me up, so I got up and checked the phone -- she was there!!! So I threw clothes on and headed out the door to set the trap. I called Laura, so she got dressed and ran out of the house (without feeding her do
Finally! A 1 day only on a weekend trapping! That means that since Laura didn't have to work today, she could handle this case without me! And the dog is small enough that I didn't have to go out at 1:30/2:30 (the time change...) to help her load her into her car!! AC asked for our help with this little girl who we think may have been dumped, based on her behavior. For a few days she's been seen running along and in the middle of a busy 2-lane country road. Several people tried to capture her but she would run into the woods. Laura headed out with a trap this morning and saw her when she arrived. Of course someone else also saw her and stopped to try and catch her....ugh! She set the trap, and then on the other side of the road, a feeding station. Of course, she crossed the road and found the feeding station, and ate her fill. Then she went and took a nap. Sigh. Laura moved the trap to where the feeding station was and waited. After a couple of hours she went home to wait. Finally, at 2:14 a.m. (actually 1:14 because of the time change) she walked right into the trap! Yay!! She'll stay in Laura's garage for the rest of the night and then go to the shelter in the morning. Congrats, Laura! And thank you for letting me just be a spectator so I can get over this Covid crap!
Remember the video from last Saturday morning when the dog bumped his head on the trap door, causing it to shut? Well, later that afternoon we moved to a new location, set up the 72" trap (it's taller and longer than the 60") AND we set the Missy trap about 20 feet away from the box trap. Well, he showed up at the box trap that night, but would not go in further than his front paws. We didn't see him at the Missy trap until Tuesday night! But, he went in the Missy! Last night, he came back and went in all of the way, so this evening, we armed the trap. He'd been showing up at around 6:30, 11:00 p.m., and 3:30 a.m. We prayed he'd show up early. And he did! After 12 days, Yahtzee is safe!
Wolfie went missing on Saturday, when he slipped out of his collar at his vets office. And off he ran -- no collar, no microchip, nothing. Of course, the staff chased him....he was last seen by a nearby high school football field by a bus driver. The owner was notified and he went out and searched and searched. Nothing. We were contacted and set out to assess the situation and put up a camera near the point of escape. We found paw prints next to the woods, but that's it. Camera and feeding station were set. The owner put up small black and white signs on Sunday, but they were not effective. I had signs printed on Monday, and the owner started putting them up in the area. We've had lots of rain, so his black and white signs didn't last any time. But, sightings started coming in, both from the new big bright signs, as well as from social media. This morning, we received a sighting (because of our signs) and we went out and saw Wolfie! His owner showed up, but he walked too far in to the field, in the direction of Wolfie, and it scared him and he ran into the woods and didn't come back out. After about 45 minutes, we set up a camera and feeding station hoping he'd come back. The owner continued to post more signs. Then around 4:00 this afternoon, I received a call -- Chelsea saw my post on the Neighbors app by Ring, and she saw a post on Nextdoor about a dog matching the description, so she called me. I called Wolfie's owner and we headed that way. We didn't see him. I talked to people in the small neighborhood -- most had not seen him but would keep a look out. The owner had brought Wolfie's sister, Ana, this time, and they were out walking the neighborhood next door. They wandered farther than they realized, so I went to pick them up. We were on our way back to his car when the call we needed came in -- someone had seen our signs, and saw a real-time post on Nextdoor that the dog was still in the neighborhood. So, we got there within 2 minutes.
Sorry if our cursing woke you, but this just happened. 😪. Well, I guess we'll have to set the Missy.
You all are awesome! Thanks for the good vibes! We FINALLY got her!
Another dog safe and off of the streets! Animal Control contacted us about a German Shepherd that was running loose near the Spotsy YMCA. Actually, a friend had contacted me that morning about him, too. She had seen him and stopped her car, but the dog ran off. She left food and water for him, hoping he'd come back. AC had several calls all day long about him, and he was always somewhere in the same vicinity. So, we used my friend's spot as a feeding station and added a camera. But, the dog never showed. So, last night, we moved the camera and feeding station to another spot that was still very close by. At 8:00 this morning, the dog showed up at the feeding station! I was out replenishing food in the trap for another dog (which had the nerve to not show up over night!!), so it was around 9:00 this morning before I could get there with a trap. And the skies opened up while I was out! Drenched to the bone, I came home to change clothes and dry off. About an hour and a half later, the dog came back and was trapped! A couple of reports had said that he was wearing a collar with tags, but at the time of trapping, and on camera a few hours before, he was not wearing a collar. The shelter will scan for a microchip as soon as he calms down a bit.
