Fairfield Pet Detective

01/09/2024

This goes for cats too - keep them inside if possible. 🐶🐱

01/06/2024

As a reminder, we never charge for our tracking. Fairfield and I volunteer our services. We never want money to be a barrier for people to reach out for help. The anguish people go through when their pet is lost is immense, and we hope to be a helpful resource for help and healing.

With that said, many have asked for a link for donations. We use donations for gas and equipment. Fairfield also gets new toys, training tools and of course his pick of any treats he wants. Here is our Venmo link for those who have asked.

Venmo is a digital wallet that lets you make and share payments with friends. You can easily split the bill, cab fare, or much more. Download the iOS or Android app or sign up on Venmo.com today.

01/04/2024

1.8.24 Charlie is still missing from Bridgton. Please keep an eye out and report any sightings to Lisa at 305-942-0198.

1.4.24 CHARLIE IS STILL MISSING FROM BRIDGTON WITH NO RECENT SIGHTINGS. Please keep an eye out and report any sightings to Lisa at 305-942-0198.

***12/24/23***POSSIBLE SIGHTING OF CHARLIE - SANDY CREEK ROAD IN BRIDGTON. Please -DRIVE CAREFULLY IN THIS AREA! Please keep a look out on side roads, cameras and out buildings in the area. If you see Charlie or ANY loose dog in Bridgton, call Animal Control Officer Cindy Eaton right away at 207-890-5313.

***12/22/2023***CHARLIE IS MISSING FROM BRIDGTON, ME.

Charlie is missing from the Frances Bell Road area of Bridgton after being involved in a vehicle accident. She is a 1 year old, 18 lb, black/white Boston Terrier wearing a collar. Charlie is described as shy. If you spot her as always we ask PLEASE DO NOT CHASE. Call Lisa immediately with any information: (305) 942-0198
Harvest Hills Animal Shelter

01/01/2024

This boy tracked 8 1/2 miles today. Now for a rest by the fire. Well done handsome Fairfield - love you so much ❤️

01/01/2024

Headed out ❤️ paws crossed for a good search. I must say Fairfield’s eyebrows are on fleek this morning - he wants you to know it’s all natural

12/28/2023

Fairfield is calling himself Mr January as he’s on the cover of Downeast Dog News and the article continues to page 5. I am pretty proud of my amazing boy. ❤️

Read 2024 January Downeast Dog News by Jennifer Rich / Wendi Smith on Issuu and browse thousands of other publications on our platform. Start here!

12/24/2023

Happy birthday to Fairfield a day late!!! His birthday was yesterday and I didn’t have a chance to post. Here he is with his big brothers, Wilson and Truman ❤️

12/12/2023

Sweet Duke has crossed the rainbow bridge. 💔 Fairfield and I are heartbroken and wish peace for all as they grieve his great loss.

12/09/2023

“City sidewalks, busy sidewalks
Dressed in holiday style
In the air there's a feeling
Of Christmas”

Come home Duke ❤️

12/09/2023

You are my heart ❤️

12/02/2023

Heading out ❤️

11/25/2023

We went back out to look for Duke. Another time when I just had to trust Fairfield and his nose and not think like a human 🤣

We tracked from Sam’s club and instead of heading to the cinema where we were last time, Fairfield headed out of Sam’s club and towards the University site within the plaza. Then down to the main busy road to a cemetery across the street which was community drive. From there, he tracked to Townsend road, then to Townsend street, a school and to a Chinese restaurant. We then headed North onto Northern Avenue, and on to West River Road which runs into Route 3. We took a left onto West River road, through TWO rotaries, down by Maine General Hospital, across the street by the Maine Veterans Home, he doubled back, and we ended up on Charest Lane, then onto old Belgrade Road. We tracked all the way to a chicken farm and to the Greyhound Rescue! 6.5 miles. This area is on the back side of Kohl’s and the Marketplace in Augusta.

What does all this mean? Once again Fairfield amazes me. When I am tracking, I stay very focused and I’m not aware of where we are headed. Just trusting Fairfield and his amazing nose. When we got to the greyhound rescue place, I was completely shocked because this is where the lost dog Duke was the first few days he went missing! It appears Duke may have done a giant loop back to where he went missing. We are now setting up cameras and feeding stations and hoping for a sighting.

Please reach out if you see Duke. Do not call out to him or try to catch him please because interstate 95 is right behind this area. He is terrified and will run. If sighted we can get a trap set up and hopefully get him home ❤️

6 1/2 miles later he’s pretty tired out and so am I but I’m so proud of my boy❤️

11/18/2023

We were able to get some scent even though it was really challenging as the rain was heavier than we anticipated. Fairfield worked so hard. Other than blinking his eyes when it started to be a heavy downpour, I never noticed anything different about his demeanor, or actions when searching. If anyone is around the Augusta marketplace, please keep a keen eye out at the marketplace, as well as old Belgrade Road in Augusta. we were able to get a track around the side of Sam’s Club down into the woods back up behind Home Depot and the movie theater. He was very interested in the area behind Home Depot where there are dumpsters that are within his reach. We tracked about 3.8 miles all in that area and kept coming back to the Sam’s Club area. The owners are not from the area they live about three hours north. If anyone would like to put up some flyers of Duke on the roads leading into the shopping area, that would be awesome! There are many roads around the marketplace area. My understanding is all you have to do is bring your phone into Staples to print flyers or if you have a good printer at home - you can then put the flyers inside a plastic sleeve to keep them dry when you put them up. The more flyers, the better. Sometimes people see a dog in a yard and assume it belongs to the homeowner when it could be a Lost Dog just passing through. I am chuckling as I’m looking at the photos from today as Fairfield reminds me of a teenager who caught their mother taking a picture of them when they are trying to do something. I really got the side eye in the first pic :-)

11/18/2023

Headed out in the rain ❤️ sure hoping for a scent track to find this handsome guy. Rain complicates things but Fairfield trains in all weather conditions and he never ceases to amaze me.

He is a new rescue from Texas and needs all the positive thoughts and prayers he can get. If seen please reach out asap and do not try to catch him. He is extremely shy and scared, he will bolt and he was spotted close to 95 which makes this even more important to not try to capture. He could be headed into Sidney as well

11/09/2023

Orange is the new black 🙂

10/31/2023

Have fun tonight, my friends and keep your dogs safely indoors or else pirate Fairfield will have to come find you

10/21/2023

After 7 weeks, there has been a possible sighting of Max on the Dodge road in Edgecomb. The person saw a Jack Russel terrier running loose, and he tried to coax Max to come to him. He identified some features that are unique to Max as well. We have been back two nights in a row searching. Fairfield showed signs that this was indeed. Max and it appears Max might be hanging out in a yard off of Dodge Road which is approximately 4 miles from where he was originally missing. Fairfield tracked to a place where there was dog p**p consistent with the size Max would make. Also, he tracked down the middle of the road which he never does - we found out afterwards the person who saw the dog said the loose dog was running down the middle of the road. We have set up a feeding station, hoping Max will settle down and stay in the area so he can be trapped. 

If anyone sees him, please call his worried human right away and do not attempt to catch him. He is completely deaf and partially blind and very scared. He will not come to you. Let’s get this old guy home ❤️

10/20/2023

Fairfield and I just purchased an amazing first aid kit from this company. It was developed by a veterinarian technician and has pretty much anything one could need for an animal emergency. We will be carrying this on our searches

https://www.facebook.com/facebook.comdogworxgear?mibextid=LQQJ4d

Premium adventure gear. Designed for travel, camping, hiking. Safety & Comfort for your best friend

10/16/2023

We need your help to keep an eye out for Diesel, a collie mix, weighing around 70lbs (he is bigger in person than the picture appears). He went missing on Church Road in Sidney which is off of West River Road. Diesel was very deep into the woods where the owner lives.

Fairfield tracked from the owners driveway further into the woods along a tote road. We got fairly far down that tote road and there was dog p**p. I figured Diesel must be further along in the woods. However, Fairfield abruptly turned and started jogging back the way we came, about 3/4 of a mile, back out on Church Road to a field which has a little airport for Recreational remote control planes. In the field he got pretty animated again, and we found fresh dog p**p. The field extends for miles and connects back to West River Road. The track ended in that area. We may return again to go along West River Road in the near future.

If anyone sees Diesel or hears of anyone getting a new dog which looks a lot like a collie mix but is the size of a German shepherd, please reach out to the owner or to me. There will be no questions asked the owner just wants the dog back. He and his child are heartbroken and exhausted from searching. He is offering a reward as well. He is not giving up

10/05/2023

Wilson, Fairfield’s big brother, is hard at work trying to leave a scent trail for training purposes. Meanwhile Wilson wants you to know he will be starting his own version of a Go Fund Me but calling it Go Feed Me because he is so over worked and this walking thing works up quite an appetite 🤣

10/04/2023

Here kitty, kitty…. Searching in Harpswell ❤️

10/02/2023

Well hello Smokey 💕❤️

Smokey has been missing since the beginning of July. She escaped while being transported into a clinic to be spayed. We were called in July to help search for her. The clinic is on an extremely busy, fast road with posted speed limit of 50 mph in places. The thought was Smokey must have gone behind the clinic because there is a trailer park with lots of smells and food.

When we arrived Fairfield smelled around the direction where she had first gone missing and turned around and headed for the busy road in the opposite direction of where we humans thought a cat would go. We managed to get across the busy road and into the woods, behinds houses, down into a gully of water, and back up an embankment to a totally different neighborhood. I’m not going to lie, part of me was doubting my buddy Fairfield because with my human brain I kept thinking, why would the cat travel this more difficult way when there was a perfectly good neighborhood near the clinic. Nevertheless, Maine Lost Cat Recovery, comprised of their amazing volunteers, put out flyers in the area where Fairfield tracked and set up cameras. They never gave up. The neighborhood of people kept their eyes out too. Lo and behold, all these months later there was a sighting and Smokey was successfully trapped.

I am particularly proud of this search, because it was one of our more difficult ones.  I can only imagine the hundreds and probably thousands of dogs and cats that have gone to this clinic leaving their scent behind as it is a low cost clinic that serves many surrounding communities. Fairfield had to match the correct scent of the missing cat even though there were so many other competing smells of other cats and dogs. People ask me how did you train him? I tell them training never stops, we train every day. It takes ALOT of training hours to achieve this ability to differentiate between so many smells of other animals especially the same species, and an extra special dog who has the focus and drive to never quit when searching.

The only problem is, his ego every day is getting bigger and bigger. I told him to stay humble 🙂  he’s handsome and smart ❤️

And if you are looking for a good cause to donate to, Maine Lost Cat Recovery is a good one to consider. they truly work so hard to bring lost cats home

09/30/2023

Today we assisted in a “search” for a lost dog in Chelsea. The dog went missing 20 miles from home, in a place he had never been.

It is not always appropriate to bring Fairfield out for a search if the missing animal is particularly shy. Also, he did not run away from his home but was in a totally new location. Handsome Bear is shy and when spotted shortly after missing, he ran away from humans. His wonderful owner contacted us to see if we would help. I felt it was not appropriate to bring Fairfield out due to my concern it may drive Bear further away. However, we were able to help from afar.

His owner did everything asked of her and more. She put out her clothing at the spot where Bear was last spotted. She also knew Bear loved chicken feed, and she put some in her sweatshirt she left. She searched until dark and finally had to go home but was up early and returned to the place she left her sweatshirt. She could see it had been disturbed and the chicken feed wasn’t in the pocket anymore. She stayed in the area for hours, waiting. I told her to bring lots of smelly treats and a squeaky toy he loved.

Around lunchtime she called me and said Bear was watching her but was too scared to come to her. He was in survival mode. I told her to sit down, don’t look at him and if necessary, lay down. I cannot imagine how much patience and self control it took for her not to jump up and try to catch Bear. She was so patient. Finally, Bear came up behind her and started sniffing her, kissing her and then tackled her!! Brings tears to my eyes imagining this ❤️ there’s an amazing video showing Bear approaching his owner in the comments. 🥰

Bear is now safely home being pampered and loved. We are so happy we were able to be part of Bear’s reunion. The only issue is I now am dealing with Fairfield who is trying to say everything was all his idea - I gave him a treat anyway because he’s so handsome 🤣💕

09/11/2023

On 9/11 we also remember the brave search dogs, over 350, who bravely searched around the clock looking for survivors. There were also many veterinarians who left their practices to volunteer to care for the dogs at the site. Unsung heroes. ❤️

9/11 rescue dogs' best friends were the people who kept dogs safe at Ground Zero .

09/02/2023

People ask me about the effectiveness of using a lost animal’s collar when searching. So we decided to do some training with a dog collar from a dog not known to Fairfield. He did great!!! ❤️💕 his Newfoundland brothers LOVE training time because they supervise and get a treat whenever Fairfield does even though he does all the work 🤣😂 smart boys ❤️

08/23/2023

Fairfield and I were doing some training in the back yard and having some play time. He suddenly stopped and went over to one of the fence posts and sat down. He refused to move. He was using his paw to gently poke at something. He also was whining so I walked down and there was a baby chipmunk in the grass who was still breathing, and opening and closing its mouth with eyes shut. Fairfield was very concerned. We got the baby chipmunk in a box and he is now headed to Wilderness Miracles in Bowdoin to see if they can help him. They said likely something happened to the mother chipmunk and to bring him right over. 💕

Fairfield knows he is the bestest boy