Great Dames Trap & Recover

09/14/2025

These little stinkers have been running around Jamestown for days. We're not sure if they were dumped or just escaped their home, but no one is looking for them. Andrew Faulkner and Lindsay Fox posted about these two so we reached out and gathered some more information. I went up and drove around the next morning and finally sighted the 2 of them , I tossed some food out the window, and then got out of my car and tried to lure them. But they were not having it. I ran into the dog control officer in the neighborhood because he had gotten several calls as well and we discussed that there was no catching these dogs and that they would have to be trapped. So I drove around for a couple more hours, encountering them several times noticing where they were hanging out. I asked a a gentleman by the name of Jose , if I could put a food plot and a camera on their property and he said sure. So luckily, they came back around 5 PM and found the food. So that very evening Frankie Notoro Johnson , Tracy M Horner and I went up to set a trap. We chose to use the large missy trap even though the dogs are small because they were traveling so closely together and I thought they would come back together to the trap. So at 3 AM I received a notification. There was a cat at the trap. But for some reason, the door was closed. So I got dressed drove to Jamestown to re-open the trap. As I was heading back home, I received a notification, and I thought, oh no the cat is there again but when I checked the camera, there was the little white dog all by itself just 20 minutes after I left, going into the trap. So I hurried up and turned the car around and drove back to the trap.The black one was not with him. I was kind of bummed at that point thinking that the dogs had been separated because they were separated earlier that day, but they found each other again. Vicki and Tracy met up at 4:30 AM to retrieve the white pup out of the trap. We reset the trap and went home. About 8 AM the next morning.
I received a notification and checked the camera and the door had closed again on the trap 😖. So I headed back to Jamestown to fix the trap ,rebaited ,stuck around for an hour or so thinking the black dog would show up. But he didn't. Went back home then about 11am he showed up and went into the trap. Thank goodness !!! Thank you to Andrew and Lindsay for your help and to the other spotters who commented on the posts with sightings because this is how it all starts. And a big thank you to Jose and Alba Rodriguez for allowing us to use their property and to Alba for sitting with the pup until the Dames could get there. Thank you all !!! These pups are the sweetest and seem to bond very quickly with people, they are at Pick of the litter . See videos in comments.

09/10/2025

This big, beautiful girl who we have named Big Betty was dumped after having a litter of puppies along route 89 in Wattsburg, PA. Tammy Benedict reached out on 8/16 after she was unable to capture the dog. Frankie Notoro Johnson and I immediately went out there to look for her and to see if there was any puppies, but we were unsuccessful. The next day Vicki Cusimano from Great Dames and Jan Dean from Canine Crusaders, went up and posted a bunch of signs around the neighborhood, some sightings started to come in, but few and far between. People would try to capture her and she would just run. So a gentleman sent us a picture of her laying right where she was dumped about a week or so later , she had made her way back there. So we went up and set up food plots and cameras, and she showed up and ate the food that night. So we were confident that if we put a trap up the next day, we would have her... Well, Big Betty did not show back up which is very unusual once they get a meal. Frankie Vicki and Michael kept the trap baited with fresh bait every other day, but still she was a no show. So we went about a week without a sighting, and then Joe McCall who is on Station road called me and said, Hey, I think I have this dog on my ring camera and sent me the video, and yes, there was Big Betty !!!! So I asked him if he would go out and put food out for her to see if she comes back and she did !!! So Michael Valerio and I went and relocated the trap on Joe and Haley's property, which was 5 miles away from the previous trap location, hoping and praying she would come back this time for another meal. About 8:50 pm Betty showed up, cleaned up all the scraps outside the trap and went right in !!! It is unbelievable that someone could dump a sweet soul like Big Betty. The Anna Shelter has taken her in, and will have her checked out and put up for adoption soon. Thank you Staci Lynd for your great behind the scenes, work with social media ,sightings and shelters. Thank you for our spotters and a special Thank you to Joe and Haley for the use of your property and your cooperation. The cooperation of the homeowner is so important in dog rescue 9 times out of 10 it's the break we need to get these dogs to safety. You helped save this beauty ❤️ No more lonely nights for you sweetheart, hopefully better days are coming.❤️🙏 see videos in comments

09/09/2025

https://www.facebook.com/share/p/14P8q6PM81k/

Patience, creativity ... Never give up

Khan’s rescue was unlike any other. 💪🐾 This powerful boy was so strong that he actually broke a large trap, proving just how determined and unstoppable he ...

09/08/2025

🚨 ALERT 🚨
There is a golden retriever with a purple bandana on running in the area of Mohawk Ave past Morrison run rd towards Chapman dam rd. Mouth full of porcupine quills and looks to have blood on its back right leg. Has anyone seen this pup? Please if you have or know the owners please tell them or call us at 716-397-2506 ASAP. Thank you and please share this post.

09/08/2025

UPDATE: Trapped and safe, story to follow !!!!
🚨 WE NEED SIGHTINGS 🚨
This girl has been running in Page road/Rt 89 area of Wattsburg Pa for over a month. She came to our feeding station last Tues and hasn't returned, which is unusual. Has anyone seen her ?If so please call 716-397-2506. If you live in the Wattsburg area please share this post . Thank you !!

09/07/2025

Meet Thor, a 1 year old golden doodle who has been doodleing around Jamestown NY for 5 days. Thor is an emotional support dog for Karalea Bradish son. We really wanted to capture Thor and reunite him with her son as soon as possible because his everyday life was being affected by his absence. Over the course of the 5 days, there were only 5 sightings, and of course, by the time we got there, Thor would be gone, so I documented the times and the path that he was traveling and he was making a circle as they normally do. So yesterday, we had a sighting at 8:45 AM, but I did not get the sighting until later in the afternoon. Most sightings of Thor were earlier in the morning, so we decided to get up early and head to Jamestown, to try to get a sighting and make something happen. Thor's owners had to go out of town on Friday and they got back into town late last night. A few of us Dames Vicki Cusimano , Frankie Notoro Johnson, Tracy M Horner and Terri Linamen we're driving around the area of yesterday's sighting. Terri drove up the street that we had just come down
and within a few seconds, we get a phone call. And she said, Hey, I see a white dog on a porch here on Fairfield Avenue, and I said, does it look like a doodle? And she said, yes, I said, okay, we're on our way back. So we got to the location. I took a picture of Thor and sent it to the owner and called her, but she didn't answer the phone. ( I'm not surprised she didn't get home until three am last night) So we proceeded to approach the porch, Thor was getting very upset and trying to get through the railings of the porch. Thankfully, he could not. So I had the 3 girls block off the 6 foot entrance of the porch, and I went on up on the porch with slip leads and eventually was able to get slip leads around his neck. We were going to transport him home in a trap, but he was not having any part of it. He did not want to get into that trap. So I said, well, hand me the phone again and I will call the owner and she did answer this time and was able to come to the location immediately. As soon as Thor smelled her, as you can see in the videos below in the comments, he came right out of survival mode and was his old self. This story is not only special because Thor is a emotional support dog for Karalea's son, but for my best friend Terri, who just a few days ago, had to put her golden doodle of 13 years down which, as we all know, is one of the hardest things to do in life. Terri was out with me looking the other day for Thor and so I let her know that we were going again this morning and she wanted to join us. So, we have to say everything happens for a reason. We missed Thor laying on that porch whether or not he wasn't in sight when we went by, I don't know, but as soon as Terri went up that street, she saw him on the porch. I think it was meant for us to miss him laying there, so that she would find him in honor of her special girl Lucy. A big thank you to the homeowner because they looked out the window and 4 girls were quietly storming the porch. Her dogs were barking ,Thor was barking, we were moving her porch furniture around to barricade him, she had no idea what was going on... I'm surprised she didn't call the cops on us Lol, but it all worked out for the best !!! And Thor, you handsome little boy, your doodling days are over !!😉 See videos below in comments.

09/04/2025

Update Lizzie is in good shape. She was hung up with her 20 foot lead in which she did not attempt to chew through. So the logger was out in the woods, and he heard her barking, and he just kept going toward the bark, then he was able to get her and bring her out to her Mama, so we had a very happy ending. Both dogs are home and happy and safe. Thank you everyone .
Update, the search has been canceled. Some loggers found Lizzie in the woods. They are bringing her out now. We don't know what her condition is as of yet. I will update later. Thank you all so much !!!
Looking for people to do a foot search in Kane Pa tomorrow morning for a dog lost in the woods dragging a leash. If interested please message us. Thank you .

08/30/2025

Update, this is the best news you will hear all day Tucker has been found after ten days. A gentleman was walking along a creek bed and found tucker hung up in the creek by his leash and he got him untangled and took him home and his wife has an iPhone and it connected with Tuckers airtag and pinged the owner's daughter's phone and they were able to go in and retrieve him. Thank you God and everyone who helped look for Tucker !! Tucker has been missing from Burton Ave in Ripley NY since tues eve the 26th around 9 pm. He is wearing a harness and dragging a leash. We went out on a foot search last night and also had Nate from Thermal seek wildlife and pet recovery fly their drone for 2 plus hours and did not find him. Please ,time is of the essence so if anyone has seen him please call the number on the flyer ot hit the call button on this post. If you live in this area ,please share this post. Thank you

08/29/2025

Here's a short story with a very happy ending that could have been so much worse. This pup was staying with a friend of the owner and happened to get loose and ran off. Lynette Ristau spotted this little guy this morning (whose name we now know is Tin tin) along the railroad bridge on Pennsylvania Avenue. She was able to coral him in a small area by the Struthers building but this little guy would not come to her, and he went through the railings on the fence that you see in the picture and was standing on a four inch ledge. The drop off on that ledge was at least 25-30 feet. Lynette backed off, then just watched and he came back onto the grass. I happened to see her post just a few minutes after she wrote it. And we were in touch, and I met her there, I got within 10 feet of him, but he wasn't having it. So he started back toward the ledge, he got halfway through and just stood there. I set my trap up and then we backed off again and he came out but he did not go into the trap. I had a big fish net with me that we were going to put on the other side of the railing to catch him if he fell but just then she got a phone call and it was his owner Tasha Abbey ,Thank God. She came a few minutes later. Then walk down around the corner. Got down on her knees and called to him and he was so happy, he started barking and running toward her. Like I said, this could have been a horrible ending, had he jumped off that ledge, or the other option he had was to run out onto Pennsylvania Avenue, which is super busy right there. Thank you Lynette, for stopping and trying to save this little boy and posting quickly, because that surely saved his life !! ❤️ Videos in comments

08/28/2025

I received a phone call from one of our Great dames, volunteer/ trainee Tracy M Horner about a very tiny chihuahua, running up Steele street in Jamestown, New york. She saw a couple people trying to capture it and it ran underneath a large semi trailer. Marisa Graham and her husband Dwain were there with Tracy and Marisa was able to crawl slowly under the trailer and make her way to the pup. Another one of our Dames ,Kim Cusimano took the dog home and bathed her and trimmed her nails and is keeping her for the night. Tracy was able to find a post on Facebook that resembled this dog and I did a little more research, I found where someone had posted a flyer in a 7-11 store. So I called them, and they sent me a picture of the flyer and I then called the number and spoke with Marcia and sent her some pictures, and she confirmed that it was her dog named Baby girl who had been missing for at least five days. We will be reuniting them in the morning 😊Thank goodness, this little peanut is off the streets. She is just too tiny to survive out there on her own !! A big thank you to Tracy, Marisa ,her husband and Kim for going above and beyond to save this little beauty 🥰

08/27/2025

What better day to save this little pup's life, then on National Dog Day !!! This is 1 year old Mimi, who was newly adopted about a week ago. She was out in the fenced in backyard, running around when some roofers next door started working and pounding on the roof, she immediately got scared and bolted through a side gate which had a spot just big enough for her to get through. Her new dad followed her up a couple of streets a few blocks away from home and then lost sight of her. This wasn't too far from where I live , so as soon as I saw the post, I jumped in my car, I texted Sherry Hovan the owner and told her I was in the area looking, I met up with them, and I explained survival mode in newly lost dogs. Then explained to them that when a dog goes missing from an area they are not familiar with they generally don't stray too far. And when things quiet down, they will return to the point of where they went missing from, providing they are not chased by good samaritans. So I set up a couple of cameras and a trap at their home, and we left the gate open to the backyard, hoping that little Mimi would make her way back. About 10:57 PM ,half asleep in my chair lol, I got a notification from the live feed camera, and I looked and there she was going through the gate, I tried to call Sherry immediately, but for some reason she didn't hear her phone. Because the plan was for her to sneak around and close the gate. So I jumped in my car and drove down there, watching the live feed camera the whole way, and by the time I got there, Mimi had gone into the trap and was safe. What a sweet little girl she is. She was so happy to be home and see her new people even though she'd only been with them for a week, you could see there was already a strong bond formed. As I was getting my cameras down, and preparing to load the trap into my car, I could hear shreeks of joy inside as the family celebrated her return, I stood there for a moment in the darkness and just listened, thinking to myself, this is why we do what we do. Hearing them warmed my heart more than anyone can know. There's no better feeling, then to reunite a pet with their family. Mimi you have a wonderful new home and family and you will have a wonderful new life with your new fur sister. ❤️ Video in comments