24/04/2023
One of the goals of this page has always been to help all lost dogs through helping to educate the public. With today being National Lost Dog Awareness Day, Annie and the Finding Bogey team wanted to share some information that could help Bogey and other lost dogs. This will be a long post, but we hope people will take the time to read and share this important information.
First, we’ll start with some general information about lost dog behavior and the normal trapping process. Then we will share some insights on the best ways to help Bogey in particular.
The biggest risk to a lost dog is being hit by a car. That’s the reason that so many lost dog posters say, “Do Not Chase”. When a dog makes the bad decision of running out into a road, it’s usually because someone is following them. When a dog goes missing, they will often go into fear or survival mode. They can become feral very quickly and will often run from all people, even their owners. Many lost dog owners don’t believe this until they see their own pet run away from them. So, if you see a loose dog, please do not chase, or even follow it. Instead, take a non-threatening position such as sitting or lying down and let the dog come to you on their terms.
Once a lost dog starts to overcome the initial flight response, they will normally settle in to a “den” area. This is usually a quiet place, away from people, where they can feel safe and sleep most of the day. They will venture out from the den area at night to look for food. Most will only go a mile or two before returning to their den area.
The typical process for capturing a lost dog who runs from people involves getting sightings, setting up feeding stations with trail cameras and eventually setting a trap. If there have been no sightings, a tracking dog can be helpful to get a general area of where to put signs to generate sightings and where to put cameras and feeding stations. Once a dog has been seen on camera eating from a feeding station, then a trap is set. This can often be a long process, sometimes taking days or weeks to get a dog to go into a trap.
Many people mistakenly think that the best way to recover a lost dog is to find their den area or where they are “hanging out.” Well-meaning people will go to sighting areas thinking that they are helping by walking/driving around looking. This increased traffic in an area ends up causing lost dogs to leave. This delays the search/trapping process. Lost dogs need to have their safe space if they are going to stay in an area. For a dog who has been lost for a long time, the search is not about finding and catching the dog or finding their hiding place. The process is about luring the dog either home or to cameras/traps.
Bogey is one of the small percentage of dogs known as an “extreme roamer” or “gypsy”. Extreme roamers can have vast territories and may never actually settle into a den. Instead, they move from place to place, finding food and shelter along the way. These are the hardest dogs to trap. In Bogey’s case, she is covering an area of roughly 80-100 square miles. She has been known to move over 5 miles in less than 12 hours. While we do have trail cameras in several places, she has never shown up on one.
So, how do we think we can bring Bogey home?
There are several scenarios in which we can see Bogey getting home. One of our trackers had a similar case many years ago. They tracked a gypsy hound dog for close to two years. Finally, the dog was lured into a fenced area by a quick-thinking person. Another possibility is that Bogey will follow the scent trails that her mom and sister Cassie have been leaving for her. We continue to walk home from sighting areas leaving bits of hair and other smells along the way.
How can you help?
• Store Bogey’s number 703-596-9296 in your phone and call immediately if you think you may have seen her. Do not attempt to call out, whistle or follow her. This will make her run off. If Annie can get there fast enough with Cassie, she may come to her sister.
• If you have a fenced area nearby, place some smelly food in the fenced area far away from the opening. Make a trail of drippings to lead her to the food. Put some on a tree or on the fence to get the smell up into the air. Make sure she does not see you and close the gate behind her when she is safely into the fenced area. Keep a can of wet cat food on hand just in case.
• If you live on a busy road, place a sign in your yard. One of our biggest challenges has been keeping the public aware that she is still out there!
• Ask your church, workplace, or other high visibility location to put a sign on their property or to pass out flyers.
• Continue to keep the conversation going and help educate others about what to do if they see a loose dog.
As always, thank you to all the kind people in the community who continue to support our search!
