13/01/2025
Rex is home! This is a story of hope, determination, perseverance and unconditional love.
On Thanksgiving morning 2024, one of Fawn's Small Dogs that was adopted over a year and half ago, went on a walk and slipped his collar after being spooked. Rex is a 3 year old Chihuahua mix that was staying at his human mom's cousins house while she and her son were out of the country on holiday. As soon as his mom learned Rex got loose and ran and kept running until he disappeared, she made arrangements to return home. Once home, she began hanging lost dog signs, talking with neighbors and mailmen, delivery drivers, etc. She learned that in a nearby hunting club some hunters had spotted Rex a day or two after he got away. Some chased him but he was too quick and ran deeper into the forest. Once Fawn's was notified we made plans to bring out trail cameras to locate Rex so we would know where to set a trap. We had his mom place out scent items so he would keep returning to the same area. We spent hours and days hanging signs in the surrounding areas. We asked our amazing trapper friend Jackie Pesola to assist and she graciously accepted. Jackie was instrumental in luring Rex to the cameras. The trail camera photos of Rex kept the hope of recovering Rex alive. Next step was to set up the traps. The challenge is when do we set them so we don't risk trapping wildlife and Rex learning the dangers of a trap? As challenging as this was, Rex had his own challenge. He was evading Coyote and Bobcat and hunters! Our cameras caught so many of the wildlife including deer, turkey, fox, other dogs, birds, armadillo. Almost every night we kept trapping opposum and raccoon. As soon as they were trapped, somebody had to release them so Rex would not see a trapped animal causing him to be afraid to enter the trap. This was a tiresome task. Rex's mom went every morning to bring fresh scent items, clean out the traps and re-bait them, she waited patiently everyday, re-baited them again in the evening, watched the cameras from her phone all night long, getting very little sleep. Day in and day out, rain, wind and cold, she kept at it with the help of her cousin and her husband. The landowner offered relief to let the animals out at night if they were trapped. Many days and nights would go by without a single photo of Rex on camera. Rex only appeared on cameras 9 unconsecutive days of the 6 weeks he was in the forest. On Sunday, January 12th, the 10th time he appeared, he was safe, in a trap. His mom rushed to the trap. She carried Rex in the trap and placed the trap in her car. At the house, she carried the trap with Rex inside, into the garage and closed the door. She opened the trap and the entire family was there to welcome him home. Rex was home. Happy. Warm. Fed. Safe, as a dog should be. Their determination, fueled by hope, and the unconditional love they had for each other made this a success story, not without the answered prayers from all of you!
