Lost Journey of Maggie Has Happy Ending
Kathy Johnson
November 5, 2010
Last night I was reunited with my dog after 21 days of her being lost in the Temblor Mountain Range.
Maggie is a four year old Jack Russell Terrier who weighs less than 20 pounds. I've had her since she was 8 weeks old.
In the days preceding Oildorado (Taft's 100 year celebration) Maggie got out of my yard. She had been nervous because of the gunfire from the "Hoosegow" even though I had tried to keep her inside and calm. After weeks of searching I had just about given up hope of ever seeing her again. Yesterday though, a friend saw her picture on Craigslist and I drove to Simi Valley for a very joyful reunion. My dog was found, nearly starved, by a BLM consultant after 17 days of being lost. She was found near the Painted Rock site on the Carrizo Plain National Monument. Or rather, they say, she found them.
Maggie was first seen near Painted Rock on day twelve by a BLM employee who couldn't catch her. Five days later she scratched on the door of a mobile home at 9:30 pm. The wife of a BLM consultant, who was staying there for a few weeks, took her in and cared for her. Maggie was emaciated and her paws were sore. Her rescuers cleaned her up and took her to a vet to make sure she wasn't seriously injured. They contacted people in California Valley and the surrounding areas to see if anyone had lost her. Determined to find her family, they listed her on Petfinder and other lost dog lists.
In the meantime, I was putting flyers up around Taft and contacting local dog shelters and rescue organizations, sure that Maggie was somewhere in Taft. I couldn't imagine that she had gone far. I thought she had been found by someone who decided to keep her. When she got out, she must have run, terrified, into the fields. With every gunshot she probably ran further and further until she was lost.
The terrain between here and the Painted Rock is 20 miles as a crow flies. It contains the rugged Temblor Range which runs in northwest-southeasterly direction along the borders of Kern and San Luis Obispo Counties and is one of the California Coast Ranges. The peaks within the Temblor Range average about 3500 ft above sea level.
Taft has been designated as a gateway community to the Carrizo Plain National Monument which is a flat plain about 12 miles wide on the other side of the Temblor Range. A few years ago I took a tour of Painted Rock which included a 45 minute walk to access it. I saw a lot of wildlife and heard a rattlesnake in one of the caves of Painted Rock. It's the habitat of predatory animals such as coyotes, hawks, mountain lions, tarantulas and more. Maggie must have spent at least ten days crossing the mountain range before coming to the Carisso Plain, just trying to find home. It's terrifying to think of her out there, alone.
When my friend showed me the Craigslist ad, I couldn't believe I was seeing Maggie's picture! I emailed the couple who had cared for her. They had fallen in love with my courageous little dog. They were determined to find her true family so when they called me they insisted I email them a picture of her. I told them her name was Maggie. They had tried to find out her name and went through a list of dog names. When they came to the name, Mattie, she came alive so that's what they called her.
The family had already returned to their home in Simi Valley so off I went with my friend, who found her on Craigslist. I confessed that I was a little nervous that Maggie would prefer to stay with her "new" family after her dramatic rescue. I shouldn't have worried because as soon as I went in the house and called her name, she jumped in my arms and wouldn't quit licking my face. She would hardly leave my side until we left.
Joe and Terry Simon, the couple who rescued her, are wonderful people. He is a consultant for the Bureau of Land Management and was hired by the BLM to do the study on the Painted Rock. I will always be grateful that they were there. They took extraordinary measures to reunite Maggie with her family. It was a celebration in their home, which was filled with their extended family members. They refused to take any kind of reward or recompense for their expenses.
I'm very grateful to have my little dog home again after she went on her own incredible journey.
Source: http://www.taftindependent.com/News/ViewArticle/2359
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