Oban, whippet/shepherd mix

Dogged Pursuits: Tails from a Dog Rescuer
By Jim Branson for Seattle DogSpot
April 2, 2013

Dogged Pursuits is a new feature on Seattle DogSpot. Each week, Jim Branson from Three Retrievers Lost Pet Rescue will write a post about a search he conducted for a lost pet in the Puget Sound region with his dogs Kelsy, Porter, and Komu.

Oban before he went missing

I hope Jim's stories not only entertain you but also provide insight into the most effective ways for searching for/finding a lost pet.


Jim's first post is about the search for Oban, a dog he found over the weekend. Oban was lost for almost 2 months after escaping from a parked car in Bellevue on February 2.

We're excited about this new feature - please let us know of you like it.

Oban, a whippet-shepherd mix, went missing on February 2nd. He was playing, "You can't catch me," with his owner when he was struck by a car and ran off into the fog. Sporadic reports of Oban came in over the next two months.

When reports came in that he was seen very close to the accident site, I set up an "Intersection Alert" where several volunteers held up large neon posters about Oban's plight.

We received at least eight tips that afternoon. He had been seen ten blocks away, but he was seen most recently very near the intersection - 150th Ave SE and SE 37th Street - where the volunteers were standing.

Just before dark, someone pulled over and said they had just seen him on the off ramp from eastbound I-90 to 150th Ave SE. We went to check it out, but Oban slipped back into the woods before we could spot him.

A narrow strip of trees and brush grows between the off ramp and a tall retaining wall. Oban couldn't go south from there, and going east, west, or north would just put him on the freeway. I set up a humane trap in the woods at the end of the off ramp, but Oban didn't go in it the first day.

Many volunteers checked the trap every few hours, just in case any animal was trapped.

The next day, I moved the trap to a quieter area and someone put a couple of articles of clothing (belonging to Oban's owner, who was out of town) into the trap. They placed his favorite bed beside the trap.

As I was looking around the area to see how he might be getting around, I received a call that he had just been seen again poking his head out of the woods beside the off ramp. Knowing exactly where he was at that moment, I called for volunteers to help me keep an eye on the area and make sure he didn't leave.

We often use a "Magnet Dog" to lure a skittish dog to safety. My little dog, Fozzie, works sometimes. In this case, because Oban was so skittish and traumatized from the accident, I contacted his owner and learned of a dog named Sonia that Oban likes.

Kendra brought Sonia to the off ramp for the luring attempt. I told Kendra not to make eye contact with Oban or call his name, to focus her attention on Sonia and ignore Oban while giving Sonia treats. I also told Kendra that it would be better to not catch Oban today than to lunge for him and risk scaring him away to a new location.

Kendra walked Sonia down the shoulder of the road as cars whizzed by at 60 MPH. Kendra and Sonia made one pass back and forth along the strip of woods, one thousand feet down and one thousand feet back.

Nothing.

Kendra took Sonia for a second pass, and Oban popped out of the woods to see his friend and get some treats. He allowed Kendra to snap a leash on his collar with no trouble. Kendra rushed him to the nearby emergency vet, where Oban is staying overnight. He was very thin.

Oban when he was found after 2 months

When I called Oban's owner to tell her he was safe she screamed into the phone.

He needs more evaluation, but at this point it appears he will make a full recovery after being lost for two months. Many volunteers helped bring Oban to safety, including Irene, Krystina, Jacintha, Dina, Dori, Shawna, Julie, Lara, Sheri, Sam, Ilse, Kendra, Stephan, and Sonia the Vizsla.

Jim Branson is a certified Missing Animal Response Technician with four years of experience finding lost cats and dogs for Missing Pet Partnership.

Source: http://www.seattledogspot.com/blog/dog-blog/post/dogged-pursuits