By Lynette Ruder, Missing Pet Tracker
Saturday, November 8, 2014
I have been training my sheltie Bear now for a bit over a year as a lost pet trailing dog, after training with Kat Albrecht and the Missing Pet Partnership. There have been so many ups and downs in the training, including weeks at a time that I would be so frustrated, not sure if I had both the skills and determination to stick with this. Add to that marginally supportive family and friends at best (with a few wonderful exceptions), well, I seem to reconsider this MAR (Missing Animal Response) business just about all the time. Still I have kept at it, slowly but surely. Often taking two steps back before a half step forward.
Finally, the hard work paid off this evening! Now, it took some luck in the form of people doing the right things and following instructions – like no one calling to the dog or trying to grab him. Additionally, the town was a very close-knit community and it seemed that everyone in town was out looking and calling in sightings. But it was a great success!
I saw a posting on Craigslist about a sheltie that was lost in Perry Park, Colorado, which is my area. So I called to ask about the situation. “Blue” had gone missing on Wednesday, November 4, 2014, apparently jumping the fence, and there were a few sightings within a couple of days. They agreed to have me bring Bear out to trail Blue’s scent.
We started where the owners had last seen him last night before losing him in the darkness. Yesterday, Blue had let the owners come within 15 feet but no closer. The owner brought another of their dogs along.
We tracked from the last known location for over a mile. There was so much scrub oak that I had to let Bear work off-leash -- GPS collar on of course! We traveled just over a mile in just over an hour, the brush was so thick.
We identified two locations under porches that Blue appeared to have slept or rested for some time.
We finally made our way back to pavement and were starting to make some better speed when the owner got a call - a sighting 2 miles down the road! We got there as fast as we could; night was falling.
We started near the point last seen. Bear took off like a maniac. We were all on a mission. Once we scrambled over some brush and red rocks, the owner caught a glimpse of Blue up in front of us.
The owner had an idea to get her other dog howling. It seemed strange but she said that her 4 shelties would do group howls at home. She got that started, and Bear started barking along with them.
Unbelievably, Blue turned right around and headed straight towards us. It worked! See for yourself!
Happy ending!
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