Shadow's Capture

Shadow's Capture
by Laura Weitner
December 8, 2014

One of my rescue friends contacted me about a lost dog.  I was at work at the time, but told them if they didn't find the dog by the time I got off work that night, I would help look.

Shadow was one of our local shelter dogs.  A friend of mine who volunteers for the shelter had taken Shadow into her home as a foster.  The dog had been adopted out to a couple about a week before.  I was told the couple had lost the dog 2-3 days before but the dog was soon found.

On this day, the couple had taken the dog out early in the morning and the dog slipped his collar and ran away.  A few rescue friends searched for him all day.  When I got off work, they filled me in on what happened.

They had seen Shadow several times throughout the day.  He was traveling a pretty broad distance in a short amount of time and was in and out of busy traffic all day.

Shadow is a skittish dog and terrified of cars.  So, I was appalled to hear that the rescuers would drive up on him really fast, open the car door and yell his name when they would see him.  At one point they said one of the ladies jumped out of the car and chased after him.  Of course he bolted each and every time.

After hearing all this, I thought I would never get a hold of Shadow if I saw him that night.

While getting my bearings straight in the area he went missing, one of the rescuers called and told me where he had just been spotted.  I was there within 2-3 minutes.

The dog was nowhere to be found.  I kept broadening my search are and within 10 minutes I spotted him about 5 blocks away from where he was last sighted.

I drove past him and went about half a block down to park because I didn't want my truck to scare him.

I loaded myself up with treats in a crunchy sounding bag, and I had my snappy snare.  I did not have a magnet dog so I wasn't sure if I would ever get close enough to him but I was going to try.

I practiced all my calming signals and it only took a few minutes for me to get his attention.  I kept my back to him the whole time but could see that he was slowly getting closer and closer to me.

Finally, when he was right at my side, I captured him with my snappy snare.


This was my first rescue where everything was absolutely "textbook".  I used every part of my training with this rescue and it worked with no problems at all!  I honestly was so proud of myself for it.

Shadow was captured about 1 to 1 1/2 miles from his home about 13 hours after he went missing.  I was able to find and capture him within 45 minutes of starting my search.

Shadow is finally safe and secure!

Puppy Love, Chihuahua

Puppy Love's Capture
by Laura Weitner
November 24, 2014

It was late one Friday night when I was wasting time playing around on Facebook.  A friend tagged me in a post in a panic about her brother's dog that went missing earlier that day.

The dog, Puppy Love, is a 10 year old blind chihuahua with diabetes.  The dog had already missed 2 insulin shots so they were extremely worried.

I almost didn't do it because I was sick and it was freezing outside but I couldn't get it out of my head so I jumped in my truck and headed out.  A friend even phoned me and said 'Laura, you don't have to go look for every missing dog.  It isn't always your responsibility."

My response was, "If I don't do it, I know no one else will."  We do not have a community that really cares about finding missing pets, other than just asking someone else to do it or just simply sharing on Facebook.

I am so glad I went!  This honestly was my easiest find yet.

I knew the dog probably had not traveled far, but was worried that she was just hiding out somewhere and I wouldn't be able to see her in the dark.

I wanted to drive the neighborhood just to get my bearings when all of a sudden, a little dog ran across the road in front of me.  This was so easy I almost didn't believe what I was seeing.  She was a block from her home.

Puppy Love was in quite a panic, running aimlessly.  I could tell she was able to see just a bit because when I was behind her, she kept looking back and tried to run faster from me.  I think she could see the lights from my truck and maybe my shadow if anything.

Calming signals were not working at all with this mostly blind dog who was in an absolute state of panic.  So, I dismissed everything I was trained to do and just ran after her.  This was an old dog so I could easily outrun her.

I ran up to her and tried to scoop her up but she started snapping. So I got my snappy snare and secured her that way.  After allowing her to scream bloody murder for a couple of minutes, she finally calmed down.

I was able to pick her up with my jacket protecting me from getting bit.  Once she was in my arms, she was just precious, no fear biting at all.

I immediately reunited her with her family who was so relieved.  It was a good night! Afterwards, the family wrote me this letter which I felt was so nice:

November 9, 2014 I write this letter concerning a true friend to animals. On Friday evening, the 7th of this month, unbeknown to us, my 10 year old, blind and diabetic Chihuahua decided to follow our dalmatian mix on an excursion through the neighborhood. Usually our river lot is large enough to satisfy their adventure needs, but this day it proved insufficient. To make a long story short, Puppy Love (our Chihuahua) did not return with our dalmatian. My wife, son, and I began searching our little township of Chesapeake, OH right away. After about four hours of looking, we came up empty handed. My sister and brother had notified all of their Facebook friends of the situation and asked them to help in any way they could since Puppy Love was blind and had well passed her time for insulin injection and feeding. The happy ending came later that night when my sister’s good friend (our good and dear friend now), Laura Weitner, called me that she had found our Puppy Love and was bringing her to our home. Thanks to Laura, our Puppy Love did not spend the night in the frigid cold, but rather was fed, given her medicine and slept in a nice warm bed with her mommy and daddy! We are truly thankful for you, Laura, and we consider you and angel to animals in need. We have an entire house full of rescue animals which we love and take care of to the best of our ability. It is both a pleasure and a blessing to meet others who have a genuine heart for animals in distress. Thank you so very much! Dean and Family

Dharma, saluki

The Story of Dharma
by Cathy Scott
November 18, 2014

I was heading home one night after a pet sit visit and I missed my usual turn into my street. I went to the next light by our hospital and in front of me runs a gorgeous Saluki.

Dharma and her owner in the hotel room, where they were staying

I followed her. She was limping and I could see blood from her mouth. I knew it would be hard to get her but I had to try. She was doomed if I didn't. Other good Samaritans saw me and joined in to help.

We were able to get her to run into a storage facility that fortunately dead ended. We got her to a small end of the facility and another person there helped me block her so that I could get a leash on her.

Once we did, she gratefully gave up. I gently picked her up and put her in my van.

She walked right in the crate with no hesitation.

I then immediately said "someone is missing this dog".

I went to the nearest vet and had her scanned and to my surprise she had no chip. But she had clearly been recently groomed and was in very good shape, other than some injuries from being on the run.

I went home and immediately put her picture on Facebook.

One of my friends found a Craigslist ad that looked very much like her, and I called the number.

I waited a couple of hours and the woman on the phone immediately identified her right down to a small scar on her back leg. I knew I had found her owner.

They had been putting up endless amounts of flyers for her, but she had run so far away from where she was lost, I never saw them. Unbeknownst to me at the time, the dog had been on the run in the streets of San Jose for 36 hours. It's truly amazing she survived.

Tragically they had been in a motor vehicle accident and the tow truck driver had let this gorgeous dog out of the car, even though the owner had them gated in the back seat. They had just come from the local dog show. This dog I found was and is an amazing show champion.

The other amazing thing is that the owner and I had mutual friends. Right at the moment I found her, other friends of mine were getting the word that Dharma was lost. With the power of social media I was able to find the owner.

The picture is of the owner and the dog laying on the bed in the hotel room where they were staying.

Needless to say she now has a microchip.

The owner and I have remained life long friends. We connect when we can and I'm planning a visit to her home to visit the dogs this coming year. I'm so grateful it was a happy ending.

Jack, yellow lab

Volunteers find dog who disappeared following crash
By Erin Andersen / Lincoln Journal Star1
November 10, 2014

Jack is back.

It’s welcome news for an Elmwood family injured in a traffic accident early Saturday near Bennet.

Jack

Jack, a 5-year-old yellow Labrador, was in the family’s Chevy Suburban en route to a day of duck hunting, when a pickup driven by Christopher Swift, 22, of Cheney, crossed the Nebraska 43 center line and collided with the Suburban, sending it rolling into the ditch, said Lancaster County Chief Deputy Jeff Bliemeister.

Rick Hauschild, 47, his son Lane Hauschild, 19, and nephew Kyle Hauschild, 30, were thrown from the Suburban, as was Jack, according to Kathy Eidson Hauschild, wife of Rick and mother of Lane.

Jack lay in the ditch by his family until the ambulance arrived. It is theorized the sirens spooked the dog, who took off across the fields.

Rick Hauschild was taken by helicopter to Bryan West Campus, where he was placed in a medically induced coma. On Monday afternoon, he was in serious condition with two collapsed lungs and crushed vertebra, but was conscious and alert, said family friend Tom Keller of Malcolm.

Lane Hauschild was listed in good condition, with two broken hips. Kyle Hauschild was treated and released, as was Swift, Bliemeister said.

The accident, which occurred around 5 a.m., remains under investigation by the Lancaster County Sheriff’s Department. Alcohol is suspected as a factor, Bliemeister said.

When no one spotted Jack after the crash, Keller made a plea for help on Facebook. That's when Sam Franklin, founder of Lost Pets of Lancaster County, summoned a cadre of volunteers to search the fields near Bennet and pepper the community with "lost dog" fliers.

Their first lead came at 9 p.m. Sunday, when a woman reported seeing a black Lab and a yellow Lab running near 140th Street and Wittstruck Road.

Because of the second dog, searchers were not convinced Jack was one of the spotted dogs. Then they learned of Chewy, a black Lab/German shepherd mix from Bennet, who had run off sometime Sunday morning.

Although Chewy likes to wander the countryside, she never misses a meal, said owner Vicki Hillman. So when Chewy didn’t turn up for dinner, Hillman grew worried, and posted her own missing dog flier.

That’s when searchers put two-and-two together -- especially when they discovered that 2-year-old Chewy was in heat, and Jack was an intact male. Odds were the two dogs had not only found one another, but were sticking close by each other.

Monday afternoon, volunteers had just resumed the search when they were called back in.

Wayward Chewy was spotted heading home, with her golden suitor close behind.

The exhausted pooches snoozed as volunteers showered them with treats and attention.

Lori Koss immediately sent a photo to Kathy Hauschild at the hospital, who showed it to her healing husband.

“He had a big ol’ smile on his face,” Keller said.

For Franklin and Koss, Monday’s success brings the number of pet/owner reunifications to nearly 600 since Lost Pets of Lancaster County started on Jan. 1.

“This is just an awesome ending,” Koss said. “This is what we do this for.”

And Hillman has her own plug -- “if anybody wants puppies in a couple of months” she knows a canine couple who are no doubt expecting.

Source: http://journalstar.com/news/local/volunteers-find-dog-who-disappeared-following-crash/article_f8cbc3c3-c3d7-55fa-a1ff-6a2b807bf8cd.html