Radar, an Australian Shepherd mix

Radar escaped his foster home not long after arriving, and he was on the lam for 8 weeks. For my part, I found out about him as soon as he was lost since I volunteer with local people to find lost dogs. But I was focused on something else and couldn’t jump in to join the search. I kept tabs on the blog, though, and the first seven and a half weeks were difficult. To me it looked like a lot of starting and stopping, and a generally floundering effort. Leads would come in and people would go out, fliering and setting up feeding stations. But then there would be a lull. Nothing exciting seemed to be happening. Eventually the effort seemed to be revived, and a Facebook group was formed to help. But even after that, it looked like it was fizzling again.

Then one day there was apparently some kind of mudslinging going on between two or three rescue organizations – on Craigslist of all places. One of the Radar volunteers was, I guess, entertained enough that she was reading all of the Craigslist postings in the Pets section. And she found one that read as follows:

Can I borrow a trap for a day? (Springfield) There is a mini golden retriever (may be something else) small dog in the woods behind our townhouse complex. I've been feeding him, but can't get close to him/her. My neighbor has tried too. Can I borrow a trap for a 25 pound dog size? Thanks!

Although the volunteer didn’t know it, Springfield is the next town over from Burke, where Radar had been lost nearly eight weeks earlier. Radar isn’t a mini golden retriever, but he definitely looks like one. So the volunteer contacted the Craigslist poster, and put the wheels in motion.

Volunteers were mobilized. A trap was delivered to the poster’s site, and set up as a feeding station, not rigged as a trap. A camera was delivered to the site, and set up. But the card reader was faulty, so a call for a new card reader was put out, and another volunteer had one on hand. That volunteer couldn’t deliver it, but another volunteer picked it up and delivered the card reader. It was an interesting team effort to have the trap and camera set to go by the next evening, with the idea being initially to condition Radar to go into it before then setting the trap to spring.

Imagine the excitement of the volunteers when the woman in Springfield sent around photos taken from the camera by the very next morning! This dog was definitely Radar! She sent more pictures that afternoon and the next morning. The plan to have a couple of volunteers meet at her house at 6pm was finalized.

The volunteers arrived right at 6pm, and were out of there by 6:15 with the trap set. Just before 8pm, a neighbor spotted Radar in the trap, and it was all over. The volunteers were notified, and several of them went out to spring him, and get him to his temporary foster home.

From the discovery of the Craigslist posting to the snapping of the trap, the Radar recovery was textbook. It was great to be a part of it.

See Radar's blog at: http://findradar.blogspot.com/