How do you find a needle in a massive haystack...POSTERS!!!
Little Lexi missing since Sunday morning from Harriman state park in Sloatsburg, NY is safely trapped after six days on the run!!!
Lexi went missing Sunday morning on the red trail, off Reeves Meadow in Harriman State Park, when she excitedly ran after a group of joggers and their dog to play. Her owners, Tali and Todd were frantic and spent the next two days and nights searching for Lexi, hiking the trails for miles and miles and miles in the rain, sleet and snow.
Tues I was contacted and immediately jumped in to action, setting up feeding stations and going over mapping. Generally dogs who go missing from hiking situations will return to the point where they entered, either trail head or parking lot. I focused our feeding station at the trail head where she entered and by the trail point where she ran off but all that showed up were fox and countless large coyote. Tali and Todd who live in NYC, spent the night at my home and we spent the evening going over the aerial mapping of the vast trails, pipelines and topography of Harriman and plotting out all points where she may exit the park. Where does one begin in such a massive area, three days in to the dog being missing with no sightings to speak of.
I made up a poster and Tali and Todd spent all Wednesday in to the night and Thursday postering the areas we went over on the mapping. We immediately received a sighting, Monday night she was spotted off Seven Lakes Rd more than a mile from Reeves Meadow. Finally, we received the sighting we needed to move forward towards trapping. A man and his grandson were driving down Seven Lakes Rd and saw a small dog possibly a fox on the bridge before Reeves Meadow, the animal darted across the street and under the guard rail in to the woods. Thinking fast on his feet the man took a video of the animal, he then told his sister who saw a poster on her street for Lexi, she said I think that's the missing dog from the posters!!! Joe immediately contacted us and met with us to show us the video...it was Lexi!!! As I had thought she was returning to the area where they had parked and entered the park. I immediately set up a trap but Lexi was a no show New Years Eve. We did not get discouraged, we stuck to our plan and set up two traps this time, one on either side of the bridge in the woods right before Reeves Meadow. Lexi showed up on schedule at around 6:39 at one trap and of course a cat showed up at the other. Within minutes the cat was trapped and we watched Lexi on camera, all the the while holding our breath that she would not hear the cat in the other trap across the street. Lexi circled the trap for thirty six minutes before going in. I made the call to Tali and Todd that we had her!! Absolute tears of joy and exhaustion flowed! Welcome Home Lexi and what a great way to begin the New Year!!
