BREAKING NEWS... After at least TEN MONTHS on the run in Campbell Hall, NY "Lover Boy" has been safely captured!
The Casanova of Campbell Hall who I’ve fittingly named “Lover Boy”, travelled for miles via the rail road tracks, always showing up on properties directly along the tracks that had female dogs for at least ten months since last July. His barking and cries were not aggression, they were a plea for help, he was scared and alone and so desperately wanted love and companionship. He would patiently wait for the dogs to come out to play with him and when they did he would run around romping and playing then disappear and hide again. I even watched him find toys in a yard and toss them in the air and play all by himself, it was heartbreaking.
He had many food sources along the way and because of the plentiful supply of food, he was not food motivated, making capture difficult. Eliminating the other food sources was paramount in order to successfully proceed with capture, I am so often met with resistance trying to get people to understand this concept. He was also trap savvy and it took six days before he would even step one foot in to the enclosure.
Just as soon as I was making progress and was close to capture, he was gone again and on to his next lady love, this time a mile and half straight shot up the tracks. He had been hanging out there for four days pining over their female King Charles Cavalier who was in heat. Time was of the essence as the animal control officer told the property owner that he was very aggressive and she was coordinating with the state police to have him shot, you heard that right folks… shot!!! Maybe it was breed discrimination, would it have been handled differently if it was say a golden retriever? Who knows, but he showed zero signs of aggression. It's always shocking to see people who are put in a position to oversee the welfare of animals resort to such unnecessary, horrific means.
Once his new location was found, the enclosure was immediately moved to the property and within two days he was safely captured. Although frozen in fear once caught, he was sweet as pie and allowed us to pet him and pull ticks off him, he was covered head to toe. With each stroke and rub you could see the relief within his eyes and he could barely stay awake. We got him loaded in to my car and on his way to my good friends Steve and Dany at Grateful Doggies Rescue Retreat. There he will be scanned for microchip, fully vetted with much needed medical and most importantly the love and companionship that he so desperately yearned for. We already have an adopter in place once his seven day hold is up and he is physically and mentally ready to move forward on to his next journey in life, which will be a loving home of his own.
