The work we do as lost pet recovery VOLUNTEERS is often diminished and reduced to thinking that we simply only set traps.
Ellie went missing back in early September when her family had moved to a new home out of state. The move was incredibly stressful for her and she was not settling in to her new environment. Change can be very traumatic for animals. BDRR began working with the family about three months after her escape. When we took on this case sightings had dwindled and the owners feared she did not survive. I see so often people posting on social media that you have to wait until there is a sighting to contact us, this is simply not true. Of course in order to get to the point where we set traps you need sightings but there is a lot of work and guidance that takes place long before traps are set. Sure sometimes there are easy cases where traps can be placed immediately and bing, bang, boom the dog can be captured but for cases such as Ellie’s it is far more involved.
Each lost/ missing dog case that we take on is evaluated based on the dog’s breed, history, environment and many other factors and all has to be taken into consideration in how we move forward with a case. There is no… do A, B or C and you’ll get your dog back. Each case is different and each dog is different. What I may recommend or do for one case, I may not for another. What may work for one dog may not for the next. Much of what we do while working a case is strictly kept off of social media for good reason. Social media can be a blessing a curse for lost dogs. It is a tool that can be used to get sightings and bring awareness but it can also be a hinderance to lost dog cases and extremely overwhelming to a lost pet owner. Everyone has opinions on social media, such as; the owners aren’t doing enough or the dog isn’t being captured fast enough to their liking or demanding the owner call this group or call that group or person, which confuses the owners and brings too many cooks to the kitchen. If every thing that is being done isn’t being posted people think nothing is being done. It essentially becomes a form of harassment and bullying and that is what happened with Ellie’s case. Due to the onslaught of online scrutiny and unsolicited demands we advised the owner to remove their posts all together. It was the best thing that could have happened for Ellie’s case.
We went to work mapping all her sightings. For me, old sightings are just as important as new sightings and should never be discounted. I went to the beginning of her case when we were not involved and started from scratch. Even though she had travelled quite far I felt I needed to back track. The area she went missing from was quite rural and there were many farms and out buildings. Many of the properties were seasonal and uninhabited, I felt this was a perfect area for Ellie to find a quiet place. Posters were placed at these residents and after a few weeks we hit pay dirt!!! Someone renting one of the homes for a weekend saw the poster and contacted us. There was a dilapidated barn set way back on the property and the renter thought she saw a larger dog size animal run out from it when they arrived. I made the drive out and when I got to the barn there was old hay pile that looked as though something had been bedding down. We got permission to set up cameras in the barn as well as on nearby properties.
Almost a week went by and the vacationers had left, no sign of any animal in the barn. Then one night my camera started blowing up… IT WAS ELLIE!!!! Once the people had left an it was once again quiet she had made her way back to the old barn and the pile of hay that I had found. She was bedding down and trying to stay warm. A trap was set but she was not going into it so we switched gears and set up the enclosure. After weeks of conditioning her to step over a threshold she was finally going in comfortably. I am so happy to say that after more than five months on the run…Ellie has been safely captured and home with her family.
Never lose hope, never give up! Last nights capture of Ellie is pure a testament of survival, perseverance and never giving up for both her and her rescuers and her capture goes far beyond just setting up a trap.
Welcome Home Ellie!!!
