NMHP Forum -
Scared dog sick and on the run--what are her chances?

Question from Melinda:
Back in November '04, I was part of group of individuals who rescued some puppies from under an abandoned house. We were able to rescue all of the pups and get them to good homes. But the mom proved far less trusting of people.

I spent 6 months going by every day feeding and talking and just spending time sitting there with her watching me and all but she never would come to me.

When I finally decided to live-trap her, she went in the trap in just 3 days. And when I took her to vet and got her out of the trap, she was the most absolutely lovable dog ever. This was on April 28, 2005 and when I took her to the vet she was determined to have heartworms. We started her on treatment.

She was at my house until I went out of town on May 8. My husband was still home feeding her, playing with her, etc. while I was gone but she managed to escape from a 6 ft wooden fence on May 13. He had only left her out of her pen for a couple of hours and she had another dog she had already bonded to, with whom she would play.

I do have about 160 acres of wooded area behind my house. I have been putting food in the woods and for the first few days: nothing. I have been going back daily and feeding at the place where I trapped her. I have walked in the woods between here & there several times. I put ads in the paper, flyers up, and notified shelters, animal control, vets & rescues as well.

What else can I do? What are the odds of her returning to me or to the other place (which is about 9 miles from my house)? How far can a heartworm positive 30-35 pound dog travel in a day, and what are the odds of her holding up against the coyotes I know we have native to our area? I feel she is a pretty smart dog just maybe not very strong.

Response from Kat Albrecht:

First off, the key to getting this dog back will be your willingness to NOT give up hope! You have a decent chance of getting this dog back because of her xenophobic (fearful) temperament. Because she is so afraid of people, she is not going to let anyone approach her. This will dramatically reduce the chances that someone is going to find her and want to keep her - or that you have to worry about any of the rescuer mis-behaviors that I mentioned before, where
someone will assume she was "abused" because she cowers in fear.

However, she IS at risk of being hit by a car or killed by a predator, although since she is a larger dog the risk is lowered that she would fall victim to a coyote. It would likely take a whole pack of them to take her out, but that is possible. But while falling victim to predators is a possibility, it is not as probable as you are fearing (with cats, its an entirely different story!). So I would encourage you to NOT worry about the coyotes and begin to have faith and hope that you will get this girl back home!

Your key to getting her back will be to advertise as much, as loudly, and as far as you need to in order to motivate someone to call you that they have seen her. You will want to create giant, obnoxiously flourescent orange poster board signs to advertise this information on major streets within a five mile radius of your place. At the top of poster board you will write REWARD and at the very bottom you will write LOST DOG. Then on the 8 ½ X 11 piece of paper, in a size 90 (or so) font (at both the top and bottom) you will indicate the briefest description - i.e. BLACK (at top) LABRADOR (at bottom). People driving even at speeds of just 35 MPH will NOT read a lost dog poster - most won't even NOTICE it! But when you use these poster boards, the color and size attracts the eye and almost demands that you read it! And every set of eyes who pass by this ugly poster
will instantly know that there is a reward for a lost black Labrador. Thus if they see the dog or know who already found a dog like that, they will pull over to read your phone number. This is one of the most effective means that we have had in recovering lost dogs - because unlike cats, you really need to learn from OTHER PEOPLE where your missing dog is hanging around right now.

Will she work her way back to that other house where she had the puppies? It is possible, but I doubt it. There are cases of these amazing stories of dogs working their way back to a former home, but it usually where the dog has followed their owner's scent and is motivated to get back there. But to be on the safe side, post one of the above poster boards near that home so that if she is spotted in the area, neighbors will know where to get your phone number.

Realistically, she could be anywhere - but it will be up to you to generate a lead in order for you to capture her. What you need is to get a confirmed sighting of her - that will help narrow the search radius and enable you to focus your search efforts. And once you have a solid lead, then your tactics would be baited dog trap and using the dog she bonded with and a snappy snare to capture her. Take that other dog that she bonded with you EVERY TIME YOU GO OUT TO LOOK for this lost dog so that in the event that you see her, you will have a
shot of being able to reel her in. And if you do find her, remain calm - yawn, and don't make direct eye contact and don't make a direct approach. You might even sit down and play with your other dog in order to calm and draw her in.

How far can a 35-pound dog travel in one day? Good question. This is an area of study that Missing Pet Partnership hopes to obtain grant money and partner with a university to study - the rates of travel and typical distances that lost dogs travel. I can tell you that dogs with wiggly, friendly, gregarious temperaments are found much closer to home because they will readily go up to the first person who talks to them. But when you have a xenophobic dog - one that will RUN from people who talks to it - then you have a bigger chance that this dog will travel farther. Dogs can travel 18 to 20 miles per day - but I
once tracked a Greyhound that was lost for four days, a dog capable of traveling speeds of 35 miles per HOUR, and this dog was found just 3 blocks from home. The rate of travel and how lost dogs behave depend on six different factors: the temperament of the dog (gregarious vs. xenophobic), the circumstances surrounding the disappearance (escaped to explore vs. bolted due to fireworks), the weather (mild vs. severe snow), the terrain (city streets vs. rural woods), appearance (purebred Irish Wolfhound or rare breed that would cause people to pull over to intervene vs. mixed generic mutt), and the population density (a dog lost in Manhattan vs. a dog lost at the outskirts of Elko, Nevada). But without a detailed scientific study into previous cases of lost-then-found dogs and an analysis of those statistics, I can't predict or even venture to guess how far your search radius could be.

Physically, this dog that you lost is still out there - she was not abducted by aliens, although it likely feels like she vanished from Earth. Even though you've already plastered flyers everywhere, give this method of giant florescent poster boards a shot and see if they develop any leads. You can see a picture of what these look like at http://www.lostapet.org/create_sign.shtml. Also, be sure you are posting your cell phone number as the contact number they should call if they see her. We have seen many cases where cell phone to cell phone contact between the rescuer and the dog owner resulted in the dog being recovered right away as the sighting was occurring. Of if you have already posted your home number and you have an answering machine, change your message to say, "If you are calling because you have seen our lost dog, please leave a message but also immediately call our cell phone number at 555-1234."

Finally, you will be pressured by friends, co-workers, neighbors, and maybe even your family members to "just let go." They will tire of seeing you grieve and they will encourage you, even pressure you, to STOP your search efforts. This is a form of grief avoidance on their part - they just don't want to be surrounded by your grief and fear and desperation. Do not hold this against them - forgive those who don't share the bond that you have, and will always have, with this dog. You will know if and when it is time to stop, or to scale
back in your search. Until that time, lean into the friends and people who are supporting you through this difficult time. I will be praying for successful recovery. You did it before - it will be much more difficult this time, but you DO have a chance of being able to do it again.

Posted on SHARE Yahoo group June 8, 2005