"Dory", Chihuahua, San Francisco - Found!

(I got a voicemail about four days after our search that Dory had been found. She was inside a house within a couple of blocks of her home.)

Dory is a five pound black and tan Chihuahua. She was not wearing a collar and is not microchipped. She escaped by accident when the garage door got left open.

I had a lot of problems with the friend who said she was trying to help Dory's person find her. This woman was extremely confrontational from the start and repeatedly asked me why I was doing certain things even though I answered all her questions with total professionalism and patience.

She refused to wear the safety vest, so I told her she was unable to accompany us on the search, which clearly angered her. She said she would wait at the front steps in case Dory came home.

While on the track near the small park near Dory's home, I was finding kibble scattered all over the sidewalk leading up and down and around the street near the park. I asked Dory's person what this was and she said it looked like the kibble that was in the dog food bowl they were setting out for Dory since she had been sighted in the area the previous afternoon. She asked her friend if the kibble had been put out by her and she admitted to do that. I said she should have waited until after we finished the track since it was clearly distracting me dogs from following Dory's scent in the area. She said that if my dog's were good enough, that they should be able to work through it. I asked her if she had ever trained a tracking dog before and she said "no." I said she was impeding Dory from returning home since we couldn't track this area. I told Dory's person that I would be able to check other areas for Dory's scent, but that with all this kibble on the ground, I was unable to guarantee my dog's tracking in this area. At this point Dory's person stopped the track, and said she would only pay for my mileage even though she agreed to the three hour minimum. I repeated to her that she owed me the three hour minimum.

As of July 22, I have not received any payment, though Dory's person had promised to send it. On one of their phone calls, Dory's person said that Dory had been found two days prior to the phone call living with a neighbor down the street. Another neighbor saw Dory with this person and told Dory's person about it.

My interaction with Dory's person has been the reason why I can't accept payments for doing a track. This is actually the second person I agreed to accept payments, and that person never paid me either.

Note: I did eventually receive full payment from Dory's person after repeated calls and threats on my part.

(entered into lost pet questionnaire 4/7/11)