"Gracie", Shih Tzu, San Francisco - Found

(This is not a photo of Gracie, but she looks a lot like this dog.)

This is an additional letter sent from Gracie's mom:

"My experience with Jackie and Dino were extremely positive and I would highly recommend her services!  I admit, I was a little skeptical in the beginning, but after hiring her, I wouldn't hesitate to contact her should I need her again!

When my dog escaped 2 yrs ago, Jackie helped me find her.  Dino sniffed out Gracie's scent, and traced the path she took before leading us to the location where we found her.  Unfortunately, it was not a happy outcome as our beloved pet had been hit by a car.  A gardner who worked in the area found her, and buried her.  Dino led us to the exact location.  I am extremely grateful to both Jackie and Dino b/c they helped me bring my beloved pet home.

I think were lucky b/c of the following:
-we hired Jackie almost immediately after Gracie went missing
-we live in San Francisco near Golden Gate park, so Gracie's scent 'clings' to the the damp vegetation making it easy for Dino to track her scent

I would not hesitate to use Jackie's services again - she's friendly, professional, and knowledgeable.

Morinne

San Francisco"

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This is a follow up letter from Gracie's person after the search:

Jackie,

I apologize for not getting back to you sooner. As you can imagine, it's been several rough days for me. My beloved baby was not only taken from me, but she was taken in a violent way. I think back to that day and constantly wonder about what ifs. She was a young happy little dog and had years ahead of her. I miss her terribly and wish that I could go back and change that day.


What you've help me do is trace the last hour or so of her life. This is a path that I'd like to walk one day when I'm ready and think about all the good memories I have of Gracie. You, Dino, and Dot led me back to my baby and helped me retrieve her body. We've requested a private cremation, and patiently wait her return home. Thank you so much for everything you have done. I would have liked to personally thank you that day, however given the circumstances that afternoon, I was unable to.


Should anyone ever be in a situation like mine, I would highly recommend you to them. Please let me know if there is anything I can do, or if there is something I can post on your behalf to let people know that there is hope when searching for a furry friend.


Cheers,
Morinne

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(Details of the search)
Gracie is a two year old, spayed salt and pepper Shih Tzu. She is microchipped, but is not wearing a collar or ID tag. There is construction going on at her home and she got scared by all the noise and bolted out the front door. The construction workers were able to follow her around some blocks, down to Golden Gate Park and then she went back home. She made it to the front door, but, since it wasn't open, she took off again and ran down the street toward GGP and that was the last time she was seen. She had been missing for two days when I was called. I came out the next morning.

We found a track that went down a street from her house and then went all the way to Sunset Blvd. There is made a right turn and went right to GGP. The track went through GGP, past Polo Field, horse stables, around a duck pond and then continued on MLK drive. Along the way we are talking to every maintenance person we see to see if anybody saw her walking along.

Along the way, we find an older gentleman with a plastic bucket off in some of the landscaping. Gracie's person approaches him and I continue along the track. After about a minute I turned around, but I did not see her with me. I stopped and waited for her to catch up. About another minute later I see her and the older gentleman walking toward me and she is in full tears. As she approaches she blurts out that this gentleman found Gracie dead in the road a couple of days ago and buried her. I asked him to show us the spot and he agreed. In the meantime, I called the boyfriend and told him what we knew and asked him to meet us at that intersection.

This intersection was about one block ahead of us. The boyfriend met us there and the gardener showed us where he buried Gracie. Her two people went back to their home and dropped the girlfriend off and then the boyfriend came back with a large blanket. In the meantime, with the help of the gardener, we unearthed Gracie's body from the flower bed and placed her in the blanket. He confirmed that the body was Gracie's. He drove her to their vet and met me back at my vehicle a few blocks away.

I make sure that the gardener knew that next time he finds the body of a domestic animal that he surrender the body to animal control. He said he was sorry and would do that next time.