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Thursday, December 16, 2010

"Benny", Chihuahua mix, Black with white, Salinas

Benny is a nine pound black with white Chihuahua mix. He has long legs, unlike a lot of short legged Chi mixed we saw running loose in Salinas. He is not wearing a collar and does not have a microchip. He was let out into his fenced yard early Monday morning, but managed to push aside several blocks that prevent him from crawling under the large rolling gate. There were no sightings of him. I was called out about one week after he went missing. 


I forgot to start the mapping/tracking software for about one half hour after we started. 


The track we found led away from his home and all the way to a 101 North highway entrance. Here the track was kind of erratic as it went onto the entrance, then backed away, then turned left and then right back over the entrance and continued up the road and away. It appears Benny was by himself at this point.


The track continued all the way to the other side of Salinas, through a massive lettuce farm and all the way out to Old Stage Road, which, as it turns out, isn't to Old Stage. We discovered it was a very busy commuter road. However, there was very little shoulder along the way. We went as far as possible until it got dark at 5 PM and got too unsafe to walk on the road.


They asked me to come back the next day. 


There were definite overlapping signs that Benny may either still be by himself or with someone. The signs are very similar. 


Day One:



View Benny in a larger map


Total Distance: 16.97 km (10.5 mi)
Total Time: 2:38:02
Moving Time: 2:12:13
Average Pace: 9.31 min/km (15.0 min/mi)
Average Moving Pace: 7.79 min/km (12.5 min/mi)
Min Pace: 0.78 min/km (1.3 min/mi)
Min Elevation: -25 m (-83 ft)
Max Elevation: 35 m (114 ft)
Elevation Gain: 385 m (1264 ft)
Max Grade: 5 %
Min Grade: -1 %
Recorded: Mon Dec 13 14:22:45 PST 201





Day #2:


We continued along the track the next day. 


The roads were very similar to the previous day. Farms and fields for miles and miles in every direction, but we were still in Salinas. I had no idea how massive and spread out Salinas was. 


Once we got off of the main farms road and went directly into the shopping center via foot paths and not driveways, and straight toward a recycling center, I was convinced that Benny had been picked up and was with somebody. I told this to Benny's people. I said I was not sure where the pick up had occurred, but it could have been anywhere along the road or fields that day or the previous.


After we left the shopping center, we were along roads that led directly to remote neighborhoods and trash cans were all along the sides of the roads. Since the search we were currently on was Tuesday, and they would have been passing in that same area about last Tuesday.


The track led all the way down to Highway One, where it crossed over the freeway and up a steep road to an area that was all fields and farms for miles without a human in sight. Honestly, that place was very spooky and eeriey. There was trash tucked on the edges of the weeds and bushes and the area had a lot of activity by people just sitting around. Benny's scent was all over the place. It took me and Dot about three rounds of checking all the ways out until we found the most current scent, which led back down the same road. This tells me they spent several hours in this one spot, probably in the middle of the night where they couldn't be detected. However, that is a one way road for vehicles. So that confirmed that we were not following somebody in a vehicle. 


After making a u turn on One and got back to that road, we picked up the track again and it continued back up the previous road down. Here Benny's person stopped the search. She was frustrated that she didn't feel we would catch up to these people, especially since we were a week behind. She said they would keep looking for Benny. 






View Benny 2 in a larger map


Total Distance: 23.33 km (14.5 mi)
Total Time: 3:52:31
Moving Time: 2:45:11
Average Pace: 9.97 min/km (16.0 min/mi)
Average Moving Pace: 7.08 min/km (11.4 min/mi)
Min Pace: 0.67 min/km (1.1 min/mi)
Min Elevation: -30 m (-98 ft)
Max Elevation: 28 m (91 ft)
Elevation Gain: 575 m (1888 ft)
Max Grade: 10 %
Min Grade: -7 %
Recorded: Tue Dec 14 08:48:48 PST 2010




Saturday, December 11, 2010

"Jasmine", Australian Shepherd/Cattle Dog mix, Grey/Black/White, San Lorenzo - Found

Jasmine is a grey, black and white six year old Aussie/Cattle dog mix. She is wearing a purple collar with ID tags and is microchipped. Jasmine was staying with some friends while her person was in the process of buying a house and moving.

Early on Sunday morning, while her caretakers were out shopping, Jasmine opened a window to the apartment and jumped out. The weather was raining and overcast and windy. Within a half hour, Jasmine was seen at a local Target parking lot running around. A neighbor recognized her and attempted to catch her, but could not. That was the last sighting of her. I was called several days later on the following Friday.

We did find the track leading away from the Target parking lot, which had an In and Out Burger at its far corner, near the 880 overpass. From here the track lead for several miles along Lewelling Blvd all the way to the trail that leads along the bay. The track went all the way to the Marina Park, through Oyster Bay Park, along the airport and into Oakland and onto Hegenburger.

It was here that we stopped to rest for a few minutes, regroup, and get something to eat and drink. Jasmine's person had a message on her cell phone from the Hayward Animal Shelter about Jasmine. She was super excited that Jasmine was found. She went behind the mini -mart to get away from all the street noise. When she came back to me she was crying and said that Jasmine had been found that day deceased in Hayward by animal control. She didn't know the location or any further details.

We know that sometime on Sunday (probably around the time she was last seen by the neighbor in the parking lot) Jasmine was picked up by a transient/nomad type of person (probably somebody sitting at the In and Out Burger resting) and within a few short hours was probably in Oakland that day. The track was clearly human we were on and it was very direct to get out of the area as quickly as possible, especially since Jasmine had her ID tags and this person knew that somebody would be looking for her soon. Also, in the past, when Jasmine had gotten out, she was found running around within a few blocks and it took her up to several hours to do that, so this track was clearly not a dog wandering around loose by themselves.

The rest of the week was probably going around Oakland, San Leandro, San Lorenzo and into Hayward, where she was found.






View Jasmine in a larger map

Total Distance: 21.08 km (13.1 mi)
Total Time: 5:36:11
Moving Time: 4:45:25
Average Pace: 15.94 min/km (25.7 min/mi)
Average Moving Pace: 13.54 min/km (21.8 min/mi)
Min Pace: 1.39 min/km (2.2 min/mi)
Min Elevation: -42 m (-137 ft)
Max Elevation: -11 m (-36 ft)
Elevation Gain: 269 m (881 ft)
Max Grade: 12 %
Min Grade: -13 %
Recorded: Fri Dec 10 10:13:00 PST 2010

Thursday, December 9, 2010

"Hakuna, Shib Inu, Red/white, San Leandro

Hakuna is a 14 month old male, red and white Shib Inu. He is microchipped, but does not have his collar on. Hakuna's person was in the garage looking at some things with the door open, and Hakuna slipped out. They did attempt to catch up to him, but they were not able to follow him and lost sight of  him in a couple of blocks. He was missing for a week before I was called. Per his person, Hakuna is very shy and reserved toward strangers, yet he is curious and friendly with other dogs.

The track we found was that Hakuna went directly to the Marina Park, a regular spot where he is taken to by his people. After that the track went straight down Marina and then turned right down Merced. From there the track went for several miles in one direction, and then turned into another neighborhood in San Lorenzo. Soon after this, Hakuna's person stopped the search after four hours.

Track #1:


View Hokua 1.1 in a larger map

Total Distance: 692.42 km (430.3 mi)
Total Time: 2:06:50
Moving Time: 1:44:56
Average Pace: 0.18 min/km (0.3 min/mi)
Average Moving Pace: 0.15 min/km (0.2 min/mi)
Min Pace: 0.24 min/km (0.4 min/mi)
Min Elevation: -57 m (-186 ft)
Max Elevation: 6830 m (22409 ft)
Elevation Gain: 7591 m (24905 ft)
Max Grade: 27 %
Min Grade: -111 %
Recorded: Wed Dec 08 08:46:54 PST 2010


Track #2:



View Hokua 1.2 in a larger map



Total Distance: 6.17 km (3.8 mi)
Total Time: 1:01:05
Moving Time: 48:46
Average Pace: 9.90 min/km (15.9 min/mi)
Average Moving Pace: 7.90 min/km (12.7 min/mi)
Min Pace: 5.90 min/km (9.5 min/mi)
Min Elevation: -38 m (-126 ft)
Max Elevation: -2 m (-8 ft)
Elevation Gain: 225 m (739 ft)
Max Grade: 1 %
Min Grade: 0 %
Recorded: Wed Dec 08 11:07:47 PST 2010

Wednesday, December 1, 2010

"Roxy", Terrier Mix, White/Tan, Carmel


Roxy is an adult terrier mix who is wearing a collar with ID tags, a body harness and is microchipped. Her family was visiting relatives in the Carmel area, and they took her to a groomer for a bath. While at the groomer, Roxy escaped through the front door. She was spotted a couple of times in the surrounding area throughout that Saturday. There was a possible sighting on Sunday, but follow up information was not available to check. 

Her people stood out on Highway One with a large banner asking if anybody had seen Roxy. A woman stopped by and said she thought she had seen a dog that looked like Roxy that Monday morning on her way to work deceased on the road at the intersection of Highway One and Handley. She said she was convinced it was Roxy. She said she went by later that day and did not see the body, so she assumed either Cal Trans or the owner had come by to pick it up. 

Roxy's people were convinced that the body this woman saw was Roxy since the sightings and the body were all in the similar area, and there were no other sightings of Roxy after that Monday. They called me one week after Roxy was missing, told me what they had discovered and wanted me to confirm that the body was Roxy's. I asked them if Cal Trans had confirmed they picked up a body in that area, and they said they had not talked to Cal Trans to confirm that information. Animal Control said they did not know what would happen to bodies found on the highway. Even though Roxy had visible ID and the body harness, her people thought that Cal Trans would pick up the body and just discard it. I said I did not think that would happen. They would take the body somewhere for the people to be contacted. 

We went to the spot where the body was supposedly seen by this woman. We did pick up Roxy's scent in the area, on both sides of the highway, and we picked up her scent up on Handley, and it also appears she spent some time at a home on the front porch down at the end of one of the streets. From there the track went back down Handley and then turned right down the highway and went all the way down the road and wrapped around the high school, all the way to the isolated part of the back. There was a lot of construction at the school, so there were a lot of storage and office trailers and supplies. 

After leaving the school, the track went straight down Ocean all the way down to the beach. At the beach the track made a right and went all the way down to the end, and then went up onto the Pebble Beach Golf course. From here the track went along the golf course and went eventually up to main roads and went all along the coast and along the 17 Mile Drive. 

The weather was very windy and overcast and eventually was raining hard. We had to stop the search around 4 PM because we could not see in front of us due to the wind and rain. 

By the time we stopped, I told Roxy's person that there were signs that she had been picked up somewhere, in my opinion, after the high school. The back of the school was very isolated and was a very easy spot for somebody to hide for long periods totally undetected, especially on the weekend. If she got to the school by Sunday, and a transient/nomad type of person was there, they could have coaxed her over. 

The other possible pick up spot could have been on the beach. Roxy's person said that Ocean is the normal way they would go to the beach and that they would go to that specific beach a lot. If Roxy got to the beach on her own and recognized the place, she may have sat down somewhere to rest and may be been hungry and could have been coaxed over by somebody sitting on the beach. 

I sent the following email to Roxy's person a few days after the search:

"Jeff,

I just had dinner with a friend who is living here in San Leandro, but has been a past resident of Monterey/Carmel area and still goes down there a lot. I was telling her about being in Carmel to look for Roxy, and she told me, all on her own, about a dog she saw last week.

Last Tuesday, one week ago, she said she was driving through Santa Cruz on her way back to the Bay Area, and she was driving along Highway One. She said she had just come out of Santa Cruz, and was heading north along Highway One. She said it was approximately 1:30 PM (she said she remembers the time because she had to be back in the Bay Area by 3 PM). She said she was on the part where Mission Blvd turns into One. Here is the link on Google Map. 

http://maps.google.com/maps?f=q&source=s_q&hl=en&geocode=&q=santa+cruz,+ca&sll=37.0625,-95.677068&sspn=33.077336,59.150391&ie=UTF8&hq=&hnear=Santa+Cruz,+California&ll=36.961346,-122.063255&spn=0.032577,0.057764&t=h&z=14


She said she saw a little whitesh dog with a collar and tags and a harness run across the  highway, crossing in front of her. She said it struck her as unusual because where the dog came from, she said she knew nothing was there but open space, and where the dog was heading was residences, but a ways away. She said she had not come to the Wilder Ranch State Park. She also knew the area enough to know that nobody would be around because everybody takes 17 to go north. 

I showed her Roxy's picture on Craigslist, and she said the picture looked very similar to the dog she saw. But she definitely saw a collar with tags and the harness, but she couldn't say the color of the harness.

If Roxy was carried into Santa Cruz from Pebble Beach and got loose somehow, this could be her. We don't know the timeframe of the track we were following without positive sightings. The only thing close is the possible one on Sunday, but that is unclear, or go back to the ones on Saturday.

I asked my friend that if somebody carried her on a bike from Pebble Beach to Santa Cruz, could they make it from Sunday to Tuesday. She said Yes. She said there are routes from the two locations. 

Have you contacted Santa Cruz Animal Control to let them know she is missing?"

They said they would continue to look for Roxy. 


Track #1:

View Roxie 1.1 in a larger map

Total Distance: 15.40 km (9.6 mi)
Total Time: 4:12:45
Moving Time: 4:01:20
Average Pace: 16.41 min/km (26.4 min/mi)
Average Moving Pace: 15.67 min/km (25.2 min/mi)
Min Pace: 1.28 min/km (2.1 min/mi)
Min Elevation: -56 m (-182 ft)
Max Elevation: 146 m (480 ft)
Elevation Gain: 348 m (1141 ft)
Max Grade: 18 %
Min Grade: -25 %
Recorded: Sun Dec 05 11:13:32 PST 2010


Track #2:



View Roxie 1.2 in a larger map



Total Distance: 2.82 km (1.8 mi)
Total Time: 32:43
Moving Time: 27:31
Average Pace: 11.61 min/km (18.7 min/mi)
Average Moving Pace: 9.76 min/km (15.7 min/mi)
Min Pace: 3.89 min/km (6.3 min/mi)
Min Elevation: -41 m (-135 ft)
Max Elevation: -15 m (-50 ft)
Elevation Gain: 101 m (332 ft)
Max Grade: 0 %
Min Grade: 0 %
Recorded: Sun Dec 05 15:26:29 PST 2010

Tuesday, November 30, 2010

"A.J.", Yorkshire Terrier, Black/Tan, San Francisco

A.J. is a 12 year old Yorkshire Terrier. He has a collar with ID tags and a microchip. His people drove into San Francisco from Marin and went to dinner, parking their car a couple of blocks away from the restaurant. When they came back to their car, they found their car had been broken into and A.J. and a cell phone was gone. They searched all over the area, but could not find him. They were unclear if A.J. had actually been stolen or did A.J. jump out of the car after the car was broken into. A.J. had been missing for a couple of days when I was called.

We went to the location where the car was parked and we picked up the scent leading away from the area. Within a few blocks, it was clear that A.J. had been taken from the car and carried away. The track made a straight beeline out of the area and all the way out to the beach, where we found an obvious resting/sleeping area. From here the track went onto the beach and then back up and then went back and forth from the beach to the walkways. Eventually the track led straight again through the neighborhoods where A.J.'s people stopped the search when it became dark.

They said they would continue to search for him.


View A.J. Track in a larger map

Total Distance: 28.63 km (17.8 mi)
Total Time: 5:31:24
Moving Time: 3:25:12
Average Pace: 11.57 min/km (18.6 min/mi)
Average Moving Pace: 7.17 min/km (11.5 min/mi)
Min Pace: 1.59 min/km (2.6 min/mi)
Min Elevation: -54 m (-176 ft)
Max Elevation: 106 m (347 ft)
Elevation Gain: 1729 m (5673 ft)
Max Grade: 9 %
Min Grade: 3 %
Recorded: Fri Dec 03 11:45:50 PST 2010

Monday, November 29, 2010

"Nino", Siamese/Russian Blue DSH, Lilac Point, Saratoga

Nino is an indoor/outdoor, neutered ten year old Siamese/Russian blue mix. He is wearing a collar with ID tags and is microchipped. His own property is over two acres and fully fenced, yet there are small holes in the fencing where he is known to travel around by going under the fencing. The holes also looked like critters like raccoons, opossums, etc, are travel back and forth. He is known to travel to various houses surrounding his home. However, after his disappearance, there were no sightings of Nino. I was called about one and a half weeks after he went missing. He was last seen by a family member around 3 PM when he was put out onto a front deck.

The house has regular deliveries and contractors coming and going onto the property. That day Nino went missing, there were at least three known deliveries and contractors coming onto the property.

Due to the property being so extensive and many places of the fencing are only accessible by climbing steep hillsides, it took over 45 minutes just to show the dogs the entire fencing for them to determine the exit point. After, I took the dogs back to the center of the property, next to the parked cars and told them "Search." Both dogs made a straight beeline to the large gate at the end of the driveway. From there the track went out the gate and onto another driveway directly across the street.

From there the track was obviously a vehicle that we were following, and it continued for several miles around neighborhoods and then went straight down Highway 9 and then made a sharp turn into a veterinary hospital's parking lot. From there the track appear went around the parking lot for a short time and then went out the lot and down a street, crossing a crosswalk and made a sharp right turn down Highway 9 again. This continued for several blocks. We were on the north side of the street. Suddenly, the track made a sharp hairpin turn down a steep and narrow dirt path down to the Los Gatos Creek Trail. Here the track continued for several miles along the creek and all the way through Vasona Park and to the perculating ponds on the Campbell/Los Gatos border. Within one hour, Nino's people stopped the search and wanted to continue the next day.

In my opinion, Nino jumped in or was intentionally put into a vehicle that either was on the property or just at the cul-de-sac where the driveway led to. Nino had jumped into a vehicle in the past. If it was a mistake he was in the car, the driver may have seen him in there and went to the vet clinic to ask for help. Or the vet clinic could have been a total coincidence. If it was UPS(it is known that UPS made a delivery that afternoon to Nino's home), the driver could have been making a delivery to the vet clinic, left the van open to make the delivery and Nino jumped out. Once Nino jumped out either way, he appeared to hide in the bushes nearby. It appears that he was picked up nearby because at that point, it appears that the track was somebody who was walking and carrying Nino. The Los Gatos Creek Trail is a common way that people travel back and forth in the area.



Day #1:
Track One:


View Nino 1.1 Track in a larger map

Total Distance: 12.54 km (7.8 mi)
Total Time: 4:41:02
Moving Time: 4:10:13
Average Pace: 22.42 min/km (36.1 min/mi)
Average Moving Pace: 19.96 min/km (32.1 min/mi)
Min Pace: 7.41 min/km (11.9 min/mi)
Min Elevation: -1 m (-4 ft)
Max Elevation: 164 m (536 ft)
Elevation Gain: 287 m (942 ft)
Max Grade: 18 %
Min Grade: -36 %
Recorded: Thu Dec 02 10:03:53 PST 2010


Day #1:
Track Two:


View Nino 1.2 Track in a larger map

Total Distance: 5.59 km (3.5 mi)
Total Time: 1:06:41
Moving Time: 43:08
Average Pace: 11.93 min/km (19.2 min/mi)
Average Moving Pace: 7.71 min/km (12.4 min/mi)
Min Pace: 5.13 min/km (8.3 min/mi)
Min Elevation: 34 m (110 ft)
Max Elevation: 101 m (331 ft)
Elevation Gain: 301 m (989 ft)
Max Grade: 0 %
Min Grade: 0 %
Recorded: Thu Dec 02 14:45:08 PST 2010

Day #2:

We picked up the track from where we left off the day before. The track continued east and north. The start and stop in the middle was that the track went onto a commuter track, and we could not walk on that. We had to go around and we picked it up where the track come back out.

In my opinion, I believe Nino was picked up by a transient/nomad type of person. We did find a very secluded sleeping area at one of the blue pins. From here the track came back out and continued back to the main street, and then continued north again.

Nino's people stopped the search after four hours and they said they would continue to search for him.




View Nino 2 in a larger map

Total Distance: 17.26 km (10.7 mi)
Total Time: 4:32:57
Moving Time: 2:21:17
Average Pace: 15.82 min/km (25.5 min/mi)
Average Moving Pace: 8.19 min/km (13.2 min/mi)
Min Pace: 3.70 min/km (6.0 min/mi)
Min Elevation: 1 m (2 ft)
Max Elevation: 50 m (165 ft)
Elevation Gain: 662 m (2171 ft)
Max Grade: 0 %
Min Grade: 0 %
Recorded: Mon Dec 06 09:10:48 PST 2010

Sunday, November 28, 2010

"Cousin It", Coton de Tulear mix, White, Santa Cruz/Capitola

Cousin It is twelve pounds, has long white hair with some tan spots, is approximately three years old and could be a mix of Coton de Tuler and Havanese. He is wearing a collar with current ID tags and is microchipped.

His people were out of town when Cousin It took off from his yard as his caretaker let him out front for a few minutes. For four days he was spot several times in the area of the Santa Cruz/Capitola border. After that, no more sightings were reported. However, about one week after Cousin It was missing, the local animal shelter received a call from a man stating that Cousin It had been found and that they could no longer look for him.

When his person went into the shelter a couple of days later to look for Cousin It, he was told about the phone call. He stated that Cousin It was still missing.

We started the search from the last known sighting on 26th and E. Cliff in Santa Cruz. The track went straight down to the beach, about one block away. His people said he loves the beach and would spend hours down there having fun.

The track went along the beach for a short distance and then came up back onto E. Cliff and went all the way into downtown Capitola and then around the area, down to the beach and back up across E. Cliff. As we were leaving town, the track went directly across a crosswalk. At this point, I told Cousin It's person that we may be looking at somebody who is walking their dog. It told her it was a 50/50 chance at this point and that we would continue to look at the track to confirm or deny that option.

I have definitely done searches where we know the animal was alone and the animal did cross in a crosswalk, but the most common clue that the animal is with somebody is that the track follows through crosswalks.

After this first crosswalk, we were able to confirm that Cousin It had been picked up by somebody. We looked at the track, and since we know he was alone at the sighting on 26th and E. Cliff, we determined that the pick up was probably on the beach, since after that the track was pretty straight and purposeful. He was probably very tired and hungry after being loose for four days, and he was willing to go up to somebody who was nice and offering food.

This would answer the question why there were no more sightings after E. Cliff and 26th and it would also make sense about the phone call received at the shelter. Cousin It's people are going to recontact the shelter supervisor and tell them about the search results and to ask them to trace that phone number of the  person calling.

They said they would keeping looking for Cousin It.


View Cousin It in a larger map

Total Distance: 562.60 km (349.6 mi)
Total Time: 2:27:57
Moving Time: 3:15:33
Average Pace: 0.26 min/km (0.4 min/mi)
Average Moving Pace: 0.35 min/km (0.6 min/mi)
Min Pace: 0.13 min/km (0.2 min/mi)
Min Elevation: -40 m (-132 ft)
Max Elevation: 14534 m (47685 ft)
Elevation Gain: 22351 m (73331 ft)
Max Grade: 17 %
Min Grade: -227 %
Recorded: Wed Nov 24 11:36:00 PST 2010




Day #2:


There was a very strong sighting of Cousin It by a woman on either the Sunday or Monday prior to this search. She said she saw the flyer at her vet's office on that Tuesday. She called Cousin It's people immediately. She was definite the dog she saw running down the street in Capitola was Cousin It. I received a call from his people that day, and they were going to that spot that afternoon and asked me to come out that next day, Wednesday, exactly one week from the previous search. 


We went to that area, and we did pick up Cousin It's scent there. However, it was in the opposite direction in which he was seen. That is not unusual, and has happened before. The person who saw him was able to turn her car around to attempt to catch him, but when she went back, she did not see him, even though the street she saw him on was long and continuous, except for a short ramp going down to an abandoned home, which is adjacent to an open space/creek area. 


The track we picked up in the opposite direction, appeared to me and also eventually to Cousin It's person, that he was with somebody, since the track was very direct down streets and back to the original spot of downtown Capitola and then up similar paths that we took the first search. There were some paths that were different, which caused the track to alter a bit, but it did eventually go back to the Soquel High School and the hiking paths back to it and then through some neighborhoods and then to the hiking path which eventually leads back to Rodeo Gulch Road, where we left off the first search, due to dwindling daylight. 


With the use of the car, we were able to move all along Rodeo Gulch, which turned into Laural Canyon, which, eventually, went all the way back into town. It was very obvious to both of us that the person who had Cousin It was following the recycling cans that were all over both sides of the road just that day. That meant that we were only less than a few hours behind them. 


As we were heading back into town following the track, I suggested to Cousin It's person that she go directly to the recycling center, the only one in the area for several miles around. I caught up to her near the center, and she said that the person at the recycling center, who said he had been there all day, never saw anybody like we described, and never saw Cousin It. At this point, we continued the track, and the scent led directly to the recycling center and directly in front of the large container and where anybody turning in bottles and cans would stand. Again, we asked him, and he said, in not a convincing way to either me or Cousin It's person, that he never say anybody of that description. I told him what the dogs were saying and he said he never saw anybody. 


We continued to follow the track and it went back down through the center of Capitola, like before, but went to the beach, onto the beach and headed to the left to Brighton Beach. At this point, it was almost 5 PM and almost dark. We had to stop the search. Cousin It's person said she would continue the search. 


Track One of Two:



View Cousin It 2.1 in a larger map



Total Distance: 13.16 km (8.2 mi)
Total Time: 2:56:46
Moving Time: 1:42:35
Average Pace: 13.44 min/km (21.6 min/mi)
Average Moving Pace: 7.80 min/km (12.5 min/mi)
Min Pace: 5.56 min/km (8.9 min/mi)
Min Elevation: -35 m (-114 ft)
Max Elevation: 71 m (233 ft)
Elevation Gain: 569 m (1868 ft)
Max Grade: 0 %
Min Grade: 0 %
Recorded: Wed Dec 01 09:10:45 PST 2010



Track Two of Two:



View Cousin It 2.2 in a larger map



Total Distance: 34.35 km (21.3 mi)
Total Time: 3:49:19
Moving Time: 2:31:07
Average Pace: 6.68 min/km (10.7 min/mi)
Average Moving Pace: 4.40 min/km (7.1 min/mi)
Min Pace: 1.01 min/km (1.6 min/mi)
Min Elevation: -41 m (-133 ft)
Max Elevation: 236 m (775 ft)
Elevation Gain: 858 m (2814 ft)
Max Grade: 15 %
Min Grade: -16 %
Recorded: Wed Dec 01 12:54:54 PST 2010

Friday, November 19, 2010

D'artagnan, DSH, Black/white Tuxedo, San Mateo

D'artagnan is an 11 year old Tuxedo black and white DSH. He mostly indoors and hangs out in his large backyard. He is not wearing a collar, but he does have a microchip. 


On very early Sunday morning around 1 AM, his person attempted to catch him in the backyard and bring him in for the night. However, D'artagnan did not want to come in and ran into some bushes where he couldn't be reached. His person checked again in a few  hours around 6 AM, but did not see D'artagnan again. There were no sightings of him anywhere in the neighborhood. I was called about four days later and I came out first thing the next morning. 


The track we found immediately went to the left past the house and into the wooded area surrounding Skyline College. In the past, D's person said that sometimes if he got out of the house, he could be found in this area. And, when he was young "D" had been found in the mouth of a coyote, still alive, and his person was able to scare the coyote off and "D" was dropped. 


This track went, like a beeline, through the college and then back out and then back a hard right turn up a gated fireroad, which led directly into the Sweeney Ridge area, a very large open space (1,200 acres) with manicured, and paved hiking trails and abandoned Cold Ware missile buildings. This track led us through the area, all the way into Pacifica. The track went all the way down to Highway 1 and then a sharp right turn up the highway and then went a short distance to a small Lutheren Church. The track went behind the church, where a mattress was visible. Then the track went up a very steep and narrow dirt trail, back up into the Sweeney Ridge area. 


In my opinion, it was clear from the start that "D" had been picked up and carried away, probably by a transient type of person. There is an unknown timeframe from 1 AM to approximately 5 AM when "D" could have been roaming around the small and isolated neighborhood and made it back home and was sitting on the driveway. "D"'s person said that normally is not trusting of strangers, but can be curious if the person is very nice. This person probably coaxed him over and grabbed him quickly and made the quick get away out of the area.


"D"'s person said he would continue to look for him. 






Track #1:



View D'artagnan 1.1 in a larger map



Total Distance: 1299.74 km (807.6 mi)
Total Time: 3:09:08
Moving Time: 2:49:25
Average Pace: 0.15 min/km (0.2 min/mi)
Average Moving Pace: 0.13 min/km (0.2 min/mi)
Min Pace: 0.09 min/km (0.1 min/mi)
Min Elevation: -32 m (-106 ft)
Max Elevation: 16574 m (54375 ft)
Elevation Gain: 16960 m (55643 ft)
Max Grade: 31 %
Min Grade: -28 %
Recorded: Thu Nov 18 09:34:41 PST 2010


Track #2:



View D'artagnan 1.2 in a larger map



Total Distance: 1.36 km (0.8 mi)
Total Time: 29:22
Moving Time: 12:28
Average Pace: 21.59 min/km (34.7 min/mi)
Average Moving Pace: 9.17 min/km (14.8 min/mi)
Min Pace: 7.41 min/km (11.9 min/mi)
Min Elevation: -16 m (-52 ft)
Max Elevation: 66 m (217 ft)
Elevation Gain: 95 m (310 ft)
Max Grade: 0 %
Min Grade: 0 %
Recorded: Thu Nov 18 12:44:24 PST 2010

Wednesday, November 17, 2010

"Phievos", Brown Tabby/White, Siberian, Fairfax

Phievos (pronounced Fee-vos) is a two year old brown tabby with white Siberian. He is not wearing a collar, but he is microchipped. He was let out on a Saturday morning, and that was the last time he was seen. 

There were no sightings of Phievos until the morning I arrived to do the search, which was about five days since he was seen. This person was very confident she had seen Phievos about 6 PM the night before on her driveway, about a half mile from his home. 

We went there and did find his scent. From there it went down the street and eventually went back nearby to his home. From there the track went back down the street and back out across Sir Francis Drake away from his home. The track went into and through the old Marin Town and County Club.

Day one eventually was stopped as the track entered Deer Park as we lost daylight. 

Day #1:

View Phievos 1 in a larger map

Total Distance: 9.87 km (6.1 mi)
Total Time: 0:02
Moving Time: 2:46:04
Average Pace: 0.00 min/km (0.0 min/mi)
Average Moving Pace: 16.83 min/km (27.1 min/mi)
Min Pace: 6.54 min/km (10.5 min/mi)
Min Elevation: -1 m (-4 ft)
Max Elevation: 51 m (168 ft)
Elevation Gain: 223 m (733 ft)
Max Grade: 13 %
Min Grade: -15 %
Recorded: Thu Nov 11 13:01:21 PST 2010


Day two started back at Deer Park where we left off the previous day. The track went deep into a canyon that we could not continue on because it got very narrow and steep. We decided to go back and find another way to another road where that track might go up to. We did find the track up on another more developed track and the track came out from there and continued onto a more developed fire road. 

See track two to continue. 


Day #2, Track #1:


View Phievos 2.1 in a larger map


Due to a battery change, track two continued for the rest of the day. 

The track continued through Deer Park. It went all the way up and over the mountain, past Phoenix Lake. See photos below taken at Phoenix Lake. 

After leaving Deer Park, the track went into Ross and through the town, through Kentfield and all the way into Larkspur.

As we were walking toward Larkspur along the long continuos road, I had the idea that we might be following a person who has picked up Phievos somewhere along the way. Then the track made a sharp left turn from the main street, at a light and at a sidewalk, into another park of Larkspur. Here I said to Phievos' person that I thought he had been picked up. We went over the track from that day and the past day, trying to determine where he could have been picked up. We both thought anywhere from the track near his home and all the way into Deer Park, somewhere along those trails. After that point, it appeared to be a very straight track that a transient on a bike could do. 

We followed the track all the way into Larkspur, into a park, near Redwood High School. Here we stopped the track due to lack of light. Phievos' person wanted to restart the search the next day.



Day #2, Track #2:


View Phievos 2.2 in a larger map

Total Distance: 15.71 km (9.8 mi)
Total Time: 3:36:09
Moving Time: 2:11:00
Average Pace: 13.76 min/km (22.1 min/mi)
Average Moving Pace: 8.34 min/km (13.4 min/mi)
Min Pace: 4.76 min/km (7.7 min/mi)
Min Elevation: -35 m (-115 ft)
Max Elevation: 123 m (402 ft)
Elevation Gain: 538 m (1766 ft)
Max Grade: 0 %
Min Grade: 0 %
Recorded: Fri Nov 12 13:39:44 PST 2010

Photos from Phoenix Lake:





We started from where we left off the day before.

The tracked head south and then looped around, over 101 and north again. The track went very close to the area of the start early, but then kept going. We went all the way out to San Quentin prison and then made a sharp left just before the on ramp to the Richmond/San Rafael Bridge. 

We stopped the search within the next hour due to lack of light, and Phievos person said they were unsure about searching another day. If not, she would keep looking for Phievos. 


Day #3, Track #1:


View Phievos 3.1 in a larger map

Total Distance: 13.58 km (8.4 mi)
Total Time: 8:13
Moving Time: 3:12:02
Average Pace: 0.61 min/km (1.0 min/mi)
Average Moving Pace: 14.14 min/km (22.8 min/mi)
Min Pace: 5.13 min/km (8.3 min/mi)
Min Elevation: -60 m (-197 ft)
Max Elevation: -5 m (-16 ft)
Elevation Gain: 305 m (1001 ft)
Max Grade: 22 %
Min Grade: -17 %
Recorded: Sat Nov 13 12:51:20 PST 2010

Day #3, Track #2:


View Phievos 3.2 in a larger map

Total Distance: 3.94 km (2.5 mi)
Total Time: 44:11
Moving Time: 33:51
Average Pace: 11.21 min/km (18.0 min/mi)
Average Moving Pace: 8.58 min/km (13.8 min/mi)
Min Pace: 6.67 min/km (10.7 min/mi)
Min Elevation: -36 m (-118 ft)
Max Elevation: -5 m (-15 ft)
Elevation Gain: 155 m (508 ft)
Max Grade: 0 %
Min Grade: 0 %
Recorded: Sat Nov 13 16:15:54 PST 2010

Sunday, November 14, 2010

"Zoe", Blue/White, Pit Bull, Discovery Bay

Zoe is a five month old, unspayed, 45 pound blue and white pit bull. She is not wearing a collar and she is not microchipped. She has a white chest, four white feet and natural ears.

Zoe and the other dog in the house were let out into the backyard at 2 AM on Sunday morning, but the gate was left open, and it was not known the dogs had gotten out until early the next morning. The adult male came home by himself, but Zoe was not with him.

There were two sightings of Zoe in the neighborhood between the  hours of 3 AM and 6 AM. We went to the most recent sighting and started there. From there the track left the neighborhood and went for several miles into a neighborhood and then around and around. This particular neighborhood, due to it being surrounded by water, only has two ways in and Zoe found one of them. She would go down a street, and then hit a dead end and turn around. At one dead end, we found that Zoe appeared to have hung out for several hours in area.

Her person stopped the search after the four hour minimum and said she would continue to look for Zoe on her own.


View Zoe in a larger map

Total Distance: 1404.74 km (872.9 mi)
Total Time: 2:46:13
Moving Time: 2:04:10
Average Pace: 0.12 min/km (0.2 min/mi)
Average Moving Pace: 0.09 min/km (0.1 min/mi)
Min Pace: 0.08 min/km (0.1 min/mi)
Min Elevation: -2440 m (-8006 ft)
Max Elevation: 5207 m (17085 ft)
Elevation Gain: 8923 m (29274 ft)
Max Grade: 49 %
Min Grade: -39 %
Recorded: Wed Nov 10 09:47:45 PST 2010