"Franco", Chihuahua, Black, Emeryville

Franco is a three year old, black, unneutered Chihuahua who is not wearing a collar and is not microchipped.

Franco ran off from a courtyard inside a gated apartment building while his person reached into the mailbox to pull out his mail. Franco jumped from his arms and ran out a wrought iron gate. There were no sightings so we started the search from the external gate.

As of June 21, 2011, I have not heard Franco was found.


View Franco Track in a larger map

"Tiki", Chihuahua, Light Brown/Grey, San Jose - Found!

Tiki is a five pound, three year old, unspayed, light brown Chihuahua who is not wearing a collar or microchipped.

Tiki got out of the house by accident when the front door got left open for a few minutes. She was spotted later that same day running in the neighborhood, but nobody could catch her.

We searched for four hours when the search was called off by Tiki's person.

She was found several days later in the general area of where we searched when she was found in the yard of a house. The finder checked CraigsList and found the ad posted by Tiki's person and called them.


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"Maya", Chihuahua/Terrier/Dachshund mix, Dublin - Found!

Weather was rain and cold all day, and was the same for several days prior to the search. 

Maya is an approximately two year old spayed, Chihuahua/Doxie/Terrier mix. Her family had recently adopted her from a local shelter, after Maya spent four months at the shelter following her rescue from a large hoarding case. Her person is a volunteer at the shelter and was able to get to know Maya prior to her official adoption.

A month after her adoption one of her new family members decided to take Maya out for walk. She was wearing her collar with full ID tags, and she is microchipped. Unfortunately, the leash was not completely fastened to the collar and Maya broke away and took off. 

She was not seen for over two days when she reappeared back at the shelter where she was adopted from. However, she would not approach anybody, and ran away when a volunteer recognized her and tried to catch her. 

We met the next day at the shelter, and when I arrived I was told that Maya had been spotted just the prior evening at a fire station a block away. The fire fighters had known about her missing and put out a bowl of food. She arrived there later that evening. They called Maya's people at home, and left a message. Unfortunately, nobody was home and the home phone did not forward to the cell phone, which had an out of the area area code.

I suggested we go to the fire station and ask if they would be willing to have a trap set on their property, and they agreed. Plus, Maya's people lived very close by, and they would be able to come by to maintain it and observe it. 

We started the search behind the fire station, and found the track leading away from the station and up into the fenced facility of Santa Rita Jail. The whole area of the shelter and fire station is all property of Alameda County, and includes the county jail, Santa Rita, and a Federal Prison, which even Maya's person did not know existed, and she lives within two miles of the area.

We were allowed permission into Santa Rita jail, and the track led onto the shooting range. We did get permission to enter that facility, even though there was practice occurring. At one point, we did get behind the shooting, but we decided to sit back and wait, as per instructed by the Range Master. 

The track came back out of the shooting range and came out of the jail and then made a right down the main road. This led us directly onto the property of a federal prison. We were not allowed to follow the track throughout the prison, but, strangely we were allowed to follow the road through the prison all the way to the back where there was staff housing. We passed out flyers there, but nobody was out since it was pouring rain.

We walked back to the cars, and by this time Maya's person  had arranged to have her husband pick up a large trap and bring it to the fire station, along with same cans of food. We found a nice secluded place to put the trap in the yard of the station back near the dumpster. 

I received a call the next day in the afternoon that Maya had been caught in the trap! Maya had been spotted for the past 24 hours in a couple of spots close by near the jail and the shelter and the fire station. They moved the trap to one of those locations, and got a couple of more traps and was in the process of setting them, when they checked the first one and found Maya inside. 

I was told she was very hunger and appeared disoriented. They brought the trap into the shelter and released her from inside one of the rooms. 

Total Distance: 16.13 km (10.0 mi)
Total Time: 3:13:53
Moving Time: 2:05:28
Average Pace: 12.02 min/km (19.3 min/mi)
Average Moving Pace: 7.78 min/km (12.5 min/mi)
Min Pace: 4.17 min/km (6.7 min/mi)
Min Elevation: 25 m (82 ft)
Max Elevation: 117 m (384 ft)
Elevation Gain: 708 m (2324 ft)
Max Grade: 4 %
Min Grade: -17 %
Recorded: Sat Mar 19 09:33:12 PDT 2011

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"Coby", Black/Tan, German Shepherd/Cattle Dog mix, Lafayette

As of September 10, 2011, Coby is still missing.
"Sighted all along Iron Horse Trail in Alamo and Danville.
Last seen on July 9th in Alamo Plaza and July 12th on Sycamore Valley Road in Danville."
Current sighting:
On Friday, April 29, Coby was spotted on Camille in Alamo, near the Iron Horse Trail, which is near where we left off on Day 6. 


On Tuesday, April 19, Coby was spotted in Alamo, on Danville Blvd near Hillgrade Road, in front of The New Life Church. Just behind the church is the IronHorse Trail, which is a connection to the Lafayette/Moraga Trail near Coby's house. He was described as thin and dirty. We went to that spot and confirmed that Coby's scent was there, and it was also out on the Trail behind the church. 


See the end of this blog for two additional searches following the sighting on April 19.


Missing since March 1, 2011
First search, March 7, 2010

Coby is an eight month old, black with tan, neutered, German Shepherd/Cattle Dog mix. He is wearing a collar with full ID tags and he is microchipped. He was missing from his home for a week when I was called. The home is on several wooded acres, and the family believed he was deceased somewhere on the property.

When I got to the property, we found Coby's track leading away from the house and up a hillside and out onto another street.

There are five days worth of track here.

Day One, First track:


View Kobe 1 in a larger map

Total Distance: 14.04 km (8.7 mi)
Total Time: 3:47:19
Moving Time: 1:58:53
Average Pace: 16.19 min/km (26.1 min/mi)
Average Moving Pace: 8.47 min/km (13.6 min/mi)
Min Pace: 2.68 min/km (4.3 min/mi)
Min Elevation: 44 m (146 ft)
Max Elevation: 168 m (550 ft)
Elevation Gain: 719 m (2359 ft)
Max Grade: 0 %
Min Grade: 0 %
Recorded: Mon Mar 07 09:30:06 PST 2011




Day One, Second Track:


View Kobe 2 in a larger map

Total Distance: 2.28 km (1.4 mi)
Total Time: 34:53
Moving Time: 19:07
Average Pace: 15.32 min/km (24.7 min/mi)
Average Moving Pace: 8.40 min/km (13.5 min/mi)
Min Pace: 7.00 min/km (11.3 min/mi)
Min Elevation: 39 m (128 ft)
Max Elevation: 69 m (226 ft)
Elevation Gain: 99 m (324 ft)
Max Grade: 0 %
Min Grade: 0 %
Recorded: Mon Mar 07 13:44:51 PST 2011


Day One, Third Track:


View Kobe 3 in a larger map

Total Distance: 6.94 km (4.3 mi)
Total Time: 1:51:00
Moving Time: 1:01:57
Average Pace: 15.98 min/km (25.7 min/mi)
Average Moving Pace: 8.92 min/km (14.4 min/mi)
Min Pace: 6.67 min/km (10.7 min/mi)
Min Elevation: 27 m (87 ft)
Max Elevation: 64 m (210 ft)
Elevation Gain: 300 m (983 ft)
Max Grade: 0 %
Min Grade: 0 %
Recorded: Mon Mar 07 14:28:28 PST 2011






Day Two, Track One:



View Kobe Day 2 Track 1 in a larger map


Total Distance: 13.50 km (8.4 mi)
Total Time: 4:12:22
Moving Time: 4:00:20
Average Pace: 18.70 min/km (30.1 min/mi)
Average Moving Pace: 17.80 min/km (28.7 min/mi)
Min Pace: 6.06 min/km (9.8 min/mi)
Min Elevation: 16 m (52 ft)
Max Elevation: 162 m (531 ft)
Elevation Gain: 342 m (1122 ft)
Max Grade: 19 %
Min Grade: -22 %
Recorded: Tue Mar 08 12:47:20 PST 2011






Day Two, Track Two:



View Kobe Day 2 Track 2 in a larger map


Total Distance: 3.08 km (1.9 mi)
Total Time: 52:10
Moving Time: 34:50
Average Pace: 16.94 min/km (27.3 min/mi)
Average Moving Pace: 11.31 min/km (18.2 min/mi)
Min Pace: 7.92 min/km (12.7 min/mi)
Min Elevation: 107 m (352 ft)
Max Elevation: 164 m (539 ft)
Elevation Gain: 167 m (549 ft)
Max Grade: 0 %
Min Grade: 0 %
Recorded: Tue Mar 08 17:00:01 PST 2011




Day Three, Track One:





View Coby Day 3 Track 1 in a larger map


Total Distance: 767.71 km (477.0 mi)
Total Time: 3:41:08
Moving Time: 2:25:59
Average Pace: 0.29 min/km (0.5 min/mi)
Average Moving Pace: 0.19 min/km (0.3 min/mi)
Min Pace: 0.28 min/km (0.5 min/mi)
Min Elevation: 120 m (394 ft)
Max Elevation: 953 m (3125 ft)
Elevation Gain: 1840 m (6035 ft)
Max Grade: 50 %
Min Grade: -33 %
Recorded: Wed Mar 09 11:39:21 PST 2011




Day Three, Track Two:





View Coby Day 3 Track 2 in a larger map


Total Distance: 1.26 km (0.8 mi)
Total Time: 13:34
Moving Time: 10:10
Average Pace: 10.76 min/km (17.3 min/mi)
Average Moving Pace: 8.05 min/km (13.0 min/mi)
Min Pace: 6.16 min/km (9.9 min/mi)
Min Elevation: 94 m (308 ft)
Max Elevation: 109 m (358 ft)
Elevation Gain: 41 m (136 ft)
Max Grade: 0 %
Min Grade: 0 %
Recorded: Wed Mar 09 16:04:52 PST 2011




Day Four, Track One:





View Coby Day 4 Track 1 in a larger map




Total Distance: 10.60 km (6.6 mi)
Total Time: 3:51:10
Moving Time: 3:28:57
Average Pace: 21.80 min/km (35.1 min/mi)
Average Moving Pace: 19.71 min/km (31.7 min/mi)
Min Pace: 5.56 min/km (8.9 min/mi)
Min Elevation: 63 m (207 ft)
Max Elevation: 187 m (614 ft)
Elevation Gain: 287 m (941 ft)
Max Grade: 17 %
Min Grade: -29 %
Recorded: Thu Mar 10 10:01:21 PST 2011






Day Four, Track Two:





View Coby Day 4 Track 2 in a larger map


Total Distance: 17.67 km (11.0 mi)
Total Time: 3:33:38
Moving Time: 2:16:21
Average Pace: 12.09 min/km (19.5 min/mi)
Average Moving Pace: 7.72 min/km (12.4 min/mi)
Min Pace: 2.30 min/km (3.7 min/mi)
Min Elevation: 41 m (133 ft)
Max Elevation: 127 m (417 ft)
Elevation Gain: 599 m (1965 ft)
Max Grade: -2 %
Min Grade: -3 %
Recorded: Thu Mar 10 13:52:44 PST 2011






Day Five, Track One:


On this day, we received a sighting of Coby two days prior up on St. Mary's in front of the roller rink. We drove there and his scent was there. We followed it along the Lafayette/Moraga Regional Trail until it got too dark. The search was stopped by Coby's family. They said they would continue looking for him. 


Within the next two days, a couple of sightings of Coby's were confirmed, but he was not caught. 





View Coby Day 5 Track 1 in a larger map


Total Distance: 18.57 km (11.5 mi)
Total Time: 4:15:52
Moving Time: 4:09:41
Average Pace: 13.78 min/km (22.2 min/mi)
Average Moving Pace: 13.44 min/km (21.6 min/mi)
Min Pace: 1.01 min/km (1.6 min/mi)
Min Elevation: 8 m (26 ft)
Max Elevation: 109 m (357 ft)
Elevation Gain: 356 m (1169 ft)
Max Grade: 22 %
Min Grade: -16 %
Recorded: Fri Mar 11 13:01:57 PST 2011






Day Five, Track Two:





View Coby Day 5 Track 2 in a larger map


Total Distance: 5.47 km (3.4 mi)
Total Time: 1:06:06
Moving Time: 41:30
Average Pace: 12.08 min/km (19.4 min/mi)
Average Moving Pace: 7.58 min/km (12.2 min/mi)
Min Pace: 4.44 min/km (7.2 min/mi)
Min Elevation: 61 m (200 ft)
Max Elevation: 102 m (335 ft)
Elevation Gain: 176 m (577 ft)
Max Grade: 0 %
Min Grade: 0 %
Recorded: Fri Mar 11 17:18:10 PST 2011




Day 6:


The GPS was a little wonky that day. Ignore the mark in the ocean. Zoom into the mark in Alamo, which is the correct track. 



View Coby Day 6 in a larger map


Total Distance: 546.30 km (339.5 mi)
Total Time: 2:31:06
Moving Time: 1:54:09
Average Pace: 0.28 min/km (0.4 min/mi)
Average Moving Pace: 0.21 min/km (0.3 min/mi)
Min Pace: 0.21 min/km (0.3 min/mi)
Min Elevation: -12493 m (-40988 ft)
Max Elevation: 68 m (222 ft)
Elevation Gain: 369 m (1210 ft)
Max Grade: 5 %
Min Grade: -31 %
Recorded: Wed Apr 27 15:15:55 PDT 2011
Activity type: -


Day 7:



View Coby Day 7 in a larger map


Total Distance: 20.29 km (12.6 mi)
Total Time: 4:12:50
Moving Time: 2:41:24
Average Pace: 12.46 min/km (20.1 min/mi)
Average Moving Pace: 7.96 min/km (12.8 min/mi)
Min Pace: 2.15 min/km (3.5 min/mi)
Min Elevation: 67 m (220 ft)
Max Elevation: 220 m (721 ft)
Elevation Gain: 817 m (2682 ft)
Max Grade: -5 %
Min Grade: -5 %
Recorded: Thu Apr 28 14:56:38 PDT 2011
Activity type: -


(entered into lost pet questionnaire 4/26/11)