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Feel free to contact me anytime at 510/415-6185 or jackie@thesocialpet.com or view my website: www.thesocialpet1.com




Tuesday, June 28, 2011

"Hugo", Great Dane/Rottweiler Mix, Black & Tan, San Jose - Found!


Hugo Found!
(15 minutes into search!)




Super Good News! Hugo was found today alive and well and very happy!

Hugo is a 4 year old, neutered, black and tan, Rottweiler and Great Dane mix, weighing in at 110 pounds. He is microchipped and wearing a collar with only a microchip ID tag. He was staying at the home of some family members while his people were out of town on vacation. He jumped part of the fence and took off on a Thursday afternoon.  There were no sightings of Hugo. His people got back into town the following Saturday night. I was emailed late Sunday evening, we talked Monday morning, and I went out onto the search early Monday afternoon.

I arrived to do a search with my tracking dog, Dino, at the house of where Hugo was last seen in San Jose, the house he was staying at while his people were on vacation. Upon arriving, I was told that they had just received a call that Hugo was seen both on the past Friday and just last night (Sunday) in the area of Lee Matheson school in San Jose. Apparently, there is some kind of field on the school grounds where he was seen, and that we should go there.

When we got to the school, we found that the field was massive, yet all fenced in. Hugo's person called the person who said they saw Hugo, to get a more accurate location on the field. Instead of the school, we were told by the young man on the phone, Hugo was actually seen at the MACSA (Mexican American Community Services Agency) adjacent to the school. The person we spoke to on the phone was a 15 year old boy, and we found out that it was his younger sister who said she saw Hugo, but we still did not a have a specific location at MACSA where Hugo was sighted.

We went out of the school, and around the corner to the MACSA center, and this time I spoke to the boy personally to get more accurate information. He told me that it wasn't his sister who saw Hugo, but his sister's friend, and that his sister needed to call her friend to get a more accurate location on the center grounds where Hugo was seen. The boy, Jesus, said that he would call the friend and call us back.

In the meantime, we got permission from the front office to be on their property, and we started to look around. The center was huge, and it included a large parking lot, a large playground, a small field next to the playground and lots of trees and bushes. Finally, the phone rang, and Jesus told me the exact location on the center grounds. which was the field next to the playground where Hugo was seen. Apparently, the girl was feeding and petting Hugo near the playground both Sunday and Friday evenings. Adults were there, but nobody attempted to catch Hugo and read his tags. They just let him go, and he walked away. Monday morning, the father, who does not speak English, saw Hugo's flyer near his work, which was several miles from the MACSA center, and closer to the house where Hugo escaped. Since he did not speak English, the conversation was pretty minimal. However, Hugo's people knew somebody who spoke fluent Spanish and that person called back and got more accurate information.

While I showed Dino the area for him to get a current track and Hugo's direction of travel, the husband started to look all around the center, including all the bushes and trees. As he was whistling and calling Hugo's name, he thought he saw something move inside some of the bushes. When he looked further, he saw Hugo buried deep inside the bushes. He started to call him and coax him out, and finally Hugo came to him! He ran over to the other side where I was with his wife and Dino, and he had Hugo with him all happy and wiggly, even for a 110lb dog.

The last time Hugo was seen was approximately 8:30 PM last night by the children at the MACSA center. We don't know if he was out running around and then came back to the center, or was he at the center the whole time. The temperatures were pretty high today, around 80 degrees, so he could have just been hiding away from the heat. And since the sighting of Hugo did not come in until just this morning, there were no flyers in the area for Hugo being missing. It was pure luck that the father saw the flyer at his work, several miles away from where Hugo was seen. Then, it was fortunate that he actually called, even though he knew his English was not perfect. He could have ignored it and said it was somebody else's problem. Then we had more luck that we were able to reach the kids while we were on the search to get a more accurate location. Then, there was even more luck, that Hugo was at the center when we were there, and that he did not bolt when he was discovered. That exact thing occurred with another search I had over the weekend when the dog was spotted by his people because he was so scared and disoriented.

It takes a small village (and some luck) to bring a pet safely home. The flyers needed to be put up, people need to respond to the flyers and the response to sightings has to be immediate.

Thanks to everyone who helped to bring Hugo home!

Track One:


View Hugo Track in a larger map

Total Distance: 1.37 km (0.9 mi)
Total Time: 35:27
Moving Time: 14:32
Average Speed: 2.32 km/h (1.4 mi/h)
Average Moving Speed: 5.65 km/h (3.5 mi/h)
Max Speed: 7.22 km/h (4.5 mi/h)
Min Elevation: 11 m (36 ft)
Max Elevation: 38 m (126 ft)
Elevation Gain: 61 m (201 ft)
Max Grade: 0 %
Min Grade: 0 %
Recorded: Mon Jun 27 14:28:02 PDT 2011

"Paco", Chihuahua, Dark Brown, Hollister - Found!

(This is not a photo of Paco, but it looks like him.)


Paco was found safe and healthy after missing for several days!!!!!!!

Paco is a 4 pound, unneutered, dark brown Chihuahua with long legs and ears that stand up. He went missing from his home in Hollister after he crawled under a fence in his backyard. He was wearing a collar with an ID tag on him, but he is not microchipped. After a couple of days of searching for Paco, I was asked to come and help look this past Saturday. I brought Dino, my tracking dog, and we started from a possible sighting of Paco from the day before.

As we were following the track through the streets of Hollister, and talking to everybody along the way, we came across a gentleman who was certain he saw Paco just that morning in another part of town, near the DMV office. We went to that location and we did pick up Paco's scent in that area and followed it for several blocks and then it went out into some very large agricultural fields. We continued to follow Paco for several more hours throughout Hollister, and we decided to stop the search late in the day after all three of us were exhausted.

I recommended to keeping putting up posters and flyers throughout the town and following up on all leads. It was clear that Paco was moving around town and throughout the fields.

I received a call the next day that Paco had been found! It took many people to eventually catch him. A woman had spotted him a couple of times in town, and then saw the flyer at a local store and called immediately. Paco's people went to where he was being spotted, which was the first set of large agricultural fields we tracked him to earlier the day before. He had returned to a known location. My guess is that he was traveling all over Hollister and the surrounding fields since he was lost.

According to Paco's person, the entire family and extended family worked for a couple of hours in these fields to finally catch Paco. He was so scared and disoriented that he did not even recognize familiar voices and ran as fast as possible in the opposite direction. It finally took a male family member to leap several feet and tackle Paco! Now that is dedication!

The next day, Monday, was Paco's person's birthday, so she said that having Paco back was the absolute best present she could ever have!

Track One:


View Paco Track 1 in a larger map

Total Distance: 14.41 km (9.0 mi)
Total Time: 4:35:17
Moving Time: 2:13:23
Average Speed: 3.14 km/h (2.0 mi/h)
Average Moving Speed: 6.48 km/h (4.0 mi/h)
Max Speed: 47.23 km/h (29.3 mi/h)
Min Elevation: 66 m (215 ft)
Max Elevation: 112 m (366 ft)
Elevation Gain: 493 m (1619 ft)
Max Grade: 2 %
Min Grade: -5 %
Recorded: Sat Jun 25 08:25:16 PDT 2011




Track Two:



View Paco Track 2 in a larger map



Total Distance: 7.95 km (4.9 mi)
Total Time: 2:50:28
Moving Time: 1:25:30
Average Speed: 2.80 km/h (1.7 mi/h)
Average Moving Speed: 5.58 km/h (3.5 mi/h)
Max Speed: 9.80 km/h (6.1 mi/h)
Min Elevation: 68 m (223 ft)
Max Elevation: 95 m (313 ft)
Elevation Gain: 269 m (882 ft)
Max Grade: 0 %
Min Grade: 0 %
Recorded: Sat Jun 25 13:01:05 PDT 2011


Wednesday, June 22, 2011

"Dillon and Madden", Brittany Spaniels, Fairfield - 1 Found!

Dillon still missing as of January 3, 2011.

"Jackie and Dino really went the extra mile (literally) in trying to help us find our Dillon. His track went cold is in the same area where we got a report of someone seeing a dog like ours being put in a truck. Although we still haven't located him, I would use use Jackie and Dino's services again if I am ever in the unfortunate position to be looking for a lost dog. They gave it their best shot, even in some grueling heat. Dino is a trooper and even when called off, he was still ready to go more. Jackie also had very good resources with her to help you make sure you are covering everything if you are searching for a lost pet (shelter lists, internet sites, sample flyers, etc).

As someone who trains dogs and enjoys dogs, it was really interesting to watch Dino work and if it wasn't for the fact that we were looking for our dog, I would have found the experience even more interesting.
Barbara T."








Dillon is a seven year old, orange and white, neutered Brittany Spaniel. He is not wearing a collar, but he is microchipped. 

Madden is a one year old, neutered, orange and white, Brittany Spaniel. He is not wearing a collar, but he is microchipped. 

Both dogs had been missing for one week when I was called. 

Both dogs got out the front door as it was left open by accident by a family member. Both dogs were spotted in various areas within several blocks of the house. There was a possible sighting of one of the dogs at a Target shopping center by a homeless person hanging out. I decided to go to that spot and check the scent. I gave both scents to Dino and he did find out of the scents leading away. By the description of the dog, it appeared that the dog was Dillon, the older dog. That is the first track below.

The next day, a person called to say that she thought her father had one of the dogs. Madden's person went to the home, and it was Madden, the younger dog. The finder had picked up Madden the following Saturday, the day after he escaped, from a neighborhood several blocks from Madden's home. The finder confirmed that there was only one dog that he picked up and never saw another dog. The finder did not speak English and lived alone down a long gravel road. He didn't know about a microchip and never checked for flyers in the area. Since Madden did not have a collar on, he did not know who to call.



Day One:

View Dillon Track in a larger map

Total Distance: 11.22 km (7.0 mi)
Total Time: 3:26:05
Moving Time: 1:52:35
Average Speed: 3.27 km/h (2.0 mi/h)
Average Moving Speed: 5.98 km/h (3.7 mi/h)
Max Speed: 42.23 km/h (26.2 mi/h)
Min Elevation: -32 m (-105 ft)
Max Elevation: 77 m (251 ft)
Elevation Gain: 518 m (1700 ft)
Max Grade: 7 %
Min Grade: -1 %
Recorded: Sat Jun 18 16:20:39 PDT 201


We ended day one at a large vineyard, but nobody was home to give us permission to enter. They left a note on the door asking for a call back. They received one late Sunday night, after Madden had been found. We went back to that property the next afternoon. Temps were hovering in the high 90's. 

We went through the vineyard and back out onto another property and up into a private and gate community called Rancho Solano. This place is not what comes to mind when the name Fairfield is mentioned. These are very large and custom home nestled among a gold course and rolling hills. 

We followed the track until almost dark at 9 PM. At that time Dillon's person said that another woman approached her and said that a dog matching Dillon's description was picked up by an animal control truck earlier that day down by the main guard shack. We checked Petharbor for that day, which was a closed day, but nothing was listed. 

They went to the shelter in the morning, and they reported that no Brittany Spaniel had been picked up by any of their trucks that day. There is only one animal control agency for the entire county of Solano. 

We figured what the woman saw was instead of white work truck with boxes on the back, which can look very similar, plus they have emblems on the doors and many of the guys wear some type of uniform, making them look a lot like A/C. Dillon's person said they would put out notices and alter the Craigslist ad with that information, and keep looking for Dillon. 

Day Two:


View Dillon Track Day 2 in a larger map

Total Distance: 14.31 km (8.9 mi)
Total Time: 4:27:18
Moving Time: 2:51:45
Average Speed: 3.21 km/h (2.0 mi/h)
Average Moving Speed: 5.00 km/h (3.1 mi/h)
Max Speed: 10.19 km/h (6.3 mi/h)
Min Elevation: 6 m (19 ft)
Max Elevation: 112 m (368 ft)
Elevation Gain: 530 m (1740 ft)
Max Grade: 0 %
Min Grade: 0 %
Recorded: Mon Jun 20 16:27:28 PDT 2011

Wednesday, June 15, 2011

"Kylie", Australian Cattle Dog, Grey/White, San Francisco

As of July 1, Kylie is still missing and being spotted around San Francisco. 

Kylie is a one year old, spayed, Australian Cattle Dog. She is wearing a collar with ID tags and is microchipped. She was staying at a friend's house for a couple of hours when she escaped through the front door. 

There were multiple sightings of Kylie around the area where she escaped and then she was sighted at a spot near Golden Gate Park. This is where we started our search.

About five hours into the search, Kylie's person received a phone call that Kylie was spotted at Harding Park/Lake Merced, near the bathrooms. We were only a very short distance from that, and we got into the car and drove there. We did pick up Kylie's scent and followed it around the park/lake and then it went back into the park/lake area. 

Later that night at both 10:30 PM and later at 1 AM, Kylie was spotted at Diamond Heights and Duncan. Her person went there, and did see Kylie running down the street. She called to Kylie, but the dog kept running, apparently not recognized the voice. 


View Kylie Track in a larger map

Total Distance: 30.48 km (18.9 mi)
Total Time: 8:04:43
Moving Time: 4:10:11
Average Speed: 3.77 km/h (2.3 mi/h)
Average Moving Speed: 7.31 km/h (4.5 mi/h)
Max Speed: 77.97 km/h (48.4 mi/h)
Min Elevation: -13 m (-42 ft)
Max Elevation: 71 m (234 ft)
Elevation Gain: 1038 m (3404 ft)
Max Grade: 5 %
Min Grade: -4 %
Recorded: Thu Jun 16 09:57:14 PDT 2011

Sunday, June 12, 2011

"Tortilla", DSH, Brown Tabby, San Francisco - Found!

Two days after the search, I received the follow email:

Hi Jackie
Breaking news : tortilla was found in a garden on the street above us today - alive!

My note: Tortilla's person doubted that her cat could have traveled the distance that we tracked her, but it, actually, would be very doable. There were no sightings and she said she did cover the area with flyers. Cats can travel extensively and hid when necessary. 



Tortilla is a 16 year old, indoor only, DSH brown tabby. She does not have a collar on and is not microchipped. The front door got left open by mistake, and she was not noticed missing until later that night when they came back from work.

She was missing for about five days when I was called. There were no sightings of Tortilla after she went missing.


View Tortilla Track in a larger map

Total Distance: 12.22 km (7.6 mi)
Total Time: 3:32:50
Moving Time: 1:48:12
Average Speed: 3.44 km/h (2.1 mi/h)
Average Moving Speed: 6.77 km/h (4.2 mi/h)
Max Speed: 11.72 km/h (7.3 mi/h)
Min Elevation: -5 m (-15 ft)
Max Elevation: 78 m (256 ft)
Elevation Gain: 591 m (1939 ft)
Max Grade: 0 %
Min Grade: 0 %
Recorded: Sun Jun 12 16:12:57 PDT 2011

Saturday, June 11, 2011

"Shira", Seal Point Siamese, Hayward

Shira is a indoor only, spayed, three year old Seal Point Siamese. She is microchipped, but she is not wearing a collar.

She escaped by accident as her person was carrying her to the car for a trip to the vet. She was lost inside a very large apartment complex. There were no sightings of Shira after she escaped from the car.  






Track One:

The GPS was not working 100% on this first track. Just zoom in to the track in the Hayward area.

View Shira Track 1 in a larger map

Total Distance: 448.88 km (278.9 mi)
Total Time: 1:49:46
Moving Time: 53:40
Average Speed: 245.36 km/h (152.5 mi/h)
Average Moving Speed: 501.85 km/h (311.8 mi/h)
Max Speed: 14.91 km/h (9.3 mi/h)
Min Elevation: -4 m (-15 ft)
Max Elevation: 13339 m (43763 ft)
Elevation Gain: 13540 m (44422 ft)
Max Grade: 11 %
Min Grade: -1 %
Recorded: Sun Jun 12 07:36:22 PDT 2011


Track Two:


View Shira Track 2 in a larger map

Total Distance: 4.64 km (2.9 mi)
Total Time: 1:45:49
Moving Time: 43:51
Average Speed: 2.63 km/h (1.6 mi/h)
Average Moving Speed: 6.36 km/h (3.9 mi/h)
Max Speed: 9.26 km/h (5.8 mi/h)
Min Elevation: -6 m (-20 ft)
Max Elevation: 29 m (96 ft)
Elevation Gain: 170 m (556 ft)
Max Grade: 0 %
Min Grade: 0 %
Recorded: Sun Jun 12 10:15:07 PDT 2011