On Sunday, September 4, I received the following email from Cloudy's person:
First, thank you all for your words of encouragement, your help, your
suggestions and advice, your hopeful thoughts and prayers.
I'll start with Thursday morning when my daughter returned from Costa Rica.
It was Dawn's home that Cloudy went missing from 3 weeks and 1 day ago. We
spent the day posting notices in the stores of the village very near her
home (BOTH streets!). It was good to be with her but it didn't seem
particularly useful to me. Early Friday morning Dawn was at her computer
when she turned around and there at the glass door, was Cloudy! Dawn and
Cloudy looked at each other for a few beats while Dawn was thinking that she
must be hallucinating from lack of sleep. By the time Dawn got to the door
Cloudy had disappeared through the back non-fence to the neighbors. Frantic
activity followed, I drove up there & we searched & called with no results.
Joe came up & with Dawn we plastered the neighborhood with more signs.
Since Cloudy had made her way back into Dawn's backyard we called Animal
Services and had a large trap delivered. With stinky salmon kibble I baited
the trap, the path in the yard from her entrance area, the backfence
neighbor's yard from the hole in their fence to the street . . . I also
rubbed my hands on the wood in these areas to leave my scent. (Dino and his
mom taught me a lot!)
Friday afternoon I received a call from a man who had seen Cloudy go down a
long driveway a half mile from Dawn's. I was instantly in my car asking him
to JUST WATCH and if he sees her again, JUST FOLLOW & keep me posted. Still
on my way, I received a call from a lady who had also seen Cloudy in the
area & asked her to also just track. With the man, his two daughters, the
lady, Dawn & Ken, we figured out that Cloudy had disappeared down a
cul-de-sac which backed up to a deep drainage ditch (Adobe Creek). On the
other side of that was a very high fence then Foothill Expressway.
Later that night (still Friday) I got a call from a lady who had seen Cloudy
at Shoup Park a couple of miles from Dawn's home at 9:PM Thursday night. She
also mentioned that there's a lady who works at the community center there
who puts out cat food to feed the ferals, suggesting that Cloudy may be
dining on that. Interesting, but not yet useful.
Early Saturday morning Dawn called to say that we'd caught NOT Cloudy in the
trap. The first attached picture is a really cute but ticked off raccoon
that also likes salmon kibble. Animal Services guy came out to release the
critter and told me that it's the nature of the beasts that he wouldn't
return, that the odors he left would warn off other raccoons, and that a dog
would find the odors interesting and worth exploring. Huh. All good news.
Somewhere in there I remembered that Shoup Park had a creek running through
it. An aerial check on Google maps showed a crooked line of heavy foliage
running from where we last saw Cloudy on Friday afternoon, around & through
& eventually going through Shoup Park! Ah-Ha, so that's her highway and the
good news is that this creek (now dry) runs UNDER Foothill Expy so she
doesn't have to cross any busy streets. Smart girl!
Last night Joe and I went back to Los Altos to reset the trap and we left
the cover from her crate pad in it to lure her. This morning at about 8
Dawn called and in a very quiet voice told me to pick up my keys & purse, to
carefully drive to her house, TO PICK UP MY DAMN DOG!!!
We don't know when she got herself caught but she was certainly in the trap
when the sprinklers came on - she was soaked. And matted, stinky, dirty,
muddy, and did I mention stinky? Oh, and happy. Very happy. We parked my
car in their garage, the guys moved Cloudy & the trap into the garage. With
all the doors closed, we let her out. She wriggled & squirmed & flipped
over for a belly rub & climbed all over me. She's not skinny at all - about
the same as when she left. I've cut off most of the big mats. She's
actually in fine shape as far as I can tell. Not at all injured save for a
couple small cuts on her pads. Mats. She had these basketball size things
hanging under both ears. Her pretty, fluffy bum is now much less fluffy,
lopsided, and headed for the shower.
We'll visit the vet this week. I'm expecting some internal parasites &
realize that they may not have had time to show up yet.
And today is her 7th birthday - isn't that just the neatest thing?
Thanks again,
Lyn and Cloudy
suggestions and advice, your hopeful thoughts and prayers.
I'll start with Thursday morning when my daughter returned from Costa Rica.
It was Dawn's home that Cloudy went missing from 3 weeks and 1 day ago. We
spent the day posting notices in the stores of the village very near her
home (BOTH streets!). It was good to be with her but it didn't seem
particularly useful to me. Early Friday morning Dawn was at her computer
when she turned around and there at the glass door, was Cloudy! Dawn and
Cloudy looked at each other for a few beats while Dawn was thinking that she
must be hallucinating from lack of sleep. By the time Dawn got to the door
Cloudy had disappeared through the back non-fence to the neighbors. Frantic
activity followed, I drove up there & we searched & called with no results.
Joe came up & with Dawn we plastered the neighborhood with more signs.
Since Cloudy had made her way back into Dawn's backyard we called Animal
Services and had a large trap delivered. With stinky salmon kibble I baited
the trap, the path in the yard from her entrance area, the backfence
neighbor's yard from the hole in their fence to the street . . . I also
rubbed my hands on the wood in these areas to leave my scent. (Dino and his
mom taught me a lot!)
Friday afternoon I received a call from a man who had seen Cloudy go down a
long driveway a half mile from Dawn's. I was instantly in my car asking him
to JUST WATCH and if he sees her again, JUST FOLLOW & keep me posted. Still
on my way, I received a call from a lady who had also seen Cloudy in the
area & asked her to also just track. With the man, his two daughters, the
lady, Dawn & Ken, we figured out that Cloudy had disappeared down a
cul-de-sac which backed up to a deep drainage ditch (Adobe Creek). On the
other side of that was a very high fence then Foothill Expressway.
Later that night (still Friday) I got a call from a lady who had seen Cloudy
at Shoup Park a couple of miles from Dawn's home at 9:PM Thursday night. She
also mentioned that there's a lady who works at the community center there
who puts out cat food to feed the ferals, suggesting that Cloudy may be
dining on that. Interesting, but not yet useful.
Early Saturday morning Dawn called to say that we'd caught NOT Cloudy in the
trap. The first attached picture is a really cute but ticked off raccoon
that also likes salmon kibble. Animal Services guy came out to release the
critter and told me that it's the nature of the beasts that he wouldn't
return, that the odors he left would warn off other raccoons, and that a dog
would find the odors interesting and worth exploring. Huh. All good news.
Somewhere in there I remembered that Shoup Park had a creek running through
it. An aerial check on Google maps showed a crooked line of heavy foliage
running from where we last saw Cloudy on Friday afternoon, around & through
& eventually going through Shoup Park! Ah-Ha, so that's her highway and the
good news is that this creek (now dry) runs UNDER Foothill Expy so she
doesn't have to cross any busy streets. Smart girl!
Last night Joe and I went back to Los Altos to reset the trap and we left
the cover from her crate pad in it to lure her. This morning at about 8
Dawn called and in a very quiet voice told me to pick up my keys & purse, to
carefully drive to her house, TO PICK UP MY DAMN DOG!!!
We don't know when she got herself caught but she was certainly in the trap
when the sprinklers came on - she was soaked. And matted, stinky, dirty,
muddy, and did I mention stinky? Oh, and happy. Very happy. We parked my
car in their garage, the guys moved Cloudy & the trap into the garage. With
all the doors closed, we let her out. She wriggled & squirmed & flipped
over for a belly rub & climbed all over me. She's not skinny at all - about
the same as when she left. I've cut off most of the big mats. She's
actually in fine shape as far as I can tell. Not at all injured save for a
couple small cuts on her pads. Mats. She had these basketball size things
hanging under both ears. Her pretty, fluffy bum is now much less fluffy,
lopsided, and headed for the shower.
We'll visit the vet this week. I'm expecting some internal parasites &
realize that they may not have had time to show up yet.
And today is her 7th birthday - isn't that just the neatest thing?
Thanks again,
Lyn and Cloudy
(Follow up note a few days after.)
"Cloudy's doing well. She had a bunch of thorns stuck into her sides but
with a sincere haircut I made sure all those were out. She had a yeast
infection in her ear & during the exam the vet found a thorn deep in her ear
canal. So glad that was removed before it caused serious damage. Other
than that she's truly a different dog. Happier, goofier, friendlier with
others . . . And let me tell you, she no longer lingers over her meals!"
with a sincere haircut I made sure all those were out. She had a yeast
infection in her ear & during the exam the vet found a thorn deep in her ear
canal. So glad that was removed before it caused serious damage. Other
than that she's truly a different dog. Happier, goofier, friendlier with
others . . . And let me tell you, she no longer lingers over her meals!"
Cloudy is a microchipped, spayed, red merle Australian Shepherd. She is wearing a collar with ID tags.
She was staying at a relatives house with her person while her person housesat. The rear fence had a hole that nobody knew about, but Cloudy found it in the middle of one night.
We tracked her for three separate days, and there were sightings of her in various locations along that track.
Day One:
Created by My Tracks on Android.
Total Distance: 17.33 km (10.8 mi)
Total Time: 6:55:06
Moving Time: 2:44:26
Average Speed: 2.50 km/h (1.6 mi/h)
Average Moving Speed: 6.32 km/h (3.9 mi/h)
Max Speed: 17.19 km/h (10.7 mi/h)
Min Elevation: 4 m (13 ft)
Max Elevation: 77 m (253 ft)
Elevation Gain: 583 m (1914 ft)
Max Grade: 4 %
Min Grade: -6 %
Recorded: Mon Aug 22 09:52:18 PDT 2011
Total Time: 6:55:06
Moving Time: 2:44:26
Average Speed: 2.50 km/h (1.6 mi/h)
Average Moving Speed: 6.32 km/h (3.9 mi/h)
Max Speed: 17.19 km/h (10.7 mi/h)
Min Elevation: 4 m (13 ft)
Max Elevation: 77 m (253 ft)
Elevation Gain: 583 m (1914 ft)
Max Grade: 4 %
Min Grade: -6 %
Recorded: Mon Aug 22 09:52:18 PDT 2011
Day Two:
View Cloudy Day Two Brief in a larger map
Total Distance: 0.61 km (0.4 mi)
Total Time: 15:14
Moving Time: 5:12
Average Speed: 2.39 km/h (1.5 mi/h)
Average Moving Speed: 6.99 km/h (4.3 mi/h)
Max Speed: 8.45 km/h (5.3 mi/h)
Min Elevation: 39 m (128 ft)
Max Elevation: 71 m (234 ft)
Elevation Gain: 32 m (105 ft)
Max Grade: 0 %
Min Grade: 0 %
Recorded: Tue Aug 23 14:39:30 PDT 2011
Total Time: 15:14
Moving Time: 5:12
Average Speed: 2.39 km/h (1.5 mi/h)
Average Moving Speed: 6.99 km/h (4.3 mi/h)
Max Speed: 8.45 km/h (5.3 mi/h)
Min Elevation: 39 m (128 ft)
Max Elevation: 71 m (234 ft)
Elevation Gain: 32 m (105 ft)
Max Grade: 0 %
Min Grade: 0 %
Recorded: Tue Aug 23 14:39:30 PDT 2011
Day Three:
View Cloudy Day Three in a larger map
Total Distance: 11.12 km (6.9 mi)
Total Time: 4:07:02
Moving Time: 1:49:01
Average Speed: 2.70 km/h (1.7 mi/h)
Average Moving Speed: 6.12 km/h (3.8 mi/h)
Max Speed: 10.19 km/h (6.3 mi/h)
Min Elevation: -18 m (-58 ft)
Max Elevation: 59 m (192 ft)
Elevation Gain: 399 m (1309 ft)
Max Grade: 0 %
Min Grade: 0 %
Recorded: Fri Aug 26 08:14:48 PDT 2011
Total Time: 4:07:02
Moving Time: 1:49:01
Average Speed: 2.70 km/h (1.7 mi/h)
Average Moving Speed: 6.12 km/h (3.8 mi/h)
Max Speed: 10.19 km/h (6.3 mi/h)
Min Elevation: -18 m (-58 ft)
Max Elevation: 59 m (192 ft)
Elevation Gain: 399 m (1309 ft)
Max Grade: 0 %
Min Grade: 0 %
Recorded: Fri Aug 26 08:14:48 PDT 2011
No comments:
Post a Comment