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"Maximus", Shar Pei, Blue/Grey, Walnut Creek

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Search Details:

Maximus is a four year old, unneutered, grey/blue Shar Pei. He is microchipped and wearing a collar with ID tags.

His person saw Max jump out of the back of his truck as he pulled up to his house. 

There were no sightings of Max after he went missing. 

We followed the track for the four hour minimum until his person called off the search.

NOTE: Max's person was, by far, the most difficult person I have ever had to work with on a search to this point. He argued with me constantly throughout the search and questioned every turn and move we made. In addition, he stiffed me for the mileage he owed me. I got out of his car after the search, I went to my car with Dino to get the mileage amount, and he drove off in his truck. I attempted contact with him several times through email and phone calls, but he refused to return any of my calls. I have not heard back if Max was ever found. 

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View Maximus Track in a larger map

Created by My Tracks on Android.

Total distance: 11.61 km (7.2 mi)
Total time: 3:47:04
Moving time: 3:17:16
Average speed: 3.07 km/h (1.9 mi/h)
Average moving speed: 3.53 km/h (2.2 mi/h)
Max speed: 8.52 km/h (5.3 mi/h)
Min elevation: 15 m (49 ft)
Max elevation: 78 m (254 ft)
Elevation gain: 234 m (768 ft)
Max grade: 13 %
Min grade: -18 %
Recorded: 12/22/11 8:19 AM
Activity type: -

"Rudy", Siberian Husky, White with Grey, Concord - Found!

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Search Details:

Rudy is a 12 year old, light grey Siberian Husky. He is wearing a brown, leather collar with no ID tags and he is not microchipped. 

Rudy took off late one night after a side gate got left open by accident. 

There were numerous sightings of Rudy before, during and after the search.

See GPS Maps at the end of this blog.

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Craigslist ad:

RUDY THE TWELVE YEAR OLD SIBERIAN HUSKY IS HOME!!! (concord / pleasant hill / martinez)

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Date: 2011-12-28, 8:16PM PST
Reply to: comm-yymgt-2773429368@craigslist.org ^{[Errors when replying to ads?]}

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I brought Rudy home about 30 minutes ago. Thanks to everyone who contacted me to report sightings, to make me aware of dogs that could have been him, but weren't, and to give their good wishes and suggestions. Thanks are not enough for Kim and Spencer who saw him, checked Craig's List, called me, waited outside to keep track of him until I could get there, and then spent an hour or more helping me to round him up and catch him. Thanks are also due to the neighbors who helped Kim and Spencer.

Rudy is a little thin, very dirty, and has a slight limp, but he is alive, safe, and happy to be home.

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Email received December 25, 2011:

"Thank you Jackie.

At least some of the postcards were delivered yesterday – I got one in my mailbox. I have also had two calls in the last two days that I think were from the postcards, but it was old information. One reported sighting was from Tuesday. He had been in a neighborhood in the opposite direction of the skate part, and the other one was from “the other night”, and he was seen running down Cowell Rd. I will call both parties to thank them and get more information, but I think those two pieces of information are out of date.  I don’t think any of the postcards went as far as the park we were at yesterday.

I am not sure what to do next. I went back to the park yesterday afternoon/evening and put up and handed out more flyers, talked to some people in the neighborhood, and walked and drove around. A teenager in the Coast Guard housing said he had seen Rudy in the pasture with the cattle the night before. I don’t know whether that is accurate or not, but I did see a hole in the fence he could have gotten through. I have no idea what to do with that information if it is accurate. I also went back this evening and drove and walked around with Jacques. I thought maybe if Rudy located our scent around there he might stick around – no idea whether that has any value, but it couldn’t hurt. I have had no response to the flyers I put up and distributed yesterday, and of course don’t know whether that means he has left the area, or it just needs more time and more flyers. I will go back tomorrow and spend some time there with Jacques.

If you have any ideas for further action, I would like to hear about them.

Thanks again, Jackie."

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Email received December 26, 2011:

"Thank you Jackie.

I know the cards were sent to the area around my home. I e-mailed PetHarbor and asked whether they could mail out cards to addresses centered around a location other than my home. I have not had a response yet.

I just talked to the first caller, and it was not Rudy. The dog he saw was reddish in color and had been around his neighborhood for a week before Rudy got out. I left a voicemail for the second caller. Her report is consistent with the sighting at the skate park. So, so far all the sightings and other information has him going down Cowell, and in the direction of that park.

I forgot to mention that Saturday I took a flier to the main police office, and also spoke with the dispatcher who said he would put Rudy’s information on the board, and call me if they saw him or got a report. I also called the Martinez shelter, and asked to be called if they saw or got a report about Rudy, and was told that is “beyond the scope of what they do”. Funny that it is not “beyond the scope” for the police to help with a loose dog, but it is “beyond the scope” for animal services!

The idea that he has gone into that pasture with the cattle is very scary.

I am prepared to spend more money on postcards, robo-calls, or whatever else has a chance of being effective, but I have to be careful to target carefully because at some point the money will run out. I can print as many fliers as I need for free at work, but so far no one has stepped up to help distributed fliers, so the limit there is time and energy.

Thanks again, Jackie."

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Email received December 27, 2011

"At the Martinez shelter I could not get past the person who answered the phone. She kept trying to transfer me to the volunteers, but would not transfer me to anyone else.

I heard back from PetHarbor about the postcards. They sent me a list of the streets where they sent the postcards, which is helpful. They can target any area I ask for, and exclude any addresses they have already sent to. I just need to decide what area is most likely to get results, and I am just not sure at this point. It is the same for the robo-calls. I need to figure out some kind of strategy.

So far these are the sightings that have been reported:

·         Sunday 12/18 10:30-11:00 PM on Cowell Rd, not far from the skate park. This is the day he got out.

·         Friday 12/23 AM Willow Pass Park.

·         Friday 12/23 1:00-1:30 PM skate park heading toward BART station.

·         Friday 12/23 evening in the pasture with the cattle across from Willow Pass Park. This is extremely scary, and I really hope the kid was wrong!

·         Friday 12/23 evening Oak Grove and Apple Street (near Monument Blvd). This is  long distance from the other evening sighting. I need to call the guy back and try to find out what time he saw Rudy. Tonight I distributed about 50 fliers around there putting them on mailboxes, utility poles, and handing them to people.

I got the call about the last sighting this afternoon. The guy had seen a flier I put up at Baldwin Park, which is several blocks from Willow Pass Park. No one has reported seeing Rudy in Baldwin Park, but there is a dog park there, so I decided to put a flier there even though I didn’t expect any results. The guy saw that flier today, and called to tell me he saw Rudy in a completely different part of town. It’s all so random! You never know what is going to get results.

No sightings since Friday seems worrisome. It also makes it difficult to know where to target the postcards and robo-calls. These things are not cheap, and money is not unlimited, so I have to try to make all the expenditures count. I guess the only thing that makes any sense at all is to target the areas where we know he has been, which would be Willow Pass Park, the area around Oak Grove and Monument, Cowell Rd, and the area around the BART station, and the neighborhood the track led through. It seems to me that if he is moving back and forth between two areas he is more like to use the same or similar route each time. Does that fit with what you know about behavior of loose dogs?

Thanks again for your help."

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Email received December 28, 2011:

"It looks like the Friday Evening sighting at Oak Grove and Apple St was very confident. I brought Rudy home about 30 minutes ago from Pear Street, which as you can guess is in that same neighborhood. I got a call just as I was leaving work tonight from someone who saw him in the neighborhood, and checked Craig’s List. They stayed outside keeping an eye on his whereabouts for more than an hour until I could get there, and they said the neighbors were out there helping to try to round him up. After I got there they helped herd him back and forth until he finally seemed to realize who I was, and I was able to catch him.  I think it helped to calm him down that I had Jacques with me.

Rudy is a little thin, filthy dirty, has a slight limp, and he was very thirsty and hungry, but he is healthy, safe, and happy to be home.

Thanks for your help and support, Jackie, and please feel free to use me as a reference."

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Email received December 28, 2011:

Yes, I was very, very lucky that he decided to end up in such a nice neighborhood with so many caring people. It sounds like that’s where he went Friday night after his adventures in Willow Pass Park, and he either kept going back there or stayed around after he got there. The people on Pear St said he had been around for several days. I really couldn’t believe the couple stayed outside watching him for over an hour, then helped me to catch him. I learned one nice thing about Rudy’s temperament, too. Earlier, before I arrived, one of the neighbors actually caught him, but he slipped out of his collar. Apparently all he cared about was getting away, and as terrified as he must have been it never occurred to him to bite. Every dog has a bite threshold, and I guess Rudy’s is very high.

I will write up the letter for your blog. It is interesting that the most expensive thing I did, the postcards, was the least effective, and what finally did bring him home was the free listing on Craig’s list.  Probably if I had done the postcards sooner they would have been more effective, but it took me too long to discover that option, and then to decide to spend that much money. I don’t regret it, but (     ) is a lot of money, and most people probably just don’t have it to spend in the hope that it will work. I think the biggest lesson is that you never know what is going to bring your pet home, and have to use every possible means you can afford.

I made a commitment that if Rudy came home I would give him more time and attention than I have been, and I will. I was actually planning, once I got my training field installed, to teach him some of the agility obstacles just to keep him entertained and in shape, and now I will do it for sure. For now I will have to do some serious brushing to get all the sticky plant seeds and burrs out of his coat!

Thanks again to you – and to Dino! – for the time, help, and support. You helped me keep going when I was pretty sure it was hopeless! I’m sure Rudy thanks you too. He seems pretty happy to be home again."

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View Rudy Siberian Concord in a larger map

Created by My Tracks on Android.

Total distance: 12.39 km (7.7 mi)
Total time: 3:21:06
Moving time: 1:36:23
Average speed: 3.70 km/h (2.3 mi/h)
Average moving speed: 7.71 km/h (4.8 mi/h)
Max speed: 16.30 km/h (10.1 mi/h)
Min elevation: 4 m (13 ft)
Max elevation: 43 m (141 ft)
Elevation gain: 519 m (1701 ft)
Max grade: 14 %
Min grade: -11 %
Recorded: 12/24/11 9:32 AM
Activity type: -

"Banjo", English Springer Spaniel, Liver/white, Santa Clara - Found!

Banjo is a liver and white. two year old English Springer Spaniel. He is wearing a collar with current ID tags, and he is microchipped. 

There were a couple of sightings of Banjo after he went missing. 

We had a searched scheduled for first thing the next morning. 

I received a call late in the afternoon that Banjo had been found. Somebody found him hiding him in some bushes several miles from home, and they called the number on his ID tags.

"Sniffles", Shih Tzu, White with Red, Berkeley

Still missing as of August 24, 2013



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Search Details:

Sniffles is an eight year old, white with light brown Shiz Tzu. He is not wearing a collar and he is not microchipped. Sniffles is very friendly toward strangers.

There was single sighting of Sniffles after he left his home. A passer-by saw Sniffles sitting on his front lawn. This person went to the door of a neighbor's home and asked if this was their dog. The neighbor said it was their neighbor's dog next door. The passer-by then put Sniffles back on the front lawn and kept walking.

Sometime after that, another person came by, found Sniffles, picked him up and kept walking, not attempting to find his home. He was never seen again.

We followed his track out of the neighborhood and straight to the North Berkeley BART station. The track went into the station, down the steps and to the far end of the platform. Here is where the track stopped. This tells us that this person, with Sniffles, went onto a BART train and out of the area.

We did go to the nearest BART station, closer back their home, check for a track out of the station, but could not found a track.

They said they would continue to look for Sniffles.

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View Sniffles Track in a larger map

Created by My Tracks on Android.

Total distance: 5.60 km (3.5 mi)
Total time: 1:30:17
Moving time: 40:26
Average speed: 3.72 km/h (2.3 mi/h)
Average moving speed: 8.31 km/h (5.2 mi/h)
Max speed: 45.93 km/h (28.5 mi/h)
Min elevation: 25 m (81 ft)
Max elevation: 57 m (188 ft)
Elevation gain: 183 m (600 ft)
Max grade: 1 %
Min grade: -3 %
Recorded: Sat Dec 17 09:04:26 PST 2011
Activity type: -

"Andres", DLH, White with Lynx Points, Palo Alto - Found!

Andres before being lost

Andres before being lost

Andres before being lost.

Andres at hospital after being found

Where Andres was found trapped by neighbor.

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Search Details:

Andres is an indoor/outdoor, four year old DLH with Lynx Points neutered male. He is microchipped and wearing a blue collar. 

There were several sightings around the apartment complex where he lived of Andres after he went missing. We started at the most recent confirmed sighting, which appeared to be where he got into a fight with another cat. 

As I got to the search, Andres' person told me about another possible sighting of Andres that was more current. It was several blocks away. We drove to that spot and started the search there. 

We followed the track for several hours, when the search was called off by his person. He said he would continue to look for Andres. 

See the follow up letters from Andres's person during the search and after he was found. 

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Email December 17, one day after search:

"Nothing new. Same location, four sightings now within one block. 

CK"

Email received December 24, 2011

"Greetings all,

I have reached a momentary dead end in my search for Andres, so I thought today will be a good day to provide an update of his missing status to everyone who has provided help and/or suggestions  to me.   The good news is that I am almost certain that I saw him at 3AM last Sunday morning walking on the sidewalk of Oregon Ave., close to Louis and heading in the direction of Greer.  And there are at least three other people who are certain they saw him within a block of this same area.   He was about thirty yards away from me and it was very dark, but I heard a  bell that  sounded exactly like Andres'.  He was also about the same size and looked like the same color.  I made the mistake of running after him when he started running away and I lost sight of him.  He stopped momentarily, and I was able to shine my small flashlight on him and the white glare from his eyes seemed to me that they were his blue eyes and I was able to see his fur color for a second.  I decided to go there because of the help I had received from two separate individuals who thought they saw him on the sidewalk of  Louis Rd., two houses away from the corner Of Oregon Expressway and heading in the direction of the Oregon Ave.   frontage road entrance.  One person thought he saw him around 4pm on Friday the 16th, and alerted me via email.  The other person called me the night before around 7:30 PM and saw him under a car.  Her daughter approached him and he ran and jumped a fence and went into the backyard of 3218 Louis.  I brought a scent dog to this location after providing personal belongings of Andres and the dog used the scent to start a track.  The owner of the dog is certain that he had been in this location the prior evening based on the dog's response to the scent of Andres that he found in the backyard.  The dog tracked Andres' scent unsuccessfully for four hours.  I also made another phone call to the person who saw him at 7:30 PM.  She had time to view Andres' pictures that I posted on my photo website and she told me that she was certain that it was him that she saw. Palo Alto animal services had warned me about the possibility that the dog could actually scare the cat away, but I decided to use it to try and verify it was him.  

I have been able to piece together a lot of information provided by neighbors and all of the experts on lost animals to develop a pretty good idea of what happened to him.  Andres was seen by three separate neighbors on Dec 5., starting at 9AM, 11AM and 3PM in front of my unit where the mailboxes are located. This would be logical because he had not eaten anything that day and his normal routine is lunch and a nap in the afternoon.  If he eats in the morning, he stays out longer.  If he does not eat, which is less common, he will come back sooner.   He also knows the sounds of my cars when I get home and park, and I will sometimes see him running to the front door as I am parking.  If I am late, I often find him sitting on the door mat of my front door.      Two separate neighbors heard cats fighting loudly at separate times that day.  The first fights were around 8 AM, which were described as very loud and there was another fight around 3:30 PM.  I came home around 4PM and I did not see him anywhere.  Martha and another neighbor also noticed large clumps of his fur underneath the balcony of the unit next door to me.

The first possible sighting of Andres was on Monday night Dec. 5 on Celia Dr. The person who thought she saw him is a animal shelter volunteer.  She could not be certain that it was him because it was dusk, but she was certain that he did not live on that street.  She notified me on Wednesday night 12/7 after seeing his description and picture.  That same night I left Andres fliers at every house on Celia.  The following morning, 12/8 another resident called me around 7:30 AM to notify me that her two sons saw Andres in their backyard. He disappeared by the time I arrived.  Both sons independently verified later  that it was Andres after seeing his pictures.  Around this time I was also receiving emails from a possible sighting at the next door apartment complex Parker Apartments.  This was thought to be about a 60% chance that it was him as it was also dark.  The problem with the Parker Apartment sightings is that this a location that Andres and other Oregon Greens cats frequent regularly.  If he is there, it would also mean that he is definitely not lost as he is very familiar with returning from this location.  

I have filed missing cat reports with all of the animal shelters from San Francisco to San Martin.  Petharbor.com is the website that is used by all of the local animal control agencies to help pet owners see pictures of all lost animals that have been turned in.  I have also been in contact with all of the local animal hospitals in case he was injured and brought in by someone thought they adopted a stray cat.  In addition to fliers and posters, I had a voice mail service blast an alert message to everyone in the area.  I decided to use Oregon Expressway as the north border for the voice mail, so nobody on the north side of Oregon Expressway has where Andres has been seen has been alerted yet.   As of now, I still only have a lot of questions and no answers.  However, I have  received a lot of guidance from all of the local experts on missing animals.  Andres is a outdoor experienced cat who  is fiercely independent.  He has found his way home from his daily adventures and social visits every single  day now for over a year.  Because there is no dead cat inside the Oregon Greens complex, it is highly unlikely that he died in a fight.  Because he has a microchip, Palo Alto animal control would have called me if he was killed by a car.  If a cat is hit on the on ramp or the freeway, Caltrans will turn the dead body in.  If it is killed or found dead within city limits, animal control will retrieve the body.  All of the animal control agencies immediately scan cats when they are brought in doa or alive and notify the owner. 

 Based on Andre's personality type, I have been told by all of the experts that the most probable scenario is that Andres is hiding and/or subsequently has gotten himself lost somewhere close.  The experts strongly discount the possibility that he was stolen or that someone else has adopted him or drove off with him.  Because he hates being inside all day, it is unlikely that he is still inside of the person's home who thought they adopted a stray cat.   Because no dead body has been found and there is no smell of a decomposing body nearby,   they would say it is more likely that he is either trapped in a garage  or walked inside someone else's house or apartment than he was  killed in a fight or stolen.  The odds are much higher that he is scared and lost somewhere close.  Celia Drive is two blocks away from me and the Louis sightings are within a block of the the Celia sightings.  All of the sightings with the exception of the 4PM Louis Rd. sighting all were around the times that the experts say a lost cat will make his move from one location to another, early in the morning or at sundown.  None of the residents on Oregon and Louis who I talked to own cats said their cats wear a collar with a bell.  The experts also say that a lost, scared cat can easily be disoriented and will not answer a call to his name from his owner.  I met the owner of the house close to the sidewalk  where I think that I saw Andres in the middle of the night on Oregon Ave.  He is currently leaving a humane animal trap in his front yard with Andres' favorite food to try and lure him into it.  Thus far , we have caught two cats but not Andres.  

Thank you all for all of the useful information that you have provided to me to help piece together what caused Andres to go missing.  I also welcome any additional suggestions or ideas on how to catch a lost cat.  

Merry Christmas and happy holidays,

CK"

Email received January 9, 2012:

"Greetings all,

I am happy to tell all of you that Andres was found last night at 9pm at the Parker apartment complex on Tanland.  It was good fortune for the person who  heard him meow for help from inside a barbecue pit where he has been trapped.  Her roommate happened to be drinking with his friends and decided to take a break outside and sit on one of the patio chairs where the barbecue pit is located.  She saw him as she was  walking  to her car  and decided to stop briefly to say hi.  That is when she heard the meow.  She decided to open the small valve door below the barbecue and  she saw him inside (see attached photos).  He ran straight to the pool from the barbecue and started drinking the pool water.  When she brought him inside her apartment he immediately dashed toward her dog and rabbit food bowls and devoured the food.  She saw the fliers so she decided to drive to Colorado Ave. where Andres' missing cat poster is and  look at his pictures. She then called me to let me know she had him.   I immediately went to pick him up and take him to the emergency clinic, where his liver, blood and vital signs were checked.  He has several large wounds, is very skinny, dirty (he smells like a barbecue) and only weighs six pounds.  He weighed over twelve lbs. before going missing so he lost 50% of his weight.  His wounds also look peculiar.  How long he was trapped for and  the way he got himself inside the barbecue remains a mystery.   There is only one way in or out of this barbecue for a cat.  Therefore, the question is whether he walked through the small door if it was open and then  physically shut by someone while he was inside, or if someone decided to lock him inside it.   There is no other way to get inside.   The good news is that Andres is at the clinic with an iv for dehydration  and the doctors think that he is going to be fine.  I want to thank everyone for your support and assistance.  I was receiving a lot of calls from people who thought they saw him running around.  Although we will never know if he was at any or all of the those locations when he was to thought to be seen, it does not matter.  Everyone was making an earnest effort to help rescue him and I had no reservations about chasing all of the leads.  I was trying to make one sale and did not care if it meant talking to the entire midtown Palo Alto area in the process.  Thanks again for you assistance and efforts.  I learned a lot about the integrity and character of the members of our community during the last 34 days. 

Cheers to a happy ending,

CK"

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View Andreas Track in a larger map

Created by My Tracks on Android.

Total distance: 13.33 km (8.3 mi)
Total time: 3:44:55
Moving time: 2:08:28
Average speed: 3.55 km/h (2.2 mi/h)
Average moving speed: 6.22 km/h (3.9 mi/h)
Max speed: 55.37 km/h (34.4 mi/h)
Min elevation: -40 m (-133 ft)
Max elevation: 19 m (61 ft)
Elevation gain: 411 m (1348 ft)
Max grade: 1 %
Min grade: -1 %
Recorded: Fri Dec 16 13:03:29 PST 2011
Activity type: -

"Bingka", Corgi Mix, Black with Brown, Pacheco

Still missing as of February 14, 2012. 

Bingka is a 20 pound, three year old black with brown and white, Corgi mix. She is wearing a collar with ID tags and she is microchipped. 

She escaped from a boarding kennel by jumping an eight foot chain link fence. 

There were no sightings of Bingka after she went missing. 

We followed the track for several hours. The owner of the boarding kennel said he would continue to look for her until her person came home from vacation. 

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View Bingka Track in a larger map

Created by My Tracks on Android.

Total distance: 35.75 km (22.2 mi)
Total time: 6:49:04
Moving time: 5:09:11
Average speed: 5.24 km/h (3.3 mi/h)
Average moving speed: 6.94 km/h (4.3 mi/h)
Max speed: 117.60 km/h (73.1 mi/h)
Min elevation: -15 m (-49 ft)
Max elevation: 39 m (127 ft)
Elevation gain: 580 m (1902 ft)
Max grade: 12 %
Min grade: -13 %
Recorded: Sat Dec 10 08:41:02 PST 2011
Activity type: -

"Max", Akita, Brown and Black, San Jose - Found!

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This Craigslist ad was placed by Max's person after Max was found. 

Missing AKITA has been FOUND (san jose south)

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Date: 2011-12-05, 7:42PM PST
Reply to: comm-ypxk6-2738243745@craigslist.org ^{[Errors when replying to ads?]}

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The Akita that has been missing since before Thanksgiving has been found. He is safe and sound. Thank you for all the people that help find him and that kept a look out on Craigslist for me. I don't know how to thank you. I was begining to loose hope. My son is so happy his dog is home. Thank you again.

Sincerly,

Laura

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Search details:

Max is a four year old, unneutered, black and brown Akita. When he went missing, he was not wearing a collar, but he was wearing a red nylon body harness. He is microchipped.

There were no sightings of Max after he went missing.

I spoke to Max's person about doing a search, but she had decided to not do a search at that time.

A few days later, I was searching through Craigslist for various ads in the Lost and Found section, and I saw an ad for an Akita for sale. The Akita looked identical to Max, and the ad said the person had found Max several weeks prior, right around the time that Max originally went missing, and the two locations were identical.

I immediately called Max's person and told her about the ad. She called the number in the ad, and she had Max home within an hour.