"Fred," DSH, Black, Pacific Grove

Still Missing as of August 24, 2013

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Fred is an indoor/outdoor, five year old, all black, DSH. When he went missing he was not wearing a collar but he did have a microchip. He had been missing for a week and a half when I was called out. There were no sightings of Fred after he went missing. He was last seen by the next door neighbor at 6 PM sitting in front of their front door, which was normal.

His person had done an extensive search of the area of a couple of blocks in every direction, but nobody had seen Fred since he went missing. 

On "day one" it appeared that Fred had been chased away from the house, probably by a raccoon or bully cat in the neighborhood, all of which, according to Fred's person, thrive in the area. Fred's person described a past incident where a raccoon physically attacked his wife inside their house, biting her several times, and then running off. 

The track continued for several miles through the area, in and around neighborhoods and large private complex for tourists and travelers. The track was stopped at five hours all the way to the Monterey Wharf.

On "day two", we restarted the search, and it appeared that the track was now a person carrying Fred. It was no longer the darting and meandering track from "day one." It was now very direct and with a purpose. Thinking back, the most probable place where Fred could have been picked up was on the wharf, since it was all closed in, and a lot of people were there even when we went through late in the afternoon. In addition, the place where we were now tracking was a very popular place for transients and homeless. According to Fred's person, due to the weather and liberal atmosphere, the area was very popular for a wide variety of people and their animals. 

The search of "day two" was stopped at the four hour mark by Fred's person. He said he would continue to look for Fred and let me know when they find him. 

Day One:

View Fred Pacific Grove in a larger map

Created by My Tracks on Android.

Name: Fred Pacific Grove
Activity type: -
Description: -
Total distance: 15.19 km (9.4 mi)
Total time: 4:13:48
Moving time: 3:20:54
Average speed: 3.59 km/h (2.2 mi/h)
Average moving speed: 4.54 km/h (2.8 mi/h)
Max speed: 8.33 km/h (5.2 mi/h)
Average pace: 16.71 min/km (26.9 min/mi)
Average moving pace: 13.23 min/km (21.3 min/mi)
Fastest pace: 7.20 min/km (11.6 min/mi)
Max elevation: 64 m (209 ft)
Min elevation: -7 m (-23 ft)
Elevation gain: 346 m (1135 ft)
Max grade: 16 %
Min grade: -9 %
Recorded: 1/29/2013 11:35am

Day Two:

View Fred Day 2 Pacific Grove in a larger map

Created by My Tracks on Android.

Name: Fred Day 2 Pacific Grove
Activity type: -
Description: -
Total distance: 13.78 km (8.6 mi)
Total time: 3:49:55
Moving time: 3:04:31
Average speed: 3.60 km/h (2.2 mi/h)
Average moving speed: 4.48 km/h (2.8 mi/h)
Max speed: 9.45 km/h (5.9 mi/h)
Average pace: 16.68 min/km (26.8 min/mi)
Average moving pace: 13.39 min/km (21.5 min/mi)
Fastest pace: 6.35 min/km (10.2 min/mi)
Max elevation: 47 m (156 ft)
Min elevation: -11 m (-36 ft)
Elevation gain: 327 m (1073 ft)
Max grade: 0 %
Min grade: 0 %
Recorded: 1/31/2013 11:32am

"Lulu," Maltese/Poodle mix, White with Grey, San Francisco - Found!

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Lulu is a grey and white, seven year old, spayed, seven pound Maltese/Poodle cross. When she went missing she was wearing a collar with ID tags and it was unclear if she was microchipped since she escaped from a relative who was boarding her while her person was on a cruise ship, and had no way to be contacted.

Lulu was at the relative's house for less than 24 hours when she squeezed out of a small opening between the side gate and fencing while the person was resting on a chair in the yard at around 4:30 PM. It was about 20 minutes before the person noticed Lulu was not in the yard. At that point, he said he went around the neighborhood calling for her, but could not find her and nobody seem to see her. He believed that she had been picked up and carried away.

Lulu was missing for over three days before I was called.

The track we found led directly away from the house, down the street to a dead end where she found a small alley/walkway that led directly to a busy street. From there she crossed streets and eventually crossed the Caltrain tracks to the other side and continued south along the tracks, through business parks and back to the train tracks. Then the scent went south through Brisbane and into north South San Francisco. The search was stopped early on Oyster Point Blvd in South San Francisco, by the relative saying she would continue the search for Lulu and she would let me know when they found Lulu.

On Saturday, February 9, I heard from another person that Lulu had been found the previous Sunday. I emailed the person who Lulu was staying with when she went missing and this was the email I received:

"Did you find Lulu?"

"Yes, was meaning to email you. She was found last Sunday on the north side of the open area at Candlestick point under a bush.  A man had seen our signs out at Candlestick point and called in the sighting."

"Great! What condition was she in? What was the total amount of days she was lost? She definitely traveled quite a distance and found her way back north and further along."

"10 days.  Lost 25% of her body weight.  Had bloody diarrhea and a fever.  Vet says she'll be fine."

Since Lulu had already traveled so far south and covered a lot of ground, and since the search was stopped at a point where she could easily travel north again, I am not surprised that she made it back north and then further along. I did explain all this to Lulu's caretaker and to search for her in all directions since she had proven she was capable of traveling long distances. 

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Created by My Tracks on Android.

Name: Lulu San Francisco
Activity type: -
Description: -
Total distance: 16.99 km (10.6 mi)
Total time: 3:21:52
Moving time: 1:59:40
Average speed: 5.05 km/h (3.1 mi/h)
Average moving speed: 8.52 km/h (5.3 mi/h)
Max speed: 81.30 km/h (50.5 mi/h)
Average pace: 11.88 min/km (19.1 min/mi)
Average moving pace: 7.04 min/km (11.3 min/mi)
Fastest pace: 0.74 min/km (1.2 min/mi)
Max elevation: 34 m (112 ft)
Min elevation: -28 m (-92 ft)
Elevation gain: 377 m (1238 ft)
Max grade: 24 %
Min grade: -15 %
Recorded: 1/27/2013 10:07am

"Tabor," DSH, Grey Tabby, Berkeley

Still Missing as of August 24, 2013

Tabor is an indoor/outdoor 15 year old grey tabby DSH. When he went missing he was not wearing a collar and was not microchipped. He had been missing for over a week when I was called. He was last seen by his person in the afternoon on the back deck, just as she was leaving. He did not come home later that night as usual. Per his person, Tabor was a very sick and thin cat with medical issues and taking a couple of medications. She also said he could barely walk.

There were no sightings of Tabor after he went missing. His person did say he was friendly with people who walked by the house, which is on a corner of an area where people walk back and forth.

The track we found was of a cat being carried away by a human. The house was in the "hills" area of Berkeley and the track led straight along sidewalks, all the way to the University area, which was extremely busy and high traffic. While we were walking, his person was on the phone with vets in the area in case somebody had brought Tabor in, but nobody confirmed receiving a cat of that description from the Berkeley area in the last few days.

We continued the search for the four hours, when Tabor's person stopped the search. She said she would continue to look for him and let me know when he was found.






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Created by My Tracks on Android.

Name: Tabor Berkeley
Activity type: -
Description: -
Total distance: 8.96 km (5.6 mi)
Total time: 3:11:04
Moving time: 1:52:54
Average speed: 2.81 km/h (1.7 mi/h)
Average moving speed: 4.76 km/h (3.0 mi/h)
Max speed: 8.15 km/h (5.1 mi/h)
Average pace: 21.32 min/km (34.3 min/mi)
Average moving pace: 12.60 min/km (20.3 min/mi)
Fastest pace: 7.36 min/km (11.8 min/mi)
Max elevation: 299 m (980 ft)
Min elevation: 20 m (66 ft)
Elevation gain: 240 m (787 ft)
Max grade: 3 %
Min grade: -16 %
Recorded: 1/24/2013 12:20pm

"Pogo," DSH, White with Black, Oakland - Found!

My notes: A week after the search, Pogo was found "in the neighborhood" of his home. The exact location was not given. He was found very thin and weak. His person holds to the fact that he was there in that one spot the whole time. Obviously, he was chased out of the area of his home by all the domestic and wild critters who live in the area, was missing for several days, which explains his weak and thin condition. He then made it back to the general area until he was found. By that time, he had been missing for over two weeks. 

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Pogo is an indoor only 15 year old, 10 pound, white with black, DSH. He is not microchipped and not wearing a collar.

Pogo was missing for one week when I was called. There were no sightings after he went missing, despite an extensive search of the immediate neighborhood by Pogo's person.

He went missing from the house at about 7 PM when he escaped by running out the front door while people were standing on the porch. He was noticed missing around 11 PM that evening. A search of the house and the immediate neighborhood was made, but he was not found or sighted.

He has been missing in the past and per his person, "He was found on the back porch after being missing for the night."

We found a track leading away from the house, up the street, across a couple of streets, down another street and then towards a more busy street.

Within five minutes of starting the search, Pogo's person outright said that she did not believe that Dino was following her cat's scent. She said that her elderly cat would never, ever travel this far and must be back somewhere near her home. I reminded her of her extensive search in the area for the last week and no cat was found. She said that "everything she had read on the Internet said that cats never travel far and just sit and hide for days at a time." I said that those sites are wrong. She said, "How could all those sites be wrong and you are right?" I said, "My dog is right because he is following your cat's scent. Those sites are not following your cat's scent." She did not believe me.

I did find this Craigslist ad posted, confirming that she felt her cat had travelled out of the area:
"January 22, 2013 

Craigslist ad:

"may be heading back to home in temescal, through the laurel or dimond.
White cat with black ears, tail, and three large black spots on back. pink nose, green eyes.
"Pogo".
super sweet but probably scared."

She questioned the drink I was giving Dino that she felt was preventing him from following any track. She said that she was familiar with human search and rescue dogs and she didn't feel that Dino was acting the same. I explained that this was not looking for a lost human, but a lost cat and it was all different. She said that Dino was never tracking, and that I was guiding him the whole time. I said that Dino was tracking and suggested to continue to follow the search.

Five minutes later she again said that she did not feel her cat would ever walk on the sidewalk and again, said that Dino was not  tracking her cat. I said he was tracking and suggested we keep following the track.

Five minutes later the track crossed a street to the other side, and I said we needed to get back down to the crosswalk to cross. Again, she said that Dino was not tracking and she said she would not continue on the search and she wanted all her money back. I reminded her that she had already paid for the four hour minimum. She asked that I continue the search without her and I reminded her that I did not do searches alone. At that point, she unzipped the reflective vest I had given her, handed it to me and turned to walk back home alone.

"Darling," DSH, White with Black, Sunnyvale

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Darling is a five year old, 10 pound, black tabby with white, DSH. When she went missing she was not wearing a collar and was not microchipped. She was missing for one week at the time I was called out. 

She was last seen by one of her people in the morning before he left for work. When her other person returned home later that afternoon from work, Darling was not in the area, as she always was when they returned home. 

There were no sightings of Darling after she went missing. One of the people described her as a friendly cat to strangers, but the other said she did not think Darling was friendly toward people she didn't not know. She was known to hang out on the front patio of the apartment, which was just across from several dumpsters and garbage cans for the apartment complex. 

It did appear from the start that, due to the track, that Darling was picked up from the area around her complex. The track was clearly human, and was not a scared cat being chased or a cat meandering around. The most common type of person who would pick up a cat and not make an attempt to find her home would be a homeless/transient type of person, and they are generally attracted to dumpsters and garbage cans to pick up recycling. They also like cats because cats are quiet, easy to carry and do not eat much.

They stopped the search at the four hour mark because they both had to get back to work. They said they would continue to search for Darling and let me know when they found her. 

View Darling Sunnyvale in a larger map

Created by My Tracks on Android.

Name: Darling Sunnyvale
Activity type: -
Description: -
Total distance: 10.64 km (6.6 mi)
Total time: 3:27:39
Moving time: 2:25:14
Average speed: 3.07 km/h (1.9 mi/h)
Average moving speed: 4.40 km/h (2.7 mi/h)
Max speed: 9.82 km/h (6.1 mi/h)
Average pace: 19.51 min/km (31.4 min/mi)
Average moving pace: 13.65 min/km (22.0 min/mi)
Fastest pace: 6.11 min/km (9.8 min/mi)
Max elevation: 53 m (174 ft)
Min elevation: -1 m (-4 ft)
Elevation gain: 210 m (689 ft)
Max grade: 0 %
Min grade: 0 %
Recorded: 1/21/2013 9:56am

New Tracking Photos Taken by Marci Thomas!

These photos were taken for an upcoming book that features 

Dino and other dogs who help people with their noses!

The photographer is Marci Thomas and can be found at 

Sunrunner Photography. 

"Enigma," DSH, White with Orange, Los Altos - Found!

We had a search scheduled for early the next morning, but Enigma was found prior to me coming out.

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Enigma is a twelve year old white with orange DSH, originally from West Africa. When he went missing he was not wearing a collar but he is microchipped. 

Enigma disappeared from a house where his people were visiting. He lives in Mountain View, but was visiting a home in Los Altos. 

There were a couple of sightings of Enigma, and we had intended to start from a confirmed sighting in a business park in a HP parking lot at Page Mill Road and Hanover.

I received a voicemail later that night, before the search, that Enigma was seen back at his home, several miles away from the sighting.