"Arrow," Rat Terrier, Black, Fremont - Found!

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This was the ad placed in Craigslist after Arrow went missing:
Small black elderly Rat Terrier Looks like a long body chihuahua. He is gray on his muzzle and chest and wearing a old leather collar with NO tags/ He is microchipped....... Lost 5/31 around 2:30 at the corner of Mowry Ave and Farwell Dr. "Arrow" can be snippy when picked up. Or just take him to the Fremont Shelter THANKS to ALL for any help!!!! Dottie

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Case notes:

Dottie is a former co-worker of mine when I worked as an Animal Services Officer at the City of Fremont Animal Shelter. She recognized my name when I responded to her CL ad.

She told me that Arrow got lost by mistake when he was let off leash for a short time and Arrow ran off, probably scared by some nearby noise. There were no sightings of Arrow after he ran across the street and ran through the parking lot of a convenience store. Dottie was convinced that Arrow had been picked up by a person in a car, though I counseled her to keep an open mind since there was no evidence or information that Arrow had been picked up. She decided against doing an onsite search since she believed that Arrow had been picked up, and she didn't think she could find a scent article since there are other animals in the home.

I received these two email after I saw on a co-friend's FaceBook page that Arrow had been found!

June 4, 2013 10:16:28 PM PDT

"Yes, wonderful news Arrow was safely returned to us today. He was found in the Newpark Mall area. I can't begin to think of his journey over the Mowry overpass.

A young woman named Soni, picked him up and had had him for the last three days, even brought him to Banfield to have a check up. A very kind Afghan family, who were evidently not fearful of dogs thank goodness. We are so relieved to have Arrow home again, and he seems to be no worse for wear just a few too many dog cookies as he has had bright orange poop. 

Jackie, Thank you so much for your kindness and advice on all the bases to cover in our search.

Sincerely Dottie"

I was still curious to find out how Arrow was found. I sent Dottie this email:

Jun 4, 2013, at 10:28 PM

"Did the vet find the microchip or was there a flyer in the office?"

June 4, 2013 10:54:51 PM PDT

"Neither, We had not yet placed flyers in the pet stores and no as far as I can tell the staff at Banfield did not scan Arrow. Yes, I am planning on giving them a call! But, I do not know what  their new client may have said about acquiring her new, Old dog. It could be the fact that the vet told them about his heart and the care for a senior that they were worried about dog ownership.... The estimate for future care was over 1,000$ I got the feeling that they found a needy stray and really liked him, but then saw the flyer at the quick stop and were honest. Just thankful he is home snuggled in the covers."

"Milo," Chihuahua, Tan/Gold, Sacramento

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Milo is a two year old, male, tan eight pound Chihuahua. He is not wearing a collar and he is not microchipped. He went missing when he was put outside into the back yard at around 4 PM and the daughter did not notice that a board from the fence was down. She went inside to the house and when she came out several minutes later, she did not find Milo in the yard. She said she went out to the neighborhood, but could not find him. 

Milo was missing for almost two weeks when I was called to come out. 

Milo has escaped from the house several other times, but each time he was found and brought home. 

Milo's people were convinced that Milo had been stolen since they could not find him after searching the neighborhood for him. They did say that Milo was very shy and afraid of strangers and exhibited this inside and outside the house. 

After covering the neighborhood, we found the track leading away from the house and toward Florin. From there it went into a local car dealership and circled the massive back lot several times, until it eventually came out. From there it went on for several miles until the search was called off at the five hour mark. The heat was hovering at around 90 degrees. 

They said they would continue to look for Milo. 

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Due to a minor GPS problem, the search is divided into two tracks. 

Track #1:

View Milo Sacramento Track 1 in a larger map

Created by Google My Tracks on Android.

Name: Milo Sacramento Track 1
Activity type: -
Description: -
Total distance: 9.91 km (6.2 mi)
Total time: 3:00:57
Moving time: 2:17:25
Average speed: 3.29 km/h (2.0 mi/h)
Average moving speed: 4.33 km/h (2.7 mi/h)
Max speed: 15.19 km/h (9.4 mi/h)
Average pace: 18.26 min/km (29.4 min/mi)
Average moving pace: 13.87 min/km (22.3 min/mi)
Fastest pace: 3.95 min/km (6.4 min/mi)
Max elevation: 70 m (231 ft)
Min elevation: -7 m (-24 ft)
Elevation gain: 196 m (644 ft)
Max grade: 0 %
Min grade: 0 %
Recorded: 5/30/2013 12:38pm

Track #2:


View Milo Sacramento Track 2 in a larger map

Created by Google My Tracks on Android.

Name: Milo Sacramento Track 2
Activity type: -
Description: -
Total distance: 4.08 km (2.5 mi)
Total time: 1:26:33
Moving time: 1:03:45
Average speed: 2.83 km/h (1.8 mi/h)
Average moving speed: 3.84 km/h (2.4 mi/h)
Max speed: 10.37 km/h (6.4 mi/h)
Average pace: 21.20 min/km (34.1 min/mi)
Average moving pace: 15.62 min/km (25.1 min/mi)
Fastest pace: 5.79 min/km (9.3 min/mi)
Max elevation: 7 m (24 ft)
Min elevation: -10 m (-32 ft)
Elevation gain: 74 m (244 ft)
Max grade: 0 %
Min grade: 0 %
Recorded: 5/30/2013 3:42pm

"Leo," American Eskimo/Pomerania Mix, White, San Francisco

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Leo is a nine month old, fifteen pound, white (with tan on the back) Pomeranian/American Eskimo mix. He is not wearing a collar, but he is microchipped. 

He got out of the front door by accident at around 6:30 PM, but the person who saw him leave did not immediately go looking for him thinking, "He will come back." After three hours, Leo did not come home, and then the daughter in the house was told that Leo was missing. She immediately went out to look for Leo, but could not find him. 

Leo was missing for almost two weeks when I was called. 

After covering the entire neighborhood, we found a track leading away and into a couple of local neighborhood parks, exploring all the various parts of the park. From those parks, the track led out of the area, all the way to BayShore Blvd. From there, it made a right and went along the Blvd, until it jumped back into the neighborhood on the other side of Geneva from where Leo lives. At this point, Leo's person received a call that somebody thought they had seen Leo in the neighborhood around her house. Since we were a long ways away, Leo's person had a friend meet this person where they saw the dog and see if it was Leo. After a few minutes, her friend saw the dog and it was not Leo. Not even the same color or coat type. 

We continued the search all the way to the top of San Bruno Mountain, where it was rainy and foggy as we approached. The track went into the park and started on one of the remote hiking trails.  

We were approaching the four hour mark by this time, so Leo's person stopped the track and said she would continue to look for her dog. 

View Leo San Francisco in a larger map

Created by Google My Tracks on Android.

Name: Leo San Francisco
Activity type: -
Description: -
Total distance: 11.01 km (6.8 mi)
Total time: 3:18:10
Moving time: 2:33:24
Average speed: 3.33 km/h (2.1 mi/h)
Average moving speed: 4.31 km/h (2.7 mi/h)
Max speed: 10.74 km/h (6.7 mi/h)
Average pace: 18.00 min/km (29.0 min/mi)
Average moving pace: 13.94 min/km (22.4 min/mi)
Fastest pace: 5.59 min/km (9.0 min/mi)
Max elevation: 218 m (717 ft)
Min elevation: -14 m (-46 ft)
Elevation gain: 433 m (1420 ft)
Max grade: 0 %
Min grade: 0 %
Recorded: 5/27/2013 10:52am

"Peter," DSH, Black, Berkeley

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Peter is an indoor/outdoor three year old female, all black DSH. She is wearing a collar with ID tags and a bell and she is microchipped. 

Peter and her person recently moved into this house where another cat and dog already lived. She was kept inside for a week and then was allowed to be in the small back yard with supervision. The next day she was allowed into the backyard and her person went into the house to answer a phone call. When she came back out, Peter was gone. There were no sightings of Peter after she went missing. 

Peter was missing for three weeks when I came out. 

After checking the entire surrounding area, we found a track that led away from the house. The timeframe is unknown how long it was before Peter left the neighborhood and took that route. It could have been minutes, hours or days. The track continued for quite a distance through town, all the way to distant Railroad tracks near Aquatic Park. AT this point, I decided to bring out the idea that Peter may have been picked up and carried away by somebody since the track appeared to be quite human and direct. They did confirm that their neighborhood is quite popular with the "transient" or "opportunistic" crowd, as a lot of Berkeley is well known for. 

The track went along walking trails and all the way into Emeryville. Along the way, the track was apparent it was a human carrying Peter as the track went to more and more places that a human would go and not where a lost cat would go. 

They stopped the search at the four hour mark and said they would continue to look for Peter. 

View Peter Berkeley in a larger map

Created by Google My Tracks on Android.

Name: Peter Berkeley
Activity type: -
Description: -
Total distance: 11.16 km (6.9 mi)
Total time: 3:23:44
Moving time: 2:41:23
Average speed: 3.29 km/h (2.0 mi/h)
Average moving speed: 4.15 km/h (2.6 mi/h)
Max speed: 12.04 km/h (7.5 mi/h)
Average pace: 18.25 min/km (29.4 min/mi)
Average moving pace: 14.46 min/km (23.3 min/mi)
Fastest pace: 4.98 min/km (8.0 min/mi)
Max elevation: 33 m (110 ft)
Min elevation: -9 m (-30 ft)
Elevation gain: 378 m (1239 ft)
Max grade: 0 %
Min grade: 0 %
Recorded: 5/26/2013 10:25am

20,000 Page Views!

Yeah! I am so glad that so many people are looking at this blog. If one view helps a lost animal gets home, that would be a perfect day!

"Speedo," DSH, Grey Tabby with White Paws, Pacifica

Still Missing as of August 24, 2013

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Speedo is an indoor/outdoor eight year old brown tabby with white paws DSH. He is wearing a collar with ID tags and he is microchipped. 

He was last seen by his people at around 9 AM in the morning on their front porch. He did not come home by the end of the day per his regular routine. They has recently moved to this new home, and has just started to let Speedo out into the neighborhood. There were no sightings of Speedo, despite an extensive search after he went missing.

Speedo was missing for over a week when I was called. 

This area of Pacifica is at a very far canyon of the city. Surrounding the neighborhood is only deep canyons in every direction. 

The track we found led to what was probably a regular hangout for Speedo, only two blocks away. From there it appears the track took off straight down the hill and wound around another dead end area and then went out of the area to the main road, leading out of the canyon.

The search was stopped after only two hours by Speedo's person because she made it very clear that she did not believe that Dino was following her cat's track. She said that Speedo would never leave his home, and that he must still be somewhere in the area, but just too scared to come out. 

I explained to her a couple of things that I noticed in only the two hours that we worked. First, it appeared that the place at the end of Big Bend Drive could have been a regular hangout for Speedo. One of the houses had no other animals (even a neighbor confirmed they had no animals), had a big backyard that bordered on open space, and, too boot, there was a nice and well worn spot under the side fence that a lot of animals appeared to use regularly, and Dino did indicate there was Speedo's scent in that area. The other neighbor also confirmed that a lot of cats liked to hang out on this court, but she was not familiar with Speedo. It looks like Speedo was chased from this court down the street and then around. There were also indications in a couple of spots that Speedo could have been picked up by a human and carried away, after leaving the Big Bend court. There were a couple of spots along the way that indicated some type of scuffle occurred with the track going every which way in a small area, indicating that somebody was forcibly picking Speedo up. Then the track went straight down the hill and headed quickly out of the area. At this point, the search was stopped, and Speedo's person asked to walk home. 

Speedo's person said she would continue to look for Speedo. 

View Speedo Pacifica in a larger map

Created by Google My Tracks on Android.

Name: Speedo Pacifica
Activity type: -
Description: -
Total distance: 5.34 km (3.3 mi)
Total time: 1:52:23
Moving time: 1:19:17
Average speed: 2.85 km/h (1.8 mi/h)
Average moving speed: 4.04 km/h (2.5 mi/h)
Max speed: 7.22 km/h (4.5 mi/h)
Average pace: 21.05 min/km (33.9 min/mi)
Average moving pace: 14.85 min/km (23.9 min/mi)
Fastest pace: 8.31 min/km (13.4 min/mi)
Max elevation: 184 m (603 ft)
Min elevation: 43 m (142 ft)
Elevation gain: 199 m (653 ft)
Max grade: 0 %
Min grade: 0 %
Recorded: 5/23/2013 10:16am

"Jiggly," Yellow Labrador Mix, San Francisco - Found!

Found!

May 23, 2013

I received a voicemail today that Jiggly had been sighted and found back in Golden Gate Park!

This CL ad appeared later in the day:

"Our wandering pup Jiggly has been found in GGP after 9 days on her walk about. Many thanks to everyone who sent kind notes and good wishes as we searched high and low for her. She's in excellent condition, a bit thin and sore paw pads but otherwise perfect.

For anyone here who's lost their dog: keep faith and keep looking and reach out. I've been amazed at all the tremendous assistance I've received from complete strangers.

Good luck!"

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Jiggly is a one and a half year old, 60 pounds, spayed, female Yellow Lab mix. When she went missing she was wearing a pink collar with ID tags and she is microchipped. She got out by accident on a Tuesday afternoon when roofers at the home left the side gate open and Jiggly took off. Jiggly is shy and reserved around strangers. 

There were several sightings of Jiggly initially near her home that evening. The next day, Wednesday, she was seen in Golden Gate Park, about a mile away, three separate times by people and park rangers. The last official sighting was at 10:30 PM Wednesday evening by a man walking his dog inside the park, about a 100 yards from Stanyan Street. That is where we started the search.

I came out the following Sunday. I showed Dino a larger perimeter of the area where Jiggly was last seen, and we found the track leading away, almost directly behind where she was seen. The track continued down through GG Park, alongside Fulton and continuously back and forth, in and out of GG Park. That particular day was Bay to Breakers, so I met A LOT of people all along the way. The track went all the way down to Ocean Beach and then through the condos of old Playland and then all the way up to the Cliff House. From there it went past Louie's restaurant and then made a left toward Land's End. We followed the track along a walking trail that led around  the coast and would eventually come out in the area of Sea Cliff. However, during that time, after five hours, we were running low on daylight and cell phone batteries. 

Jiggly's family said they would continue to look for her. 

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View Jiggly San Francisco in a larger map

Created by Google My Tracks on Android.

Name: Jiggly San Francisco
Activity type: -
Description: -
Total distance: 16.04 km (10.0 mi)
Total time: 4:12:58
Moving time: 2:38:32
Average speed: 3.81 km/h (2.4 mi/h)
Average moving speed: 6.07 km/h (3.8 mi/h)
Max speed: 51.67 km/h (32.1 mi/h)
Average pace: 15.77 min/km (25.4 min/mi)
Average moving pace: 9.88 min/km (15.9 min/mi)
Fastest pace: 1.16 min/km (1.9 min/mi)
Max elevation: 174 m (570 ft)
Min elevation: -35 m (-115 ft)
Elevation gain: 358 m (1175 ft)
Max grade: 3 %
Min grade: -9 %
Recorded: 5/19/2013 2:40pm

"Cooper," Dachshund, Red, Fairfield

Still missing August 24, 2013

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Cooper is a 12 pound red, seven year old, mini, smooth coat Dachshund. When he went missing he was not wearing a collar and he is not microchipped. There were no sightings of Cooper after he went missing. Cooper is very shy and reserved around strangers. 

Cooper was missing almost two weeks when we were called. Cooper got out of the yard by accident sometime in the middle of the night while his person was at work. He returned home at 6 AM and found the side gate open, apparently blown open during heavy wind overnight.

We found the track leading away from the house and soon within a few minutes we were in open space bordering on a water canal. We were able to follow the track into the canal area, and then, eventually, the track led out of the canal, under a fence and back to the neighborhood. 

Eventually, after several miles, we got all the way to Vacaville, where the search was called off by Cooper's person at the four hour mark. The temperatures were hovering in the high 80's. 

He said he would continue to look for Cooper. 

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View Cooper Fairfield in a larger map

Created by Google My Tracks on Android.

Name: Cooper Fairfield
Activity type: -
Description: -
Total distance: 11.69 km (7.3 mi)
Total time: 3:38:29
Moving time: 2:51:10
Average speed: 3.21 km/h (2.0 mi/h)
Average moving speed: 4.10 km/h (2.5 mi/h)
Max speed: 12.22 km/h (7.6 mi/h)
Average pace: 18.68 min/km (30.1 min/mi)
Average moving pace: 14.64 min/km (23.6 min/mi)
Fastest pace: 4.91 min/km (7.9 min/mi)
Max elevation: 48 m (157 ft)
Min elevation: 19 m (64 ft)
Elevation gain: 219 m (718 ft)
Max grade: 0 %
Min grade: 0 %
Recorded: 5/13/2013 11:47am

Vote for Dino for Hero Dog Awards!

The Voting has opened for Hero Dog Awards!

Dino has been nominated and here is his bio page:

http://www.herodogawards.org/contestants?nominee=52333744

Take a look at his page and then vote for him every day until the end of July!

If selected for the Grand Prize, our charity partner, the National Search Dog Alliance (www.n-sda.org), will receive a check for $5,000, and we win a trip to Los Angeles for the awards ceremony. 

Voting Rules:

You must be at least eighteen (18) years of age and reside in one of the fifty (50) United States or District of Columbia. Visit the website: www.herodogawards.org  to register and vote for individual dogs in each of the eight (8) Categories. A voter may vote for more than one entry, however, voters are limited to one vote per dog per category each day. 

Reminder:

After you cast your vote on www.herodogawards.org you are not done. After casting your vote on the site, the system will send you a confirmation email to the email address you used to cast your vote with. Inside that email will be a link you will need to click on to make your vote official. Without this last step your vote will not count.

Jackie Phillips

"Great dogs are not born, they are created."

Professional Pet Detective

www.thesocialpet.com

"Jake," Solid Grey with White, DSH, San Francisco - Found!

Found After Missing for Almost Four Weeks!

May 23, 2013

I received this email today:

"Hi Jackie,

I just wanted to let you know that I just found him. I got a call from someone that saw him on the stairs three doors down and he was still there when I got there. He took off, and I called him for a long time, but he didn't come and I went home so that I didn't send him too far off again. I went back and sat on the stairs and he crawled into my lap. We're going to the vet shortly to get him checked but other than smelling bad and being mad to be in captivity, he seems fine.

Thank you again for all of your help."

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Jake is an indoor only, eleven pound, five year old grey with white DSH. He is not wearing a collar, but he is microchipped. 

He snuck into the garage by accident, and when the husband came home through the garage, Jake slipped out. The time was at 7:45 AM on Sunday morning.  I was called out the following Sunday.

The location is at the top of Diamond Heights, so the area is very steep with several large areas of thick, weed filled, rugged open space in between the sets of apartment and condo complexes perched on the hilltops. He was seen a couple of hours after he went missing, across the street in an open space between condo complexes. The next day, Monday morning, he was seen by a neighbor in another location, in the same open space, but about a block distance away. There were no more sightings until the following Thursday, by a maintenance worker at the same condo complex, near the same location as the Monday morning sighting. We started the perimeter check there. 

While we were checking the perimeter and looking for a track leading out, a young woman said that she thought she saw Jake sometime on Friday in one of the areas where we had just checked. She said he was sitting in one of the open space areas, as she walked by. This person was in a rush to catch a bus, so we did not get her name or number or time of the sighting. However, the location she described was an area where we had already checked, so we knew he was not there any more.

We started the search and Dino followed the track that led out of the area and then looped back to nearby. Then the track went in another direction and looped back to the general area. Then it went in another direction and looped back, but this time not as close. The track looped back out of the area again, and then started to come back. At this point, after six hours, Jake's people called off the search, and said they would continue to look for him. 

I explained to Jake's people that it appeared he was trying to get home, and had made it back a couple of times that is known. Maybe more, but only seen those times. Since he is indoor only, he does not know the front of the house. Due to the extreme compact design of the houses, the garage door is right up against the sidewalk, with no driveway, and only a few feet of walkway to the front door. That is the whole front of the house. Coyotes and raccoons are extremely common in the area. They do have a trap set on the walkway, but no food was put inside, until I talked to them the night before. Then they sprinkled freeze dried chicken. 

I did recommend that, since they have security cameras pointing at the location of the trap, to set the trap for a few days so that it will not trigger. If Jake is returning to the area, he can freely come and go from the trap, get food and feel more comfortable. Then, once they see him going in and out, set the trap to trigger. 

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View Jake San Francisco in a larger map


Created by Google My Tracks on Android.

Name: Jake San Francisco
Activity type: -
Description: -
Total distance: 13.19 km (8.2 mi)
Total time: 5:30:31
Moving time: 3:04:11
Average speed: 2.39 km/h (1.5 mi/h)
Average moving speed: 4.30 km/h (2.7 mi/h)
Max speed: 8.33 km/h (5.2 mi/h)
Average pace: 25.06 min/km (40.3 min/mi)
Average moving pace: 13.96 min/km (22.5 min/mi)
Fastest pace: 7.20 min/km (11.6 min/mi)
Max elevation: 200 m (655 ft)
Min elevation: 38 m (125 ft)
Elevation gain: 486 m (1594 ft)
Max grade: 13 %
Min grade: 11 %
Recorded: 5/5/2013 9:38am