"Hobs," DSH, Black, Oakland - Found!

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On September 4, I received an email that Hobs had been found. He was suddenly appeared in the neighborhood of his home, one week after he went missing.

His person said she did not believe that Hobs had ever left the neighborhood since, she said his pads showed no road wear. She did acknowledge that he was skinny and dirty and appeared tired, though saw no outside physical wear like wounds or scratches. I reminded her that during the search I did suggest to keep up flyers in her neighborhood in case Hobs returned to the general area, which a lot of cats and dogs do, even after extended periods of time. At the time I told her that, she was very skeptical that he could ever find his way back to his neighborhood. I tried to console her at the time that cats were very good trackers and could find their way back. 

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Search details:

Hobs is a 13 year old, all black 14 pound, indoor/outdoor DSH. When he went missing he was not wearing a collar, but he is microchipped. 

He was last seen on a Tuesday evening at 9 PM on the back deck of his home, in which he had recently moved to. We did the search on Friday morning. There were no sightings of Hobs after he went missing, even after an extensive search of the area by his person. 

Hobs' home is on an acre in the Oakland Hills, and is not fenced. There is a large, expansive and rural canyon that is the back of his home. Since it was not known how he left the property, we first had to check for a current track in all the area that surrounds the home. This area is extremely hilly with windy, narrow and steep roads. 

Dino found Hobs' track leading away from the hillside in which the home sits. This street is only one of two roads leading out of the area. The other is uphill and several miles in the opposite direction. 

For the first day, we followed the track out of the area and toward the area of Hobs' former home, but then the track turned in another way, and into another canyon leading away from the two homes. The search was stopped after five exhausting hours in high heat and hill climbing. Hobs' person asked me to come back the next day to continue the search. 

We started the next day at 7 AM, hoping to beat the heat, but unfortunately, the hillside fog burned off early, and soon we were in high heat again. We followed his track for another five hours, when it was called off by Hobs' person. She said she would continue to search for Hobs.

My best guess is that Hobs was chased off by some type of wildlife that lives in the steep canyon behind his home. Hobs and his other kitty buddy had only lived there for one month/

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Day #1:


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Day #2:


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"Brutus," Chihuahua Mix, Black, Cupertino - Found!

At 10 PM, a few hours after the search, I received the following text message:

"Hi, Jackie. Thank you so much for your help today. We located Brutus. This evening a caller saw our Craigslist ad. We wanted to let you know that he was found in the Dartshire Neighborhood (my notes: near the area we tracked him to and around). We also had several reports this evening of Brutus being sighted along the 280, Wolfe Road and De Anza Blvd. You guys were on the trail!! Thank you again for all your help!" 

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Search details:

Brutus is a five pound, all black, one year old, Chihuahua mix. When he went missing he was wearing a collar  with no tags and he is microchipped. 

He escaped by accident on a Monday afternoon from the temporary place he was staying with his person. The morning of our search, Brutus was seen a few from where he took off from. 

We came to do the search on Thursday afternoon after a scent article was flown from out of state where Brutus lived. 

We started the search from the location where Brutus was seen that morning. Dino picked up the most current track leading back toward the location where Brutus was seen and then from there it went back to the large apartment complex and circled the area in a wide multiple block radius, eventually leading back to the apartment complex again.

I recommended setting up humane traps in the areas that Brutus was returning.

At this point the search was stopped by Brutus' person at the four hour mark. They said they would continue to look for Brutus. Several hours later, I received the text message at the top of this blog.

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"Please help! Our very small dog, Brutus, is lost in the Cupertino area.

Brutus is 1 year old, weights 5 pounds, is solid black and is wearing a black and white collar. We lost Brutus yesterday evening (8/26). He was last seen between Pruneridge Ave and Wolfe, in the vicinity of the Arioso apartments. Brutus is friendly and will come to you if you call him. Please help us find our dog! We are offering a $500.00 reward -- no questions asked!

If you have seen Brutus or have him at your house please call us!"

"Chico," Pomeranian, Brown, Martinez

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Search details:

Chico is an eleven year old, un-neutered, eight pound, chocolate Pomeranian. When he went missing on July 29, he was not wearing a collar and he is not microchipped. 

He accidentally got out the front door, and the person in the house attempted to catch him, but did follow him down the street. There were no sightings of Chico after he went missing.

The track we found led left down the street outside Chico's home. The street eventually turns to a dead end, and then eventually to a large rural piece of property. We attempted contact at the door, but nobody was home. We found out that they were on vacation. We followed the track around the perimeter of the property and then came back out to the street.

The track continued back down the road, past Chico's house and out to the main road of Pacheco Blvd. Here is turned left and went down the road where it went in and out of a couple of roads, down the path of a canal and into a mobile home park. The track continued around the mobile home park where the search was called off by Chico's person at the four hour mark. Due to a recent foot surgery, she was unable to continue walking and was already in a lot of pain. 

She said she and her family would continue to look for Chico.

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