Chewy a Chinese crested little dog pushed a screen out of his foster home and ran away.  They lived on a busy highway leading to Atlantic City out of the front door and thousands of acres of wildlife preserve woods behind them.  No sightings of Chewy had the rescue folks thinking the worst.  They called for a tracking dog Chewy came and ran a track.  It left the woods a few houses down the street from his foster house.  When I asked the resident if she had seen a small hairless dog she said “Yes he was here a few nights ago.”  We failed to pick anything else up in the woods and I was reluctant to risk my dog along that wet highway so we left the rescue with the advice that we had no reason to believe their Chewy was dead or eaten in the woods.  And that they needed to get the message to the community about the dog so that people could watch for him and call if they see him.  The next day a group of volunteers descended on the community they posted fliers in the direction my Chewy had taken them.  Within an hour of posting a flier not far from the house a camper saw Chewy and was able to recover him and find the rescue ladies.  The Little guy is back inside and looking for a real home again. 

Chewy’s recovery illustrates what we so often say that the search dogs rarely recover a lost pet we just do not catch up to an animal capable of moving.  We are able to use the dogs as an information gathering tool to help us successfully recover pets. 

Watch the video

dukeface

Originally uploaded by Laura & the pack.

Duke is my all time favorite cocker spaniel. He is a cocker rescue dog that has been fostering at Lucky Stars for many many months. He is deaf and has a little head tilt. When he first came into the kennel he was very bony, now he is a little on the plump side. Duke is quite the talker he will climb into your lap and growl and growl. He would be a great dog for a patient person that just wants a companion to spend time with. FMI wwwadoptacocker.org

billplays

Originally uploaded by Laura & the pack.

Bill came to the day care he is a foster with Tails of Hope He is a wonderful American Bull Dog that needs a special home. Both of his knees have been fixed. He tried to keep up with Fifi but in short order she ran him into the ground then spent the rest of the day trying to figure out how to get him up and moving again. Linda from ToH suggested we offer them as a two for one special they really do look good together and their personalities complement she has enough energy for two dogs and Bill is a little less bouncy.

fifiandbuckrr

Originally uploaded by Laura & the pack.

I have been taking Fifi to as many places as possible. Here she is meeting Buck. Last week I took her to VA for a few days while Ursa took a cadaver test. While we were there we imprinted Fifi on training aids and let Fifi climb on a small rubble pile. Cindy observed that while she really was not “agile” she did not let that slow her down at all. She so wants to work she is happy to play any game I invite her to try. While everyone loved her they all agree “Fifi is very bouncy”.

The following link is to a power point presentation from a trip south to help with animals recovered from the Katrina hurricane, in Gonzales LA at the Lamar-Dixon Shelter. We could not have gone to help with out the support and assistance of family, friends , and our fellow workers at Lucky Stars Kennels. All of the staff and several friends pitched in and covered work while we were gone. Additionally taking a week at a time to help requires an awful lot of understanding from my training clients who were very accommodating with adjusting their schedules to fit our travel. We did go and were able to provide some much needed assistance, no “glamour” jobs for us just hard work wherever we were needed. Again thanks to all those who made it possible.