So [...]]]> Friday September 3, 2010 – 12:15 a.m. – Still no Mugsy. I’m up here at Snoqualmie Pass and I was disheartened by the area that Mugsy is in. The terrain is steep, thick with vegetation, and it is much larger of an area than where she was originally hiding in before she bolted. I am trying to remain optimistic.  

So here’s how the search effort went. We staged off Exit 53 on a side road. There were eleven of us and here’s what we did. We set up two different stations with humane traps along with whiny cats who meowed when crated. We butted them up to a humane trap, covered it with a tarp, put some smelly cat food out in front of the trap, put a baby monitor there, and positioned two volunteers (with radios, cell phones, and a pair of binoculars) nearby who sat and listened and watched their bait cat. With the other traps and one crate (with Mugsy’s own scent) we set up wildlife cameras with fresh easy food. We sat. We waited. Nothing happened. By 11:00 p.m., we pulled the bait cats and replaced them with more wildlife cameras. We will know more tomorrow when we look at the pictures.

During this operation, a woman drove up and told us she thought she saw Mugsy. A quarter of a mile down the road she saw a calico cat that looked like Mugsy (except she said it had short hair) dart across the street. First of all, in order for Mugsy to get to that location she would’ve had to break cover from the heavy brush and that just does NOT make sense. While it is possible, it is just not as probable as the theory that she is still within the area she was last seen. We did have two volunteers search that sighting area and put up posters. We will likely do more search work there tomorrow, but I’m hopeful that we catch a picture of her, narrow down our search area, and work on trapping her. I have a drop trap that I borrowed from a Seattle Animal Shelter volunteer so we may use that if we capture her on camera. The camera results will dictate our strategy for tomorrow (Friday) night.   

Today I learned two facts about Mugsy’s behavior: she is “trap savvy” (which explains why she hasn’t entered a humane trap yet) and although she was friendly in her own territory, when she traveled in the RV she tended to hunker down and hide and she showed fear of going outside. That confirms for me that she is less likely to break cover and travel. Mugsy wants what most displaced cats want–a place to hide. I would estimate that we have a 95% probability that she is within the area we are focusing our search efforts.  

One of the bait cats that I brought with me is actually my old kitty Tiffany. She’s a sweet, persnickety little thing that has a high pitch mew that is so cute. Tiffany lived with my mother up until earlier this year when we had to put Mom into assisted living. I could not keep her, because Tiffaney is afraid of dogs so one of my volunteers Dianna now cares for her. I love Tiffany. She sleeps on human bellies at night and I’m looking forward to two nights of a warm kitty on my belly all night.

Tiffany kicking back after her job of meowing for Mugsy

I don’t know if Mugsy is a belly-sleeper, but I’m praying that the volunteers and I can catch her and get her back to Etta — and then Mugsy can sleep wherever she wants.

Friday September 3, 2010 - 7:35 a.m. – Bait cats that meow a lot bring a whole new meaning to the term Sleepless In Seattle. I think the longest stretch of sleep I got was twenty minutes last night. Tiffany had many cat naps — I know because as soon as I started to drift off, she was up meowing. When I got out of the shower a few minutes ago, she

Tiffany sleeping under the hotel bed covers

was no where to be found. That’s because I forgot that Tiffany likes to sleep under the covers. So she’ll be snoozing away this morning while I head out to pull SD cards from the cameras to find out if we caught Mugsy on camera. There better be a Starbucks up here. I mean, we’re just a stones throw from Seattle…right?

Friday September 3, 2010 - 2:15 p.m. – ** WILDLIFE CAMERA RESULTS **

The Only Thing in the Woods Eating Cat Food (is on the tiny rock)

We caught two mice on camera but that was it. That means one of three things: (1) Mugsy is no longer in this brush area (2) Mugsy is in the brushy (target search) area but is not yet ready to respond to food and has not reached her Threshold Factor; or (3) Mugsy is still in the brush (target search) area but she is in the two more inaccessible areas and has not picked up the scent of the cat food. My gut feeling, based on Mugsy’s temperament and how she’s behaved the past two times she’s been flushed out, is on number three.

There is a steep, marshy area filled with thick vegetation and its an ideal place for her to hunker down. 

Edge of area (thick vegetation) where we suspect Mugsy could be hiding

We believe she’s either in there, or that she moved further west (away from the construction noise) and is in another area that is flat terrain but very thick with vegetation. We haven’t had any food or traps in those two areas, and our goal is to get food and cameras in there tonight and tomorrow. It is likely that she is further west from

the construction area. Today I realized just how loud the construction noise is and that it makes more sense that Mugsy is farther west. One of those areas is so steep that our Missing Pet Partnership volunteers can’t access it. So we’ve called WASART (Washington State Animal Response Team)  and requested their technical rescue expertise to rappel down into the steep sections to place the food and cameras for us. This is the first time our organization is collaborating with WASART and I’m very excited about it. Our two organizations share a mutual vision of rescuing companion animals in disasters, although their work is hands on technical rescue (rappelling, water rescue, extrication’s, transporting, etc.) whereas our work is searching for and finding missing pets. Two different services but both needed during disaster (and non-disaster) times. WASART will be staging here at 8:00 a.m. tomorrow morning and placing the cameras. So although I personally will be leaving here tomorrow, I will continue to be a part of this operation and will post daily updates to this blog.

I don’t normally blog about my pet detective “cases in progress” but this one is different. This story was covered [...]]]> Blog Updates Listed Below:   Monday August 30th - 11:00 a.m.;   Monday August 30th - 1:30 p.m.; Tuesday August 30th – 10:00 a.m.; Tuesday August 30th – 1:30 p.m.;  Tuesday August 30th - 5:40 p.m.; Wednesday Sept 1st, 11:45 a.m.; LATEST UPDATE: Wednesday Sept 1st, 11:50 p.m.

I don’t normally blog about my pet detective “cases in progress” but this one is different. This story was covered by the local media and now people are following the progress.  I will update this blog daily until the case is solved. This is case 10-298, the case of Mugsy the displaced RV cat. 

Sunday August 29, 2010- While traveling eastbound on I-90 at Exit 53 just east of Snoqualmie Pass, WA, an RV driven by Ross Mayfield left the roadway, went air born 160 feet, and crashed down onto the street below by the underpass. 

Whats Left of the Crashed RV That Mugsy Bolted From

Backside of Where the RV Landed

Yeah, it was bad. Ross (82 years old) and his wife, Etta Mayfield (79), were injured and transported to the hospital. While Etta is doing pretty good, Ross is still in bad shape. One of their two cats was found (injured) inside the wreckage and was taken to a vet. She apparently sustained a pelvic injury. But Mugsy, a 17-year-old long-haired Tortoise shell cat, was no where to be found. 

Mugsy

Monday August 30, 2010 – 11:00 a.m. - Missing Pet Partnership was contacted and asked if we could assist. I (Kat Albrecht, founder of MPP) spoke with Vicki, the Mayfield’s daughter-in-law and learned that Mugsy had been spotted a few hours earlier inside the brushy median immediately east of the crash site. Vicki said they were in the process of crawling through that brush in an attempt to find Mugsy. I advised Vicki that crawling in after Mugsy was NOT advisable because it could flush / scare her out of hiding and onto the Interstate. I told here I would respond and we’d develop a recovery plan. 

Monday August 30, 2010- 1:30 p.m. – I arrived at the location and met with Vicki and a small group of volunteers. Vicki showed me the location where Mugsy had been seen earlier that morning. Mugsy had appeared, well, smug. She did not appear skittish or spooked but simply ignored the rescuer who was calling her. She vanished deep into the brushy thicket. 

I had not brought our cat detection (search dog)out because like I told Laura, bush wacking into that brush with the search dog could have flushed Mugsy and that’s the last thing we wanted to do. My strategy instead was the same strategy that we use for displaced cats. We set up four baited humane traps with a plan to capture Mugsy in the trap. We sprayed the traps with Feliway, a feline pheromone designed to calm stressed cats. We even used the “cat-as-bait” method by bringing out a neighbor’s cat (in a secure crate) and set it in back-to-back with one of the traps. We hoped that the sound of a meowing cat would attract / interest Mugsy just like it did on the case of Ginger, the cat who hid in silence for 17 days inside the wall of a Seattle home yet immediately meowed the moment she heard another cat meow. 

There was only one problem. The cat that Vicki brought out sat calmly in her crate and did not meow! WHO KNEW! Where is a yowler when you need one?! So, out of desperation I pulled out my cell phone and used an app of meowing cats, hoping that sound would capture Mugsy’s attention. I’m pretty sure Mugsy just smirked at us. Oh and KOMO 4 News came out and covered this story on the 11:00 o’clock news.

During our search, I had found an ATM card (expired in 2007 – could be related to a crime) in the heavy brush, so that caused a call to two different Sheriff’s Departments and took up an hour of my time. On the way home from this search, I met with Crystal, the owner of Fiona-the-missing-Keeshond. This is dog whose been lost in Preston, WA for over a month, wandering nearby trails and eluding capture. Crystal rented a wildlife camera from us to help her in her recovery efforts. Also on this drive up I-90 (apparently I need to leave Federal Way more often) I met with Laura & Lindsay from Bellevue, the proud owners of Widget, a calico that MPP searched for last week. Missing for 16 days, Widget was found 7-houses away, hiding under a neighbor’s house. Laura told me that it was our advice ( to keep searching yards and talking to neighbor’s) and encouragement that kept their hopes alive and helped bring Widget back home. Another happy ending. I am confident that we will have the same (a happy ending) with Mugsy. 

Tuesday August 30, 2010- 10:00 a.m. - I spoke with Vicki–Mugsy was not in any of the traps. She is going to “Plan B” and has a team of ten friends / family members who are going to enter the brush and look for Mugsy. It is a cone shaped strip of heavy bushes and brush and is set off of the freeway far enough, but if Mugsy bolts and runs towards I-90 it could mean trouble. I had discouraged them from doing that initially and encouraged Vicki to back out and set the traps. However, they’re afraid that Mugsy is at risk because of the rain and her age (Mugsy  is 17). So I gaveVickiinstructions on how to conduct a grid search with critical separation distance and how to use “spotters.” They are heading out to conduct this search right now which doesn’t give me time to assemble any of our volunteers. I will keep everyone posted on what develops. 

Tuesday August 30, 2010 – 1:30 p.m. - Vicki just called. Good news, bad news. The grid search technique worked– they saw Mugsy, but they still don’t have her! 

Vicki and her friends formed a grid search line with “spotters” on either side who were instructed to watch and see if they saw Mugsy bolt out of the brush. That’s exactly what happened. Half way through, and in the exact area of where we have 3 traps set up (and on the ramp side very near where she was spotted yesterday), the spotter saw Mugsy flush out with a panicked look on her face! Mugsy spotted the spotter and then darted right back into the brush area. 

The searchers backed out and I’ve instructed them to STAY OUT of the brush. Going in after her or continuing with that grid search and trying to catch her will only cause them to flush her out and put her in harms way (since she is surrounded by roadways and I-90). I advised Vicki that (1) she proved that Mugsy is still in there (2) we learned that Mugsy is NOT going to come to anyone (3) we have the traps set in the correct location (4) Mugsy is just not hungry enough yet (she has not reached “The Threshold Factor” yet where she will respond to the food). The most effective and safest method to get Mugsy back home is going to be waiting until she is hungry enough to enter one of those humane traps. And as much as we all want it to happen NOW, it just doesn’t always work that way. Cats are, well, cats! And trying to catch a panicked cat with your bare hands is like trying to catch a greased pig. The name of the cat-catching-game is baiting and patiently trapping (not chasing and trying to catch a fleeing cat). Sometimes it takes hours and sometimes (when the cat is smater than you) it can take days or even weeks.

So, I instructed Vicki to add more food to the trap and cover them with tarps (to protect from rain and create a dry hiding place that might be inviting to her). I also advised Vicki to put out “distractant” bait to keep the raccoons fed but out of the traps (marshmallows, peanut butter, and Cheerios work well) and the coyotes bellies full (a 5 pound bag of dog food satisfies them). Plus, she will put out meaty bones or giant raw hide chewies so any coyotes that come will grab those, run, and chew on the bones and be kept busy and not interested in Mugsy. This technique (to keep displaced cats safe from predators) has worked wonders on other cases and I’m hopeful it will do the trick on this case as well. In urban areas when we are through with attracting the cat (and wildlife), we then work to shoo away the coyotes and raccoons by using a motion activated Scarecrow Sprinkler thingy. Only, so far all I’ve used it on is the neighbor who stole my fan.

I will likely meet with Vicki and loan her a few digital wildlife cameras to the humane traps so we can monitor Mugsy’s behavior in the brush. However, MPP only has 3 cameras available right now because the others are rented out on other cases. We could sure help more people and pets if we had enough equipment! (Here is a link to Missing Pet Partnership’s Wish List and how to donate equipment – We desperately need Tru-Catch humane cat traps and Moutrie Wildlife Cameras!). Please pray for peace, healing and hope for the Mayfield family – and that Mugsy will get hungry…tonight!

** UPDATE**  Tuesday August 30, 2010 - 5:40 p.m. - Vicki just called with an update. Although MOST of the volunteers pulled out of the brushy area as instructed, one of them remained in there and their moving around caused Mugsy to bolt! Thankfully, she was not struck by a car and she ran south across the on ramp (away from I-90) into a new wooded area. Vicki said she’s relieved because she is now farther from roads and there is a water source. They moved the traps (left one back near the crash site, although in my experience with cases like this I doubt Mugsy will go back there) and the crate across the street to the new area and will work on getting cameras out there tomorrow.  And they will (listen to me and) stay out of the woods…

Wednesday Sept 1st, 11:45 a.m.- Vicki just called. Ross Mayfield passed away last night. And Mugsy did not enter any of the traps. Vicki asked me to coordinate the recovery efforts with her neighbor Ken, a local firefighter who has already been helping to check the traps, and one other rescuer. So I’ve started that effort. I just spoke with Ken about the need to get wildlife cameras in place with the traps so we can determine whether or not Mugsy is breaking cover and responding to food. Ken will also be putting out the “distractant bait” plus he might be camping out over night by Mugsy’s wooded place.

In some cases, cats will investigate a trap because of the smell of food but will be hesitant to enter the humane trap. If that is the case, we would need to switch to using a drop trap which is a surveillance-based method that will require volunteers. The primary way to determine if this is taking place is using wildlife cameras to actually see what is happening at the trap, like we did on the case of Buddy. So my goal is to get cameras set up to determine the next move. We are also considering trying the “cat as bait” method again using a vocal crated cat, a baby monitor and night vision, and direct surveillance at night time when the noise has subsided and Mugsy may be calmer. This operation would likely take place this Thursday evening.

Someone asked me last night WHY would a cat who has not eaten in three days not respond to the scent of food. The answer is that cats (and dogs) who are in a “fight or flight” panicked mode, either because of their temperament or because of the circumstance (displacement, traumatic event, thunder, sonic booms caused by President Obama’s visit, etc.), will have the sensory portion of their brains close down. Have you ever noticed that when you try to give a piece of hot dog or smelly treat to a panicked, stressed dog that he won’t eat it? That’s because mother nature has geared animals to fight or run (and not to eat) when they are afraid. So we’re hoping that the longer that Mugsy is out there, the more familiar she gets with her surroundings, the CALMER that she gets, the more that she will grow hungry and she will enter the trap. Stay tuned for more details…and please pray for the Mayfield family.

 Wednesday Sept 1st, 11:50 p.m.- I received a text from Ken, Vicki’s neighbor who is helping by checking the traps. No one has seen Mugsy and she has not been caught in any of the traps. Another volunteer told me they were not even sure she was still in the construction area where she was seen bolting into. We were not able to get cameras up there today. I do plan to head up there tomorrow (Thursday) with a few volunteers and we hope to do some night time surveillance. I’d like to try a few new tricks and use more equipment (night vision, baby monitor, listening device, spotters in vehicles, cat-as-bait again). I am even thinking of getting a hotel room and staying up there (on the pass) for a few days until Mugsy is caught because it is nearly impossible trying to coordinate this effort from Federal Way. If anyone has connections with a Snoqualmie Pass-area hotel that would donate a room for a few days, that would be fantastic. We also need to borrow a Snoqualmie-area cat that will MEOW LOUDLY when crated so we can try the “cat-as-bait” again. This would take place either Thursday or Friday evening.

Cat-As-Bait - Using a Meowing Crated Cat to Attract and Capture (OK, and trick) Another Cat

We Cover The Bait Cat (with a tarp) so the Only Way to Greet Him is to Enter The Trap

The cat would be safe as we will monitor it with night vision, binoculars, and a baby monitor. Plus we will have a device in place to scare away any wildlife if needed. I would use my own cat Cheeto (pictured above) except that he is trained to be SILENT in the crate because we use him to hide silently so our cat detection dogs can find him. If you can help with either of these needs (finding housing or bringing your loud, mouthy cat) please call Missing Pet Partnership and leave a message at (253) 529-3999.

Zeke

As a pioneer in the pet detective industry, let me just say that I know a “good idea” [...]]]> Okay. So I’ll probably take heat for this but so what. Someone emailed me because after reading my memoirs they wanted my opinion on whether or not their desire to adopt a bloodhound was “a good idea.”

Zeke

As a pioneer in the pet detective industry, let me just say that I know a “good idea” when I see one. And while I would not say that adopting a bloodhound is necessarily a “bad” idea, I would just caution you that it takes a special type of person who can and should own / care for a bloodhound. Here’s the profile that I came up with for the perfect bloodhound owner:

Someone who is RICH and can afford to pay endless vet bills.

The $1,600.00 Rock in Zeke's Gut that I am STILL Making (surgery) Payments on!

Zeke being Zeke

Someone willing to clean up the thick, gooey, and long Elmer’s Glue-like goobers that stick to walls, ceilings, clothing, and everything else under the sun.

A seriously LONG goober left inside my truck by Zeke. Need I say more?

Someone whose feelings won’t be hurt when your hound rips open every chewy within five miles just so he can surgically remove the plastic squeaker.

Zeke removing the squeaky

Someone with a heart who can forgive all of these flaws and who would PROMISE that, in spite of how frustrated or upset you became with all these bloodhound shenanigans, you would NEVER, EVER, EVER consider taking the delinquent hound to the pound.

A Face You Can't Help But LOVE!

I’ll end this with the definition of what I call “Bloodhound Love.” Bloodhound Love is actually the tentative title of my next book (a young adult mystery / romance). Here (below) is a very clear definition of what it is, and what I’d expect anyone who ever considers adopting a bloodhound to harbor deep within their heart:

Bloodhound Love   [bluhd-hound luhv]

Noun

1. the act of sticking with your boyfriend despite differences, just like a tenacious bloodhound sticks to a scent trail;
2. accepting the bad in someone like when your bloodhound slobbers gooey spit on your clean dress pants or eats his own poop and then barfs it up—you clean it up, forgive, and resist the urge to drive him to the animal shelter because you love him with bloodhound love;
3. a love that goes as deep as your DNA for someone (human or animal) to the point that if asked, you’d give your life to save their life;
4. unconditional love.

Lucy escaped from her pet sitter and bolted in a panic. MPP volunteer Jim [...]]]> It’s been a busy week for Missing Pet Partnership. On Monday August the 2nd we helped recover a skittish Boston Terrier named Bitsy (Case 10-258). One week later on Monday August 9th we were called out to help a woman named Joni search for her Boston Terrier “Lucy.”

Lucy escaped from her pet sitter and bolted in a panic. MPP volunteer Jim Branson responded with his search dog Kelsy and attempted to track Lucy’s scent, conducted an Intersection Alert, used Neo-Markers to tag Joni’s car, and provided Joni with several neon REWARD LOST DOG 5+5+55 posters.

Lucy (Case 10-264)

Although it took four days, I’m happy to report that Lucy was found and is back home. She was recovered for two reasons: the florescent signs (which generated the sighting that put Joni in the gully where her dog was hiding) and the fact that Joni listened to our instructions and she did NOT call her dog!

Let me explain.

We knew that Lucy was skittish dog. Dogs with skittish temperaments that become displaced typically will RUN AWAY from people who call them. That’s usually because they quickly encounter well-meaning people who try and capture them by calling them. It makes sense, right? You call a dog and it will come to you. WRONG! What most would-be-rescuers don’t realize is that their body language (looking directly at the dog with eye contact, walking directly towards the dog, stalking slowly at the dog, or moving suddenly towards the dog) will cause a skittish dog to panic! Before you know it anyone who calls out to the dog (even the dog’s owner!) triggers that immediate adrenaline rush / panic response that will cause the dog to run.

Missing Pet Partnership recommends that instead of calling a stray dog that you try to lure the dog to come to you. You would do this by ignoring the dog, by using “Calming Signals,” and by focusing on yummy treats instead of the dog. Make lip-smacking and ”nummy, nummy” noises while dropping treats on the ground (we use hot dog pieces in a small crinkly potato chip bag). Sit down and focus on the treats that you’ve dropped, nudging them around with your fingers. The dog will hear and see this behavior but they won’t feel threatened and won’t feel a need to run away. Why? Because you’re fixated on yummies and you’re not even paying attention to them. Instead, they will be curious, calm, and they will likely become enticed by the prospect of food. This can also work with toys if you have a ball or Frisbee crazy dog. Check out the testimonial story about KoKo, a chocolate Labradoodle, who was calmed and captured by being ignored while his owner played catch with an MPP volunteer.

Chantilly Lace (Case 10-267)

I was on CLOUD NINE when I found out that Lucy was back home. However, within an hour the phone rang and we had a new case to work. This time it was the search for Lacey, a skittish white Pomeranian (a puppy mill rescue) who bolted from her home in Federal Way. After tagging my car and assembling several neon posters, I rushed over to meet with Erica, Lacey’s owner. We made arrangements with Erica for a K9 search the next morning with Jim Branson and his dog Kelsy. I stressed to Erica the importance of NOT CALLING Lacey if she should encounter her and gave her the nummy-noise instructions.

Imagine my surprise when Jim called later that evening to say that Erica had Lacey back home! Based on a tip from her lost dog posters, a neighbor said they saw Lacey enter a backyard of a house just 4 blocks away. Oh and guess what. Another neighbor had called out to Lacey but she ran. Erica started combing the neighborhood and ultimately spotted Lacey in the corner of a backyard but thankfully she DID NOT CALL HER DOG. Instead, she sat down and sang the Elvis song that Lacey was named after: Chantilly Lace. Apparently Lacey liked Erica’s singing because she didn’t bolt and run. She came up to Erica and is back safe at home where she belongs.

It is important to remember that dogs are animals and they do not think and act like we do. Do some stray dogs come when they are called? Yes, of course! However, for the dog with a skittish temperament it is an entirely different game. Direct eye contact is a threat to them. Walking directly towards them is a bold, dominant behavior. Even creeping slowly at them is the same body language that predators use before they pounce on their prey. All of these behaviors will trigger that “fight or flight” response.

There are many ways to catch a stray dog but the LAST thing that you want to do is to call it. That might work for Lassie, but certainly not for the skittish Lucy’s and Lacey’s of the canine world!

Bitsy (The Offender)

Bitsy’s owner was on vacation in Yellowstone National Park while her co-worker and friend agreed [...]]]> What does it take to capture a dog who does not want to be caught? Well, Missing Pet Partnership (MPP) volunteers found out on Monday after we were called out to search for a missing Boston Terrier named Bitsy.

Bitsy (The Offender)

Bitsy’s owner was on vacation in Yellowstone National Park while her co-worker and friend agreed to pet sit. I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again: the only thing worse than losing a pet is losing SOMONE ELSE’S pet! When she called Missing Pet Partnership on Monday morning I knew that Patricia, the pet sitter/friend, REALLY needed our help.

Thankfully, this search was in Federal Way where we have the most number of volunteers with flexible schedules. Our expert dog tracker, Jim Branson, was able to respond with his tracking search dog Kelsy while I organized an “Intersection Alert” for that evening. Intersection Alerts have proven over and over again to be highly successful in attracting the attention of driver’s passing by. If you want to truly get the message out that a dog is lost, you must be willing to stand on a street corner, hold up a big hunking neon LOST DOG sign, and look pretty stupid. In some cases we’ve recovered the lost dog right then and there and in other cases, we’ve ended up with some fantastic leads.

Intersection Alert Signs Used on Bitsy Case

So four of our MPP volunteers stood at the intersection of Military Road and Peasley Canyon Road, a very busy two lane roadway, for over two hours (4:00 p.m. to 6:00 p.m.) holding up our neon LOST DOG signs. Note (in the photo above) that we blew up the photo of Bitsy (to 8 1/2 X 11) and used only a few words in giant letters (in the other sheet protector) to describe her. The neon color of the signs plus our standing there like protestors grabbed the attention so that nearly EVERYONE driving by got our message! Because of this effort, we developed two major leads: two different people saw Bitsy running IN THE ROADWAY down at the base of Peasley Canyon Road and someone in a white car was trying to capture her!

We were fortunate because Patrica came with her own group of volunteers. It turns out that Bitsy is an “office mascot” of sorts who is loved by many people who all wanted to do what they could to help her. So we gave them a big pile of giant neon REWARD LOST DOG posters and “tagged” their cars with neon markers so that they could drive around the immediate area and “mass market” the fact that Bitsy was lost.

MPP "tagged" at least 8 Vehicles with Bitsy's info

The neon marketing WORKED! Early the next day, Patrica received multiple calls (based on the posters) that Bitsy was seen wandering around the area. Then, at around 2:00 p.m. she received a pivotal call: someone was calling from their cell phone and was behind Bitsy as she was trotting along the side of Peasley Canyon Road! Bitsy ran into the apartment complex (where Patricia lives) while the witness was still following her.

This was when MPP activated our Federal Way CERT-MAR volunteer team. Within twenty minutes we had three volunteers (myself with my magnet dog Kody, Brian Newsham, and Jim Branson with his search dog Kelsy). We surrounded the massive apartment complex and began a systematic search of the area. It wasn’t long before we had another sighting — this time by one of Patricia’s co-workers! Bitsy ran though the entrance of the complex but vanished again and we just could not find her. This went on for another hour. Patricia herself saw Bitsy but the little dog was so panicked that she continued to run and would not come to anyone. 

We realized that we needed to change tactics. While we had tricks up our sleeve (throw net, magnet dog with a Snappy Snare) that have worked to capture skittish dogs like Bitsy, it was hit or miss as to whether we’d be in the right place at the right time if she came zipping by us again.  Our “Plan B” was to set two baited humane dog traps in the areas where she’d already run through in hopes that we could lure her into a trap with the scent of food.

We called out two more MPP volunteers: Neil McLean and his wife Michele McLean. They were able to transport our large humane dog trap while I rushed home and picked up a smaller dog trap. Within thirty minutes, after lugging the biggest dog trap every made through steep terrain on the side of the apartment complex, Neil and I had the trap set up. Right as I was preparing to go and set up the smaller trap, a high pitched, excited voice came across the radio. It was Patricia and she was yelling that she had captured Bitsy!

Patricia had placed food and water outside her apartment door and when she opened the door Bitsy was right there and Patricia was able to pick her up! I was back at the apartment within five minutes and here is what I filmed with my Flip camera. The room was packed with volunteers and there was much hugging and crying and high-fiving, not to mention a great sense of relief that Bitsy was safe. The last I heard, Bitsy was back with her owner Katherine and settling into normal life. She had a good check up with her vet–a few scrapes and very sore muscles.

During the Intersection Alert that we did on this case I had a passerby who noticed all of our pet detective action walk up and ask, “All of THIS for one lost dog?” Well, sort of. All of “THIS” (our lost pet services) is not just about the lost pet. It’s also about PEOPLE who’ve lost an animal they deeply love and who need hope and help. But most of all, a majority of dogs and cats that are not found (when lost) end up in animal shelters (as “strays”). And many of them ultimately end up on death row because their families were alone and did not have good guidance in their efforts to find them.

Developing community-based lost pet recovery services to reduce shelter kill rates is a unique approach to solving the homeless, stray, and feral animal populations. But our work (searching for lost pets) here at MPP does not fit the mold of other animal welfare groups that receive funding for issues like spay & neuter, TNR (trap-neuter-return), or foster programs. For example, MPP tried to apply for a grant from one of the bigger animal foundations last year but we were denied because they said they were only funding ”hands-on animal welfare groups” and that they did “not have funding for lost pet programs at the present time.” Well, if the work that our volunteers did on the Bitsy case was not “hands on” rescue work that is saving animals lives and worthy of funding from animal welfare foundations, then I don’t know what is! 

Hopefully, one day the animal welfare community will embrace the concept of Missing Animal Response work and see the value in recovering lost dogs and lost cats before they end up in shelters. No one ever said that change is easy!