The Search for Mac

Mac is the first wallaby that Kelsy has tried to track.  I didn't know what to expect, and I advised Mac's owner that Kelsy had never tried this before.  Kelsy is a dog-detection dog, not a cat-detection dog, and so she is trained to follow the scent trail of a specific animal.  Her style of scent trailing usually doesn't work for cats because cats generally don't run for miles on a distinct trail.  They move a little, create a pool of scent, move a little more, and create another new pool of scent.  If Mac behaved like a dog, Kelsy might be able to track him, but if he was more like a cat, then she would probably be unsuccessful.

The trail Kelsy followed is on the map at the link below.  It starts out looping around, and then Kelsy hits on a distinct trail heading south toward home.  We hit that trail by accident after I had already called off the search.  We were just walking back to the truck when Kelsy started to pull me across the main street.  She got into her groove, for the first time that day, and she followed along the guardrail and down onto the walking trail between the main road and the lake.  She stuck to this linear scent trail like glue, ignoring dogs that she passed.  Finally, the trail led to a series of waterfront lots, which are long and narrow.  The first one had been recently mowed, obliterating the scent trail, and I didn't want to have to stop every sixty feet and request permission from each new property owner.  I advised Mac's owner to concentrate her search in that area.

If Kelsy was correct in the trail she followed, the answer to whether a wallaby acts more like a cat or a dog seems to be, a little of both.  I will be very interested to learn where they eventually find Mac.  Kelsy seemed disappointed that I stopped her in mid-trail.  Later in the evening, when I said the word "wallaby," she howled at me.

Temp: 49F
Feels like: 48F
Mostly Cloudy
Humidity: 60%
Wind: SSE at 4 mph
Updated: 3/20/11 2:45 PM PDT

Update:  Mac was eventually found, deceased, not far from where Kelsy's trail had ended.  Mac had entered the water, for some unknown reason, and seems to have drowned.  Kelsy could not follow the scent trail into the lake.  Mac was found 700 feet east of where Kelsy followed a trail to the water's edge, possibly pushed there by currents.

Name:		Track 037
Date:		Mar 20, 2011 1:29 pm
Map: (valid until Sep 16, 2011)		View on Map
Distance:		1.67 miles
Elapsed Time:		1:14:43
Avg Speed:		1.3 mph
Max Speed:		4.7 mph
Avg Pace:		44' 37" per mile
Min Altitude:		45 ft
Max Altitude:		331 ft
Start Time:		2011-03-20T20:29:56Z
Start Location:
	Latitude:	47.579448º N
	Longitude:	122.073612º W
End Location:
	Latitude:	47.569705º N
	Longitude:	122.066391º W