The Search for Oreo

Oreo disappeared about ten days ago in an apartment complex in south Tacoma.  Normally, I don't use Kelsy for cat searches, but since this was an indoor only cat, I thought I would give it a try.  I had actually brought Karma down, to do the usual cat search, checking the bushes in a methodical search.  Because it wouldn't hurt anything, I tried Kelsy first to see if we could find a trail.  Oreo often slept on the arm of their sofa.  Kelsy had a hard time understanding that I wanted her to sniff the sofa as a scent article, but once she got it, she took off like a rocket on a scent trail leading to the right, around their building.  Kelsy led me to a cat's latrine, in the landscape, then she led me around the dumpsters and through a hole in the fence to the next neighborhood.  After that, the trail seemed less strong, more diffuse or overlapping.  Kelsy led me to the next block, to an abandoned house.  We were called back because they had a recent sighting of a cat matching Oreo's description.  When we got back, they said they had seen a cat that looked like Oreo going exactly where Kelsy had led me.  We tried to get permission to search the private properties where Kelsy and the witness had indicated, but no one answered the door.  Many condos and town homes in that neighborhood had crawlspaces with open access, and Oreo could have been in any one of them.  Without permission, we were unable to continue the search.

I told the owners that the scent trail Kelsy followed was much fresher than ten days old, and that Oreo likely came to their door recently, trying to get back in.  We did see a cat that looked similar to Oreo.  I have a feeling they will catch Oreo eventually.  I have no way of knowing if Kelsy was on the right trail, but she seemed pretty sure of herself in that first 200 yards from the apartment door to the hole in the fence.  It only occurred to me later, but I wish I had looked up into the tree by the hole in the fence.  Perhaps Oreo was looking down at us at that very moment.  The owner said later that Oreo always liked to climb on the highest part of the furniture in their apartment.  It could have been Kelsy's second walk-up find in one day.

The Search for Cookie

Cookie probably never knew what hit her.  She was taken by a predator so quickly and quietly that her owner, standing 30 feet away, never knew what happened.  Cookie was hard of hearing, with poor eyesight.  Perhaps it was a bobcat or a coyote, but it happened suddenly.

After reviewing the case with Cookie's owner, I advised against a search because he said he walked Cookie in the neighborhood, and I thought Kelsy would have a hard time sorting out the most recent trail from a previous trail.  Cookie's owner wanted a search anyway, just to cover all the bases, so we went out there yesterday morning.  Kelsy started at their front door, where Cookie had gone out at about 11:30 PM two days earlier.  Kelsy immediately took me around behind the house, which I was not expecting.  Kelsy took me about 100 yards into a forested greenbelt behind the neighbor's house, where Cookie could not have walked under her own power, being just 12 pounds and with weak legs.  Kelsy found the jacket that Cookie had been wearing, and when I turned it over with my knife, it had red blood on the inside.  The owners said it was definitely Cookie's jacket, and indeed it was identical to another one they had in their hands.  I advised them that a further search was probably unnecessary because Cookie could only have gotten that far in the jaws of a predator (I didn't phrase it like that).  They wanted to search more, to find Cookie.  I let Kelsy off leash and watched her.  Within a minute, she had found vital organs, so I leashed her up and took her away.  I praised her for a good job.  I advised the owners that they really shouldn't look any further, since we had a positive ID on Cookie's jacket, and since she couldn't possibly be alive without those organs.  I took Kelsy back up to the street to give her the full reward of cheese and playing fetch with her ball.  The full search was less than 10 minutes, and less than 150 yards.  I had advised the owners that a search would probably not be helpful, but it turned out I was wrong.  They never would have looked down there because Cookie could not have climbed over those logs.  Kelsy's nose gave them the positive proof to know what happened to Cookie.  They were deeply saddened, of course, but they were thankful for Kelsy.  They both threw the ball for her, to give her her reward for a job well done.

This case was very similar to the situation with Casey, in Auburn, last summer.  He was also small, looked very similar, and had been let out in his own back yard while the owner was only a few yards away.  He disappeared in minutes, also, and his remains were also found less than 100 yards away.  The vital organs left behind were even the same.  After that find, Kelsy seemed to have nightmares the following night.  This time, she didn't have any nightmares as far as I know.  Still, even though she was rewarded for her good work, I could tell that she wasn't as happy as she is when she finds a live dog. 

This was Kelsy's fourth walk-up find in 52 searches, but it was hard to be happy about her success when the result was bad news for Cookie's family.

Temp: 42F
Feels like: 38F
Cloudy
Humidity: 82%
Wind: NNE at 6 mph
Updated: 3/6/11 9:05 AM PST

The Search for Hank

It's not the best picture of Hank, who is normally quite photogenic, but this image shows his condition after six days of non-stop running in a big loop.  He is very muddy, but he is not too skinny.  Hank found many sources of food, and it was at one of these food sources that he was finally caught.  He went into a back yard where a bowl of dog food sat uneaten, and the homeowner closed the gate behind him, trapping him.

Kelsy and I started the search for Hank about twenty hours after he escaped.  Kelsy found hot spots in the trail, where the scent was stronger for 100 yards or so, and then it went back to normal.  She searched for Hank again the next day after we had another sighting.  What we learned later was that Hank was running the same loop over and over.  Several times a day, according to the sightings, Hank would run south on the BPA trail, west a couple of blocks, north from 19th Street to 29th Street, west from 68th Ave to about 60th Ave, then south through a ravine, and back toward the southeast corner of his range.  Hank's loop was probably about 3 miles, and he ran it many times each day.  By the time Kelsy and I first searched for him, he might have run this course three to ten times already.  We couldn't sort it all out.  On our last search, Kelsy led me to an ominous gate with rusty razor wire and a No Trespassing sign.  Using a little computer detective work, we got the property owner's phone number and asked for permission to search the property, 160 acres of woods.  After an interesting conversation between the property owner and a volunteer from Saving Great Animals (the organization that brought Hank form Taiwan) the property owner agreed to let us search, under some severe restrictions.  He said he had five dogs that were trained to kill any dog that came on his property.  He put them inside, but if we deviated from the allowed search area, he would release his dogs on Kelsy.  Uh, no thanks.  That was the low point of the search for me, but I reasoned that if Hank had been killed by his dogs, the crazy man would probably have told us, and if his property was full of vicious dogs and coyotes, Hank would probably move on.

The next day, we received new sightings.  Hank was moving fast and looking scared.  After one sighting, Kat responded with Kody and a snappy snare.  She caught up to Hank in someone's yard.  Kat approached Hank very slowly, using calming signals.  Kat avoided looking directly at Hank, and she kept track of him through her peripheral vision.  The homeowner must have misinterpreted this calming approach as Kat's inability to visually locate the dog. After many minutes of this slow approach, the home owner flung open her door and shouted, "There's the dog right there!"  Of course, this caused Hank to bolt again.  The next step was to set up humane traps and a wildlife camera.  One of the traps caught a raccoon and a cat (at separate times).  The wildlife camera never showed Hank at the one trap that was monitored.  This afternoon, after six days on the run, we got the call that he was trapped in a fenced yard.  The homeowner had managed to loop a leash onto Hank, and he was tied to a railing when we got there.  The vet says he is dehydrated, but otherwise in good shape.

While at a foster home, Hank had shown surprisingly good behavior, considering what he had been through.  His home in Taiwan had burned down, killing his entire family, and they had to catch him with a blow dart tranquilizer.  Now he has spent six days evading coyotes, killer dogs, and people chasing him with good intentions.  He will need some time to recover, but I predict that Hank will make a great companion for someone in the future.  I hope they put a GPS collar on him, though.

The search dog was just one tool in this case.  While Kelsy and I were unable to pinpoint Hank, our two searches did corroborate the later sightings, and it helped piece together a picture of Hank's movements.  We tried the magnet dog and the humane traps.  The Yard Trap is actually one of our recommended techniques, and the homeowner who caught Hank just did it instinctively.  The large signs were also an important tool, generating many sightings.  At least 15 volunteers from MPP and SGA helped at different stages of the search.  Someone from SGA commented that one of the biggest ways MPP helped was just to advise them that catching Hank was possible, even likely, at a time when they saw little or no hope of catching him.  It would have been nice if Kelsy could have found Hank, but this case was ultimately solved by the big MPP-style signs.  I often tell people who ask for our help that the big signs have found more dogs than Kelsy has.

Both times we searched, the wind was gusty from the south, and the temp was below freezing, with low humidity, not ideal conditions.
Temp: 31F
Feels like: 24F
Cloudy
Humidity: 54%
Wind: SSW at 7 mph
Updated: 2/26/11 1:05 PM PST

Name:		Track 033
Date:		Feb 25, 2011 2:28 pm
Map: (valid until Aug 24, 2011)		View on Map
Distance:		2.49 miles
Elapsed Time:		1:24:50
Avg Speed:		1.8 mph
Max Speed:		6.1 mph
Avg Pace:		34' 08" per mile
Min Altitude:		285 ft
Max Altitude:		459 ft
Start Time:		2011-02-25T22:28:40Z
Start Location:
	Latitude:	47.276436º N
	Longitude:	122.357431º W
End Location:
	Latitude:	47.281319º N
	Longitude:	122.367629º W

The Search for Lilly

John, on the left, Lilly, and John's partner, Mark, holding Lilly during their happy reunion.

Lilly escaped from John when two Rottweilers knocked down their owner to get to John's dogs.  Lilly and John's other dog both backed out of their collars to get away from the Rottweilers, leaving John holding two empty leashes.  John was able to catch one of his dogs, but Lilly was too frightened to come to him.  During morning rush hour on Thursday in downtown Seattle, Lilly raced up the Seneca Street off ramp, onto the Viaduct.  Lilly ran south in the northbound lanes, and traffic came to a halt as people tried to get her to safety.  At last report, Lilly had run all the way past Starbucks, toward the West Seattle Bridge.

When John called me Thursday afternoon, I told him I wasn't available for a search, and that I wouldn't advise a search dog in this situation.  For one thing, he didn't have a scent article for just Lilly, but the biggest problem was that I couldn't start Kelsy on the scent trail on the freeway in downtown Seattle.  On Friday, John got more detail about the sighting near the West Seattle Bridge, and he again asked for a search.  I advised him that the search was unlikely to be successful given the contaminated scent article, the subfreezing weather, the lack of a specific starting point, and industrial nature of the area--all paved over with almost no vegetation.  John said he understood it was a long shot, but that he wanted to try it anyway.  I agreed to meet him on Saturday morning.

Kelsy started searching south of the turn off for the West Seattle bridge, where the elevated portion of 99 comes back down to surface level.  Kelsy didn't find any scent of Lilly at that location.  Next, we tried a spot on the shoulder of the freeway, across the railroad tracks from the Starbucks headquarters building.  Kelsy did find the scent there, but she wanted to follow the scent onto the freeway, southbound in the northbound lanes, which we couldn't do.  Then we went to the next location where the elevated roadway touched down, all the way across the West Seattle Bridge at the Delridge Way on ramp.  As we were getting ready to start the search there, John received a call that someone had found a dog matching Lilly's description. I never heard the story of how they captured Lilly, but they found her owner through his craigslist ad. 

We got to Tullys as fast as we could, and John's partner, Mark, had gotten there first.  He was holding Lilly, who was very relieved to be safe.  Lilly had run two miles on the freeway against traffic, and she had been out in subfreezing weather for two nights.  Even though Kelsy didn't solve this case, I was very happy to witness the reunion of John and Mark and Lilly.

Practice searches for Sampson and Cheeto

Pictured above is Karma, one of our cat-detection dogs.  I worked with her today in cross-training, meaning that she and I practiced working together so that we can possibly go on searches together if her owner is busy.  I also worked with Griffin.  Both dogs found Cheeto, of course, and it was interesting to see their different reactions.  Both Griffin and Karma know what to do, and I am the one that needs training with them.  I habitually give directions like I would to a dog-detection dog, and I need to get in the habit of working in cat-detection mode, a different process.  Karma and Griffin are both terribly sweet, and a pleasure to work with. 

Kelsy did a quick search for Sampson on a trail that was about 20 minutes old and half a mile long.  She pulled me right along, but she might have skipped a leg of the trail.  I'm not sure because there was some confusion about the trail in talking with Sampson's owner.  The conditions were cool, about 40 degrees, with bright sun and variable wind, sometimes strong, sometimes calm in the protection of the forest.  Humidity was about 70%, and we did the search at about 4 PM. 

Search for Tick

Kelsy searched for Tick around midnight last night.  Tick had wandered away from home around noon.  Kelsy took a long time gathering scent from Tick's bed.  The trail she followed seemed to meander in and out of people's front yards.  We followed the trail for about 1.5 miles, in a loop, and the end point was only 900 feet from home.  Where Kelsy stopped tracking, we found two cans of premium dog food opened and dumped near a fence, with much of the food remaining.  It looked to me like someone had found a stray dog and was trying to lure her.  At that point, Kelsy couldn't find a trail leading away.  We wondered if Tick was inside the house right there.  The owner thought that Tick might bark if she clapped her hands the way she had in the past to get Tick's attention.  Instead, the homeowner, who was still awake, poked her head out the window to see what we were up to.  She didn't have Tick, but she had seen her ambling down the road headed west.  Perhaps the trail looped over itself or doubled back, but Kelsy couldn't find the continuation.  We called it a night, at about 12:30, and the owner had a new lead.  Tick's trail had crossed from Auburn to Federal Way, so she knew to check with Federal Way's Animal Services. 

This morning, Tick's owner got the call that Tick had been found 2 miles west of home.  The finder checked craigslist and saw the ad for Tick.  I don't have all the details yet, but she appears to be healthy.

Temp: 35F
Feels like: 35F
Fair
Humidity: 73%
Wind: CALM at calm mph
Updated: 2/10/11 12:25 AM PST

Practice search for Sampson

Before Kelsy searched for Sampson, I worked Griffin the Wonder Beagle in a practice search for Cheeto.  Griffin is the size Kelsy was when she was about 11 weeks old.  It was fun to work a search dog where I didn't have to concentrate on not getting pulled off my feet.  When Kelsy got on the fresh scent of Sampson, I had to just focus on remaining upright as she pulled me along at a jog.  With Griffin, it was just like a walk in the park.  I watched Sally, Griffin's owner, work him for a while.  When I took over, I had a hard time not saying the things I would say to Kelsy.  I kept saying, "Which way?" which makes no sense for a cat detection dog.  I could tell Griffin smelled critters in the area.  When we got close to Cheeto's hiding place in the bushes, Griffin started to get excited.  He then got distracted by Laura, who was guarding Cheeto from a distance.  After he checked her out, he homed in on Cheeto.  The way his nose moved through the air, I could visualize the cone of scent emanating from Cheeto.  Griffin gave his signature sniffing sound upon finding Cheeto's carrier, his tail did the helicopter whirling, and then he started to whine, all just as Sally said he would.  Griffin got lots of hot dog treats, but he seemed to enjoy Cheeto's company at least as much as the treats. 

The trail that Sampson laid for Kelsy was fresh, less than 15 minutes old, and probably about half a mile long, in a loop.  I started Kelsy away from the trail to practice her negative.  She went a little farther than usual, I think because a bunny had just raced through that area, but she soon turned and gave me her negative signal.  Then I took her to the start of Sampson's trail.  I could tell she was already on it before I presented the scent article.  When I did give her the scent article, she didn't give it a thorough sniffing like she did the first time.  She just gave it a quick sniff, like, "Yep, that's Sampson," and we were off to the races.  She dipped into a dead end by a door to the office building.  From my read on her, I would say that she was checking out Griffin's scent, and not on the trail of Sampson at that point.  When Kelsy got back onto the trail of Sampson, she pulled like a tractor again.  At the far turn, Kelsy spent several minutes circling, working things out.  I forgot to ask Danny where they had actually walked, so I don't know what that was about.  There were about a dozen large molehills in that patch of lawn.  I wonder if Sampson had run around in a circle, checking out the molehills.  Eventually, she settled into a groove for the last leg of the trail.  Sampson and his brother Willie started barking from their hiding place behind the truck, so it wasn't a mystery for Kelsy at that point.  When Kelsy ran up to the two dogs, sitting side by side, she seemed to single out Sampson, although it happened so quickly that it was hard to tell.  Then Kelsy turned and sat and asked for her treats, meaning she was sure this was the dog she was looking for.  I rewarded her with cheese and more fetching.  This trail wasn't meant to be challenging--it was just to let Kelsy win and have fun.  Of course, our last practice trail, looking for Reina, wasn't supposed to be challenging, either, but it turned into a frustrating experience.  It was nice to have Kelsy work easily and quickly, and get her reward. 

Temp: 47F
Feels like: 47F
Cloudy
Humidity: 86%
Wind: CALM at calm mph
Updated: 2/5/11 3:05 PM PST