Success Stories

Jett

Missing: 4/3/21-4/7/21

TRAPPED after missing for 4 days!! Easter morning we got notice of a lost dog Jett on the Herman's Gulch trail following a hike with his owner’s son and his other dog Benny the night before. We hung neon signs and got comfort stations set up. We then saw Jett at the trailhead and immediately used calming techniques. We gained the Jett's trust and we also fell in love with this beautiful boy. We were unable to get our hands on him as he would only get so close. For the next 2 days we went to the trail head and he showed up just like Easter morning just after 8am. We talked to him and fed him. Day 3, we set an unarmed trap and cameras in the early evening. When we arrived back on the scene this morning at 7am, the video showed him at the trap several times and he was all the way in. So we knew we were ready to arm it that day. At 11am we got in our cars and we were just about to leave when he showed up!!! We ducked in our cars and didn’t let him see us-as much as we wanted to but since we’d had 3 unsuccessful days getting our hands on him we knew the trap was our best chance at rescuing this boy. He sniffed the area where Benny and the owner left their scents and within 20 minutes of the trap being armed, he didn't even hesitate and walked right in, and was caught!!

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Gigi

Missing: 3/1/21- 3/2/21

FOUND SAFE after 24 hours!!! Sweet 8 year old Gigi went missing in Breckenridge while vacationing here with her daddy for one night! We had the owner set up a comfort station (owner's dirty clothes) where she went missing, to create an orientation point for her to smell and stay in the area. We also gave the owner our Calming Techniques in case he saw her (see Stop Drop Think). Our volunteers hung some neon signs in the area to create awareness and sightings. (Thank you Lisa) Gigi was seen on some trails in Breck but nobody could catch her. She survived one very bitter cold -12 degrees night, and was found in a cabin a few miles away from where she was lost. She's a very smart girl finding shelter! Thank you TEAM GIGI, the owner, and Summit County Animal Control for your help in bringing her home to her amazing dad! Welcome home Gigi! You're a beautiful girl.

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Ringo

Missing: 2/16/21- 2/18/21

Ringo went missing from a hotel he was staying at with his family. Monet (the owner) took both her shelties out to potty and they were scared off by another dog. They pulled off there harnesses and ran two separate ways. Kat came back but Ringo took off toward the back. Monet tried to go toward him and follow, but she rolled her ankle and fell down and went to the hospital. A social media campaign was started by Denice immediately and she quickly took lead on this rescue and called us for help. Trinadad is over 4 hours from us, so we consulted with them remotely and gave suggestions and sent our search protocols. We asked that they put out a scent station (owner's dirty clothes) immediately and sent the calming techniques to follow. There were a handful of sightings and we reminded Monet to stay calm and DO NOT CALL OR CHASE and tell everyone at the hotel who was helping. She drove over to the last sighted area and sat in her car and Ringo came up to the passenger side. She slipped out of the car quietly on the drivers side, asked the hotel staff to NOT approach and just sat there calmly tossing bacon & deli meat and following calming techniques- no eye contact, making yummy sounds. He would inch closer to her and back away. She remained calm and patient until he finally got close enough to her where she could grab a hold of him. RINGO WAS SAFE!! Special thanks to Trinidad Police, especially Officer Apple, Bob who brought the trap and helped, the crew from Big O'Tire, the hotel staff, including Phillip and Kricket! Great job Denice & Monet and thanks for trusting us to follow our search protocols!

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Wilbur

Missing: 2/1/21- 2/7/21

Wilbur was successfully trapped after being lost for 7 days in a very rural area with lost of predators. Wilbur, a foster dog escaped 48 hours after the foster picked him up from transport. The foster contacted us even though we are a few hours away, asking us for help and advice.

We shared our search protocols and helped lay out a strategy for catching Wilbur!

Thankfully Wilbur stayed within a mile range of the foster's house. We talked her through how to lead Wilbur to her house using a trail of yummy treats and it worked! Wilbur started coming up her driveway on Thursday and by Friday, she had him eating in front of the trap, and on Sunday, she trapped him!!

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Minnie

Missing: 1/30/21-2/1/21

MINNIE IS SAFE!!!! She went missing on 1/29 and was found safe today 2/1. She's such a strong, resilient girl and survived 3 very cold nights on her own! We got sightings of her in the neighborhood but we couldn't find her until TODAY!! She actually ran back home when our Summit Lost Pet Rescue team spotted her. Her owners were not home and she was getting ready to jump the fence again and take off. The snow was SO high that she can easily climb over the fence. We quietly got out of the car and immediately started calming techniques to keep her from running, until her owner's family arrived to get her inside safely. WELCOME HOME MINNIE!! Enjoy your warm snuggles tonight!

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Piper

Missing: 1/1/21-1/27/21

Piper is one tough girl!! She survived the snow, cold and the most insane windstorm (116mph winds)!! She is from California and was lost in Silverthorne on 1/1/21 while visiting Summit County. We were contacted by the owners and dog sitter, Katie, immediately and we activated our Summit Lost Pet Rescue, Inc. team of volunteers right away. We hung neon signs, got the owners dirty clothes out (comfort station), shared all over Facebook and Nextdoor.com and started the search. We received lots of calls for sightings and realized she was staying in the area where she was lost, so we set up cameras, food and a trap and started conditioning her to come every night. We almost had her trapped on Day 12- she was ONE inch away from stepping on the trigger plate in the trap. We thought the next night would be THE night for sure…..but then that crazy windstorm came and she disappeared. We were not giving up hope and still looked every day!

We had no sightings for the next 8 days! But then, Summit County Animal Control and Shelter called us with some sightings about 7-9 miles away on I70 in Frisco and Officers Gulch and we know that she was seen on Meadow Creek Trail as well, and this gave us new energy in our search! We quickly added more neon signs and comfort stations in these areas, and got a TON of sightings over the next week. This helped us figure out her travel pattern and where she was settling at night. We got a sighting at 1:00am and 4 volunteers and Animal Control quickly jumped out of bed and searched until 4:00am! On 1/27, the fresh snow showed some fresh paw tracks leading to the area where we thought she was at and we sent up a drone to help look. Our volunteers followed the tracks, and BOOM- we heard some growling! We called Animal Control immediately to come help, and within minutes they arrived, we saw Piper hiding and they were able to get her with a catch pole.

PIPER WAS SAFE after 27 cold days! She’s such a smart, strong resilient girl who knew how to find food and shelter! TEAM PIPER and the owners worked together like a well-oiled machine! We are so grateful for all of our volunteers, who literally will run out the door at any hour when we get a sighting. The owners, dog sitter and our team worked tirelessly around the clock for 27 long days and trusted our protocols in this rescue, to bring Piper back home. Thank you to Summit County Animal Control & Shelter who gave us all of the sightings, helped search and helped get her to safety once we finally found her!!! WELCOME HOME PIPER!!!

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Sapphire

Missing: 1/14/21-1/15/21

We successfully tracked, located and rescued Sapphire in less than 48 hours. A 2 year old pit bull jumped out the window after her truck slammed into a semi truck on top of rabbit ears pass at 11,000ft and 25 miles between towns at 2am. The owner was sent to the hospital and his wife posted the next day. We were notified the next day and we called fellow Lost pet rescuers, Kris and Stella and we started our search and hung neon signs. Kris's husband noticed some tracks in the woods near the crash site so we entered the woods and started following the tracks. We saw evidence that she has been there and after15 mins... BOOM, she walks by right in front of us. She was in survival mode and when she saw us she barked and ran away. We were able to keep her in the woods and we left the area. We called the owner to inform her of the good news and we told her that Sapphire looks great and is not injured. The owner came up 1st thing the next morning and was able to get her in about 30 mins.

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Jade

Missing: 12/17/20-1/19/21

SAFE!!!! We are THRILLED that Jade has been FOUND and she is SAFE and healthy!!! YAY! THANK YOU to

Summit County Animal Control and Shelter

for your help in this rescue! We are so grateful for your partnership and couldn't have done this without you! Jade was missing for 35 days down in freezing, snowy, windy, Fairplay! She fought hard in these elements and is a SURVIVOR! Good girl Jade for following your nose and finding the trap and coming HOME!

Tip- ALWAYS put out smells that the dog recognizes right away when they go missing. Dirty shirts, socks, towels, sheets, pillow cases, blankets, etc. Jade used her nose to follow the smells that she was familiar with and found the trap!!

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Casey

Missing: 11/27/20-11/29/20

CASEY IS SAFE!!!! CALMING TECHNIQUES worked yet again!! Casey went missing on Mayflower Gulch trail for 2.5 days. The owners and their parents camped out at the trailhead for 2 VERY cold nights and followed our advice to grill out so the smells would bring Casey down off the trail! It worked perfectly. Once down to the trailhead, she ran from them since she was in survival mode. We coached them to use CALMING TECHNIQUES when they saw her, which ultimately saved her! The owners and their parents did a GREAT JOB! Thanks to our volunteer Adele Zeh for making sure they had everything they needed!! You all worked SO hard to save her. Thank you for trusting us and listening to our advice.

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Silla

Missing: 11/22/20-11/27/20

WELCOME HOME SILLA!!! Silla went missing on 11/22 when she got scared off by a dog at home. We advised the owners to place a comfort station (set out dirty clothes and her dog bed) right away and our volunteers hung neon signs. We only got one sighting of her all week, and then at 2am on Day 6, we got another sighting!!! We set up game cameras, and not even 20 minutes after we were done setting up, the owner got a call saying that Silla was in this lady’s backyard north of where the sightings were. She survived in frigid temps and snow for 6 days!! Silla was wearing her collar and TAGS, so the lady was able to call the owner easily! YAY!! Great work TEAM SILLA!
** Please make sure your pets wear collars and tags with current phone numbers, as it saves lives!!

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Manchita

Missing: 11/10/20-11/13/20

MANCHITA is SAFE!!! This was an AMAZING rescue effort from the owner and our volunteers!! She was missing for 3 days and survived single digit temps and LOTS of snow!!! She is small but mighty!! Thank you to our team of volunteers- Jacqueline, Sherri, Kathy, Sharon & Mary for leading this rescue with Daniela and getting neons signs and flyers hung immediately while searching on foot!! A very BIG thank you to Sally for the 2 sightings that you gave us, so we knew where to focus our efforts!!! WELCOME HOME SWEET GIRL, enjoy the warmth and snuggles with your mama tonight!!!

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Jessie

Missing: 9/9/20-11/9/20

ANOTHER KITTY SAFE!!!!!! Jessie, a 2 year old black kitty was missing for 7 weeks in Orem, Utah (south of Salt Lake City). The owners acted quickly and set up a camera and trap out on their front porch. Jessie was seen on camera coming back home, although she wouldn't go into the trap. The owners then reached out to us after she was missing for 4 weeks. We consulted with them remotely and gave them new hope and told them NOT to give up!

We shared our trap techniques and advised them to cover up the trap to disguise it. We also suggested that they try the "house trap" by leaving their door open and leave a trail of food leading far into the house. Jessie was curious about going inside, but she would only peek inside and not come fully in. She seemed more interested in the trap, so we then advised them to hang sardines in the far back of the trap in addition to leaving the bowl of food inside as well. She is a smart kitty and ate the hanging sardines two nights in a row. Then on the 3rd night, they put leaves in the trap to disguise the food, and she was FINALLY TRAPPED!!!

They were ready to give up, however they said that our advice and support kept them going!!! WELCOME HOME JESSIE!!

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Estrella

Missing: 10/19/20-10/30/20

ESTRELLA!!!!! We are SO relieved she is safe and back with her loving family after missing for 12 days! Calming Techniques worked yet again!!! This was one of our hardest rescues for us, as she literally ran from Copper to Vail Pass (about 10 miles roundtrip) almost twice daily for about a week and half and would not settle in one place. We could not have done it without the help of Dispatch taking all the calls with sightings, and

Summit County Animal Control and Shelter

with their partnership helping us search, follow up on sightings, help us set cameras and traps and creating a plan with us etc. They were out there with us every step of the way along with our incredible volunteers and the owners. The Copper community was SO helpful as well, and we are grateful for you all.

Estrella got lost when her family was traveling through the state to get home to Arizona. They stopped at a rest area and she slipped her collar. Once we found out that she was missing, we put up our neon signs and calls with sightings came in immediately with her up at Vail Pass as well as all over Copper. Bernece (her owner) flew back into town to help with the mission. We coached her on calming techniques, put out scent stations with her dirty clothes, and went with her on the sightings. Bernece got within 20 yards of Estrella up at Vail Pass and she used the calming techniques to get her to earn her trust and inch closer. She then got spooked when a trucker stopped and started chasing after her, and she ran into I70 and actually got hit by a car. She limped away and hid in the woods for the rest of the night. This was the day after our big snow storm and negative temps, so we were really concerned. (**THIS is why we ALWAYS ask people to NOT CALL OR CHASE a lost dog.)

The next day, we got more sightings that she was back down in Copper and we were relieved that she was ok. She started slowing down her running back and forth to Vail Pass as she was now injured and really hungry!! We tracked her travel patterns and knew where to set up food stations and cameras down in Copper. At this point, the owner had to fly back home, however Grandma flew in to take over the search. On 10/30, within 2 hours of Grandma being at Copper, she saw Estrella. She followed our calming techniques, got low to the ground, calmly shook treats and tossed them to her, she DID NOT CHASE her and didn't yell out her name. She let Estrella build trust and come to her. Eventually she got close enough and Grandma laid on top of her, as she did not have a leash with her. Our volunteers came quickly with a harness and leash and she was SAFE!!!!!! WELCOME HOME ESTRELLA!!! (Her leg is surprisingly ok from when she got hit by the car yay!!)

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Cinnamon

Missing: 10/13/20-10/15/20

Cinnamon, a 5 year old Blue heeler, went missing from McGullough Gulch Trail down in Blue River when she ran away when she heard a gun shot. Friends of the owners frantically searched for her and called us right away for help. We gave them our standard search protocols and told them to put out her dog bed and owner's dirty clothes asap. Our AMAZING volunteer Lisa Ferguson hung neon signs right away and flyers were also hung and given out. The next day, she was seen multiple times near Myla Rose lodge. The owner's friends finally saw her, yet she kept running from them since she was in panic survival mode. We coached them on CALMING TECHNIQUES (see pic) and they took our advice and followed every step. The next day on 10/15, they walked down that dirt road that she was seen on, for about two hours just crinkling the chip bag and singing her name (just as we coached him to) and he saw Cinnamon behind him out of the corner of his eye. So he followed the calming techniques and got down on his knees with his back turned and no eye contact. Cinnamon ran over to his dog and started kissing him. That’s when he turned towards her and she gave him kisses too!! She loves being back home and getting her favorite belly rubs!! GREAT JOB Rich & Doreen!!