Best Furry Friend - Search and Rescue

05/29/2025

Home Again - The six day ordeal.

Gracie is a 1 year old 20 pound Chihuahua mix. I suspect the mix is black lab but will probably turn out to be a multi-mix. I was worried about putting Chihuahua mix on posters even with the picture worried people would not report sightings. A picture is worth a thousand words right? Gracie disappeared on a Tuesday late day by slipping past a door that didn't latch as intended. The owner saw her step outside and in an instant after eye to eye contact she took off. Gracie is a rescue and the owner adopted her 2 months prior. The owner got on social media and posted about her missing dog. That night there was 1 sighting. The next day I had a conference call with the owner, got the details and had "Lost Dog" signs up within 2 hours. We got a drone up that day because she was seen around a park area a couple of times. We went 2 days without another sighting and then Friday we had multiple sightings. We put up a couple trail cams, double the amount of signs and put in some more air time but just could not lock in on where Gracie was moving. I felt comfortable that she was staying in the area and there were some patterns to her movement. Saturday we went without a sighting which is frustrating but not unexpected. Then Sunday late morning a sighting. Owner and family went out to the area while I searched from the air. More sightings came in including from friends helping so we were narrowing the area. Of course she had to move to an area under 200 ft high voltage power lines so flying my drone required caution and limited it's effectiveness. Then out of the blue I get a highly emotional call from the owner "I have her". A young girl in her back yard saw Gracie by a fence line behind her property and Gracie had cornered herself between the fence and a creak. The owner who was minutes away got to the area quickly and saw Gracie. She approached Gracie and was able to grab her collar and after one growl Gracie knew she was safe.

04/02/2025

Happy Belated Ending April 2025.
A dog owners worse nightmare…
Roo is a 4 year old Blue Heeler mix that the owner had since she was a puppy. The owner took Roo to get groomed and when she went to pick up Roo the exchange went horribly wrong. Roo was off leash when an inner door was opened and Roo ran. Not only did she run into the store but then quickly out of the store, through the parking lot and across a busy intersection where she disappeared. I was contacted by the owner as was SmithicAir and Dog Gone Pet Recovery by a frantic yet in-control owner. This was like "Miracle on 42nd Street" when Macy's and Gimbal's worked together to get an X-Ray machine for a deserving doctor. Everybody came together and the focus was Roo's safe and quick return. We did not succeed with the quick part. This recovery event lasted 18 days, covered 2.1 square miles, had 20+ sightings, 3 drones and one motivated dog. Through all of this the owner remained positive and unrelenting. She notified all local jurisdictions, posted online, created signs, fielded the calls and documented sightings as they occurred while also working her full time job. Wow might I add. One of the most agonizing aspects was there were 6 combined days including a single 3 day stretch without a sighting. We were entering our 3rd weekend and finally some of the sightings were narrowing the area of travel. Traps were placed and car camping followed. Unfortunately mid-weekend Roo moved again to a new area about 1.2 miles away. A little disheartened but not relenting more sightings and many of them. The last sighting by a person stating "I have a dog on my front porch and I think she is yours". Overwhelmed owner was in her car and on site as quick as possible and Roo was still there. This was the first eye to eye approach by the owner. She calmly (ha ha) sat down on the ground and waited for Roo to come to her. Try and imagine yourself in that situation a somewhat helpless feeling. This was also the first time Roo did not run when other people were in sight. Roo saw the owner, walked to her and happiness ensued.

03/31/2025

Successful Outcome March 2025.
Scout is a 15 year old lab with hip issues. The owner let Scout out in the evening for natures calling which is standard but this is the first time Scout had wondered away outside of the yard. The next day I saw the posting and contacted the owner to see if they wanted my help which they did. Within 2 hours I was on site and getting briefed on the scenario. The owner had convinced himself that this was not going to turn out well given Scouts age but needed closure either way. Given Scouts age we were able to limit the search area and sure enough I found him in about 30 minutes 1/10 of a mile away in a dry retention pond laying in tall grass. We drove over and got Scout out of the grass and into the car for a short ride home. Scout was tired and slept well the next day or two but is otherwise fine.

03/30/2025

Ha Ha busy month and I am caught up.

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03/30/2025

Successful Outcome March 2025.
No thanks to me. Rocko is a 70 lb, 8 month old male Boxer. I was contacted by the owner whose friend took Rocko outside in the yard and Rocko pulled away with the leash still attached and ran out of the yard and disappeared. Before I had left to start the search I got a call that Rocko was found.

Nothing to it right? Well here is why I am posting this. Please consider your dog in the equation when purchasing a leash. In this case the friend used a retractable leash. Do you think you could hold on to this style leash when a 70 lb puppy runs and has 16 ft to build momentum?

03/30/2025

Peanut 03/25
Successful Outcome March 2025.
Some of these just make me wonder. What motivates a dog to leave the comfort of their home? Peanut is a 32 lb male French Bulldog. The owner's child left open a back door in the evening and Peanut took advantage and went on a journey. Why and where may always be a mystery. I was contacted by the owner and was on site within 2 hours. I performed a daytime search of about 50 acres much of which was open pasture with some fringe marshes, ponds and forestry. Found nothing. Did a limited ground search around the property as did the owner looking for places Peanut could have gotten closed into or stuck.That night Mike Smith of SmithicAir performed a broader more encompassing search but also found nothing. The owner made all the correct postings and notifications to neighbors The next day Peanut shows up at the house like he had never left looking for his next meal.

03/30/2025

Successful Outcome March 2025.
A speedy recovery due to quick action by the owner to get the information out. Piper is a 4 year old female Mastiff. A friend of the owner let Piper out and she disappeared from the owners yard. I saw the first posting within 2 hours of the disappearance. I live about 1/2 mile from Piper's home so I put up a drone from my backyard and looked though the neighborhoods between us but no sighting. I contacted the owner and we started the recovery process. This was the largest dog I had searched for and the least amount of time that had past since the disappearance so I was very interested in whether she would be approachable. The overall search area was only about 200 acres so not unmanageable. It took about an hour to locate Piper but that was only the beginning of the adventure that lasted 5 hours or 8 hours from disappearance. The first issue I ran into was that as big as Piper was she was dwarfed by marsh reeds that were over 6 ft tall and only offered narrow pathways created by deer. I lost her heat signature. We were concerned she may have gotten stuck so we switched to a 5 person ground search where she was last seen. Once in the marsh I pretty quickly figured that she didn't get stuck and that she got out and slipped away. I went back to the drone search and found her pretty quickly. Another hour went by before she moved to a clearing where we could attempt an approach by owner. She walked towards the owner up to about 30 ft then turned around and ran. Another couple hours tracking her waiting for her to move to an area that we could attempt another approach. We changed our method and the owner went and brought out a second family dog that Piper had bonded with. This time Piper came out of the woods on her own to greet her friend and owner.

03/30/2025

Successful Outcome March 2025.
Where do I start???
When I consider what she endured I am amazed. This search was a rollercoaster ride. Fiona is a 4 year old, 12 lb, Shih Tzu. She was traveling in a vehicle when she got sick and the driver attempted to help when Fiona jumped out of the vehicle and disappeared. This began a 6 day journey that would start in unincorporated Huntley, move to unincorporated Union and back to unincorporated Huntley. Her travel path as best as I can figure was over 12 miles through farm fields and over roads. We hoped she would settle at one point based on property owner sightings and one drone sighting but that did not happen and she disappeared again. Then on day 6 we received a sighting that led to her being found 2.7 miles from her original disappearence. Unfortunately the last sighting involved a vehicle and Fiona was found but injured. Thanks to the relentless support from Animal House Shelter in Huntley Fiona has recovered AND has been adopted.

03/12/2025

If you can help lessen the burden on Animal House Shelter it would be greatly appreciated.

www.animalhouseshelter.com

URGENT: Help Fiona Recover After Tragic Accident

Sweet 1.5-year-old Fiona was on her way back to AHS after her owner had to move into assisted living. Unfortunately, during the trip, she got car sick. When stopping to clean up the mess, Fiona bolted from the car and went missing.

For days, we searched tirelessly—using flyers, drones, and trackers—hoping to bring her back safely. Tragically, last night, Fiona was hit by a car and rushed to Companion Specialty Animal and Emergency.

At the ER, Fiona was found to have brain swelling, high blood pressure, dehydration, and an inability to move her legs. She was immediately placed on oxygen and given medications to reduce brain swelling, anti-nausea treatment, fluids, and full-body X-rays. As of 12:30 AM, scans showed a possible skull fracture. While her blood pressure has improved, her temperature remains low, and she is continuing to receive critical care.

Fiona’s medical bills are quickly adding up, already reaching approximately $3,000. We need your help to give her the best chance at recovery.

Please consider donating to help cover Fiona’s medical expenses. Every contribution makes a difference.

Thank you for your kindness and support.
Donate here: https://www.animalhouseshelter.com/donate-now/
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Wishlist: https://www.animalhouseshelter.com/wish-list/

03/03/2025

Successful Outcome March 2025.
Kida, in a new home for 3 months is a Australian Cattle Dog. She was let out to the yard by a friend of the owner without a leash and she left the yard and disappeared. First sighting was an hour later about 1/3 miles south. Owner started looking but could not find Kida. Day 2 the owner started hanging posters and posted on FB Lost Pet groups. With Rosanne Marie's assistance more posters were made and distributed in area neighborhoods. On day 3 with no additional sightings we started air searches covering 629 acres on a very windy day. On day 4 with the winds subsiding and temp a little above freezing we were hopeful Kida would emerge from her hiding place. We continued air searches with 1 new section of 95 acres and then intended to search past sections again but then the call came. A dog was captured and is believed to be Kida. It was verified by Rosanne Marie and search concluded with smiles. Kida was found 1.45 miles away from her home.