Best Furry Friend - Search and Rescue

05/17/2026

May 2026
Suzzi Q is a 3 year old female Boston Terrier. Suzzi, her pup sister Abby and her mom where driving a short distance from their home when Suzzi for an unknown reason decided to jump out of the car window. Panic as you can relate set in as her mom pulled over to get her. Suzzi also panicked and ran into some nearby woods. Her mom ran after Suzzi but lost her. That was late morning and I received a call soon after. I headed over to the area pessimistic because it was mid-day and sunny which means my thermal drone camera would not be effective. Suzzi's family immediately started spreading the word contacting Animal Control and police then posting on local facebook groups. The mid-day search did not find Suzzi so I took a break and figured I would come back in the evening for a more effective search. Unfortunately the evening search only led to some cats and a fox. Suzzi escaped from the car with her leash on which raises additional concerns of her getting caught on a tree, fence or other object. The next morning we received our first sighting but it was from the night before. Suzzi was seen 3/4 miles north near some retail stores. This surprised me a little but the description was solid. Suzzi's family had flyers printer and started posting them around the area Suzzi was last seen. I posted signs around the area she was lost in so that local residents would not be so surprised by a drone in the area and because dogs often backtrack on their scent. That night I came back for a night search hoping Suzzi would show herself. About 30 minutes in and I spotted a possible dog. It was moving and on or near a road with traffic so using my spotlight to identify it was problematic. As quickly as the animal appeared it disappeared like it crawled into a hole. Based on size and gait I was pretty confident this was a dog and likely Suzzi. I decided to set up a trail camera in the families yard in case I did not find her again today. I thought about why she went north away from the families home rather then towards it. She has no close area experience even though only 1/2 mile from home. I thought I would try to help her out. I borrowed some of her cushy toys and soaked them in warm water creating stink stew. I used that stink stew to create a 1/2 mile scent trail from my sighting to her home. I then relocated and relaunched my drone. Suzzi was near where I last saw her but this time on the move. She crossed the road and back near a light and I could see her leash. Suzzi confirmed. I called the family but her mom had a caregiver obligation so she could not help but her niece was available and willing to help. It was about midnight but she headed over and got Suzzi's sister Abby. The goal was to use Abby as a magnet dog to gain Suzzi's trust. I followed Suzzi for 1.2 miles through fields, tree-lines, pastures and almost into conservation district property. Not again please!!! She finally turned around and started backtracking her earlier path which meant she would either cross my created scent trail or she would come near enough to a subdivision where we could try the magnet dog. I had the niece and Abby position at a dead end road near where Suzzi was heading. I let the niece know Suzzi's progress as it happened. Suzzi got to within about 80 ft of Abby with a driveway and some trees separating them. Abby saw Suzzi or knew she was there and started barking. Perfect. Suzzi stood there for 1-2 minutes with Abby barking and pulling the leash trying to get to Suzzi but Suzzi was not sure. Then finally Suzzi took some steps towards Abby and a few more and then Suzzi finally recognized Abby and the niece grabbed Suzzi's leash. Both dogs were so happy to be back together they were dancing with each other.

05/12/2026

May 2026
Maddy is a 3 year old Wheaton Terrier. Maddy was in the yard while the family was also in the yard working on spring clean-up. Maddy can roam around the house in the yard and was wearing an e-collar. At some point when they were getting ready to finish up they noticed Maddy was no longer in the yard. She had done this once before and went a couple houses down the street and straight back home. This time was different. The family searched the neighborhood looking for Maddy but did not find her. The next day they jumped on social media and contacted neighbors to have them check cameras. Still nothing. Maddy's mom remembered seeing a vehicle parked along the road to the side of their house and a person getting out which is not a normal place to stop. At the time she didn't think anything more about it. They put up flyers in the neighborhood and contacted me on day 2. I went to the area and performed a thorough drone search but nothing. I noticed a house for sale that had multiple out buildings and multiple associated lots. I had the family check that property after it was found that no one was living there. We still had no sightings so on day 3 we set up a feeding station and trail camera in the families side yard. The food was gone each morning but just an opossum and a pair of coyotes. 15 days had past and still no sightings. Maddy's mom went out that day and handed out flyers at local businesses including a pet store. She also kept the social media postings current. That night or really the next morning the camera went off as usual but this time it was not wildlife. It was hard to see because the trail cam had fogged up but I was pretty sure it was a dog in the yard and not a coyote. Then I get a text from Maddy's mom that Maddy was at the back door barking. So how??? After getting over the ecstatic moment we had to wonder a little. Maddy was in good shape and had another dogs fur stuck in her collar. Did someone pickup Maddy? Did someone return Maddy? I do know that Maddy's family never gave up and for 16 days kept the feeding station full and scent items placed while also working the neighborhood, social media and flyers. Welcome home Maddy.

05/12/2026

May 2026
Bubu is a 6 month old Scottish Terrier. Bubu and 2 yard mates wondered out of their yard while a gate was left open in the backyard. All three ranging in age Bubu was the youngest. The first dog returned to home quickly but the other 2 went on a longer trip. These 2 split up with the oldest going north and Bubu going south. I am not sure why some dogs stay together and others go their own way. Well Bubu's brother was found the next day on the side of a house hiding by some yard waste bins. Bubu headed to a retail area and theater and was spotted several times. We had signs up in the area but we continued to get sightings via social media comments rather than calls or texts which slowed the response time. Then on day 4 we received an early morning sighting and Bubu had doubled back which we were hoping for. We searched the area that night but could not find her. Next morning I received a text from Bubu's family that Bubu had came home at 2:00 am and was barking at the door.

Here is the amazing part. Bubu is 6 months old and was adopted 2 weeks prior to this event. She traveled 3 miles away from her home over 4 days through residential and commercial property and was able to back track her scent to her home.

05/10/2026

04/09/2026

A great group effort.

03/24/2026

March 2026
Hank has a vice, he likes to chase wildlife and all attempts to get his attention once engaged are futile. Hank is a good boy, a rescue but that day he ran into the woods after something and disappeared. The family stayed out in the preserve walking the paths and calling for him. The preserve closes at dusk so I told the family to meet there in the morning at 6:00 am. I was 2 minutes away when I got the call, Hank is safe. I pulled up and the family, Hank and a Sheriff were all there. Hank had been in the parking lot barking most of the night. I understand, his family abandoned him, well that is how he would put if asked and he was scared.

I am writing this up to explain why I feel it was resolved so quickly. The family had Hank for 3 years. Fully bonded with his mom and dad. Hank ran off due to an adrenaline rush. I asked the family not to go back to the preserve or attempt to call him out. Often times that will lead to the dog leaving that immediate area. Once a dog feels they need to watch their own back calling just becomes noise. If left alone I felt Hank would attempt to find his way back to family. He would circle around (triangulate) and find his scent and that of his family and follow it. The circumstance that would change this hopeful outcome would be people that might scare him, through little fault of their own into breaking from that pattern and cause him to straight line out of the area. That is why we got there before the preserve opened. Hank did follow the scents and was waiting in the parking lot near where the family parked. His barking woke neighbors who called the police leading to the Sheriff getting there a little ahead of us. Hank would not come to the Sheriff but she handled that perfectly by just blocking the main road out of the preserve to discourage him from leaving while she was looking for a lost dog reporting. The family drove up to find the gates open and the Sheriff parked at the entrance. Perfect timing and perfect ending. Hank came to the family immediately. Hank and Hank's brother could not have been happier.

Hank is on the right.

03/15/2026

February 2026
It takes a community…
Mia is a 5 year old female GoldenDoodle adopted 3 months prior to this event. While walking Mia and the 2 other family dogs in Glacial Park the leashes got tangled causing Mia to get spooked and pulled free with her harness and retractable leash attached. By the first sighting she had lost the retractable handle and a couple days later she chewed off the remaining leash. I found this case to be challenging and intriguing. With a host of concerns including wildlife, site access, food sources and weather the best of dogs and people out shined all my concerns. I included more pics than on any previous post because it shows the lifecycle and what needed to occur for this 18 day event. Team Mia was attacking it on multiple fronts including signs, social media, air support, ground support, case management, public liaison, tracking, feeding stations and finally trapping. Early on Mia seemed to be having the time of her life. Laying in the sun, rolling in smelly stuff and roaming the country side which included one midnight run nearly 2 miles away only to return to a feeding station by 5:00 am. Later in the event Mia seemed to regret her decision to run away. With each passing night even though she new where a food source was located she would roam away. I felt Mia wanted to go home and at night was looking for her home or familiarity. I believe at some point dogs that have bonded with a human get over the initial fear of separation and have memory recall of good times. Mia's mom left out a sweater of hers at one of the feeding stations. Mia was seen sleeping on that sweater multiple nights yet luring Mia to her mom was unsuccessful. Just a faint memory perhaps due to the stressful situation. Everybody on Team Mia refused to give up and kept working and adapting to our end goal. 18 days in, a huge group effort and Mia went home to family.
Linda Stiert Hartman
Mike Smith
Lost Dogs Illinois

Lost Dogs Illinois as many of you know disseminates best practices regarding lost dog scenarios and manages communications for the bulk of postings for the dogs within Illinois. If you are interested in helping visit their website at lostdogsillinois.org

03/14/2026

February 2026
AJ is a 15 year old female German Shepherd. She suffers from Doggie Dementia, has hip issues and is hard of hearing. One night she was let out in the back yard not knowing a gate was left open and she wandered out. Once noticed the family began to search the neighborhood along with friends and neighbors. I was contacted the next day and headed to their location soon as I could get organized. I arrived just before dusk. I was hoping for more daylight time but traffic and distance was not going to allow for that. The area is mostly residential but some parks, farm style property and commercial/industrial. I skipped the residential and went for the higher probability areas like the parks, tree lines and trails. It took about 45 minutes to locate AJ and another 15 minutes to guide the family to her. AJ was on a path she had found off a main trail. She was pacing its 300 ft length end to end. Sad but helpful. I told the father to wait so I could time him and AJ's meet and greet. He entered the smaller path and she kept walking right to him. AJ was recovered about 1/2 mile from her home after about 24 hours lost.

03/12/2026

January 2026
Maddie is an 8 year old, 12 pound female Maltese Terrier mix. Maddie's mom had just recently adopted Maddie (PKA Madi). Maddie went for a car ride so that her mom could make a quick stop at an area hospital. When she opened her door Maddie decided to make a run for it. Maddie's mom was kicking herself for not having a leash on her while in the car. Because of some owner mobility issues due to an injury I took over the communications aspect of the case and posted on local lost dog sites and posted signs in the area around the hospital. This event lasted 7 days in some cold temperatures. Maddie was wearing a holiday sweater which should make sighting confirmations easier or so you would think. The first night we had 2 sightings within an hour of each other but they were 2 miles apart. Both sightings stated dog was wearing a holiday sweater. I checked out both. We then went 5 days without a sighting. I performed searches by air on multiple days and nights and put out a feeding station near where Maddie took off into the woods behind the hospital. Day 6 and we received a sighting at a house across the street from the hospital. I ran over there and the homeowner walked me through where he saw Beanie. This was great news and very credible. I ran home, grabbed a trap and set it up in the yard with permission from the homeowner. I sat in the hospital parking lot hoping Maddie would find the food and the trap. She did not show that night. I needed to run home and let my dog out so I refreshed the trap and notified the homeowner that I might need their help if something happened. Not home an hour and the trail cam started going off. I quickly checked and there she was walking around the trap. A couple more pics and she was in and safe. I called the homeowner and asked them to cover the trap with a blanket while I jumped in the car about 10 minutes away. I also called Maddie's mom to let her know I would be bringing Maddie home in about an hour. When I arrived the homeowner had moved the trap into their house. They were so elated that they could help. So was I. Maddie had lost her sweater and collar during the ordeal so I ran out and got her a new collar, tags and found a warm Pendleton sweater. The minimum attire needed for this time of year.

03/11/2026

January 2026
Beanie is a Female Maltese all of about 5 pounds. She was being cared for by a friend over the new year. While out on a walk Beanie got loose and as expected ran off. This was a 5 day event where the weather was cold and the Coyotes were roaming . Good thing Beanie had on her pink sweater. I was out the next day to help search by air and the owner was out hanging flyers on every corner. There were residential, forested, commercial and industrial areas adjoining the place Beanie disappeared. I was not optimistic about finding a 5 lb dog in such a large area but if the owner doesn't give up then neither will I. I was out searching all but 1 day and each day I saw more coyotes in every area I searched. This is not something I report back to the family as sleep is limited when a dog goes missing no need to aggravate the situation especially since in my experience I have not found coyotes to be the most critical threat. Still watching multiple times a coyote follow prints in the snow is not a good feeling. My working theory on this is that because coyotes are constantly roaming and marking their territory they leave a strong scent that a vigilant dog will pick up on and move away from those areas. Four days had gone by and only 2 sightings both during the day. Day 5 and I get a call from the owner that Beanie had been spotted in a backyard by some kids as she was snuggly hiding between a wall and a trailer just barely visible. The kids wisely did not attempt to catch her but rather told a parent who called the family while the kids held position to keep her in her hiding place. The family quickly arrived and was able to secure Beanie.

02/05/2026

October 2025
Zoey is a 14 year old female Black Lab. A little too independent for her own good. She was let out in the backyard in early evening. She has a big yard with no fence. The routine was normal. She was caught on camera coming back to the door but the family was a little to slow at responding so she walked off. Three days later I got a call asking for help. It is sad but not surprising that many dog owners do not know there are available services and resources for these situations. I headed out the same day and spoke with the family. The father was convinced Zoey would be found deceased which I am finding is common. I convinced him it was worth the search either way. About 45 minutes in I spotted a heat signature that looked appropriate but was unable get a clear visual due to power lines and trees but I thought I could see a collar. I decided it had to be checked out. I got the family together and we headed to the location. In a creek bed about 60 feet off the road or nearest driveway we walked down and it was Zoey. Not moving and partially submerged in the creek her head was up on a rock. My stomach dropped but then I saw her head twitch. We quickly got her out of the creek bed and into a blanket then the family rushed her to the vet. She was pretty worn down by the experience but at least she got one more Thanksgiving meal with her family close by.