08/07/2025
Please welcome Cinci to the Crew! Cinci's story is a sad one, to say the least.
I received a call from a lady in Texas who had been feeding Cinci and another dog in an overgrown backyard for the past 3-4 months. She went on to say that the dogs had been on their own for 4-5 years after their owner passed, and that family and neighbors were going by to give them food and water before she got involved. The trailer that the owner lived in was open, and the dogs went in and out of it with all of the owner's previous belongings inside. The property is in horrible condition inside and out, but the dogs have survived the elements and never once tried to escape.
Before contacting me, the lady was able to leash Cinci and take her to the vet. The other dog has not been as cooperative, so he didn't go. Cinci was heartworm tested, and the result was positive. After trying to reach out to get the dogs placed in local rescues with no luck, she called me. I agreed to take CInci, the smaller and more cooperative of the two. The other dog is an 80-plus-pound dog. With Bubs being here and Manny being large, I just couldn't take on another big dog.
An appointment was made for Cinci to get her first heartworm treatment injection. At the end of that day, July 14, I picked Cinci up in TX, and we made the 3.5-hour drive home. Cinci was about to start her happily ever after. She was terrified and refused to move. Almost frozen in fear. I had to pick her up and carry her into the house, and then again outside to try to go potty. That is where her happy ending came to a screeching halt.
As a seasoned rescuer and someone who has worked with multiple timid, fearful, anxious dogs, it is embarrassing to admit that after 20 minutes of being outside on a leash, she got away from me and jumped the enclosure we have for the dogs. We live on 5 acres, but do not have fencing in the front of our property. Of course, that's where she headed. Leash in tow. Cinci stayed in our country neighborhood for 4 days. Alan and I searched and tried to locate her for several hours a day, talking with people, handing out information, and rushing to where she was spotted by someone we contacted. We had set up a trap and game camera and waited. She stayed within a 2-mile radius of us for two weeks, then went off the radar. We live in a heavily wooded area. She could be anywhere.
At the beginning of week three of being missing, she was spotted again at a busy intersection 5 miles North of us. One of our neighbors saw a Facebook post and alerted Alan. Cinci had crossed I-40 and was sitting in the ditch on the side of the road, moving back and forth between a house and a field on the same street. This area is much busier with traffic, but equally as wooded as our area. Cinci seemed to like to hang out near the road in the brush where she couldn't be seen. After seeing the post on Facebook about her, another rescue lady and her daughter volunteered to help try to get close to her. After hours of sitting with Cinci and staying close to her when she would move, she suddenly bolted and headed North. We thought we'd lost her again, but hoped she would return the next day, knowing there might be food waiting for her. We set a trap for her there and hoped for the best. The next morning, yesterday, she showed up on the game camera at the trap. She went in and ate the bait, but the trap was not set. Dogs have to be able to trust going in a few times before setting the trap. Had she gone in previously, we probably would've set it the night before. I rushed out to see her lounging in the yard across the street.
Cinci was exhausted. Although the previous day we were able to get close to her, she just wouldn't submit. Yesterday, I was determined to stay with her until she did. I didn't care if it took all day/night. Of course, she went to her preferred spot, the brush in the ditch. It was there, after several hours of sitting, talking, and listening to music, that she finally started taking treats from my hand. That led to her letting me touch her paw, neck, head, back, and then belly. She was so exhausted that it wasn't too hard to get her to start falling asleep. She rolled over on her side, and I was then able to start touching her body with the lead as I was rubbing her belly. Cinci was a big bowl of jelly by then, and I was able to slip the lead around her neck and then around her belly like a harness. She didn't even know it.
After 23 days, Cinci is safe again. We cannot thank everyone who played a part in the search for her enough. Now we have to continue getting Cinci well medically, and we need your help to cover her heartworm treatment. Treatment cost is $550. Please donate if you can. If not, share this post!
Besides the donate button here on Facebook, you may donate other ways.
PayPal - @gmail.com
Venmo -
Zelle - Deirdra Maraist
Mail a check to:
Rudy's Rescue
13125 Lakeroad Dr
McLoud, Ok 74851
