06/23/2026
Date: 6/23/26
Location: Newburyport, MA
Dog: Maye
Maye was captured today and is currently on her way to the veterinary hospital. Her owner, Brett, has been notified and is on his way to see her. More updates will follow after some much-needed sleep.
Updated.
This is a long one.
Maye went missing on June 6 and has been on the run ever since, generating countless sightings throughout the area. If I remember correctly, Brett, Maye’s owner, contacted me a day or two after she went missing. I conducted a search of the area but was unable to locate her. During the recent heat wave, I returned for another overnight search, but again came up empty. It seemed that by the time I searched an area, Maye had already moved on, or she had tucked herself somewhere I couldn’t see. Over the past 17 days, she covered an incredible amount of ground throughout Newburyport and West Newbury.
On Saturday, June 20, Megan, the Ipswich Regional Animal Control Officer, reached out and explained that she was assisting Kayla, the Newburyport/West Newbury ACO, in efforts to capture Maye. Megan also mentioned that her friend Colby and her dog, Rabbit, were available to help.
Rabbit had previously assisted with a missing dog case over the winter. During that rescue, Rabbit was able to get close enough to the missing dog to keep it occupied until the owner could safely secure it. We decided to try a similar approach with Maye.
We located Maye in West Newbury near a pizza shop on the Groveland line and attempted a walk-in using Rabbit. Megan and Colby got within arm’s reach of Maye, but she slipped away. By this point, it was clear that Maye was exceptionally skilled at avoiding capture.
We tracked her with the drone for a while and waited for her to settle down. We attempted one more walk-in, but once again she slipped past everyone. At that point, we decided not to push her any further and called it for the night.
On Monday night, June 22, Megan contacted me again. Maye had returned to Newburyport, close to where she had originally gone missing. There had been several sightings, but whenever she entered the neighborhood, reports stopped until nighttime or early morning. I told Megan I would take the next day off from work and spend the night searching in hopes of locating her, tracking her movements, and maybe getting her into an area where we could safely contain her.
Maye had avoided every trap and bait station that had been set out since the beginning. If I remember correctly, she originally came up from Texas as a former street dog, so surviving on her own wasn’t new to her.
After spending the night patrolling the area with the drone from 11:30 p.m. to 7:00 a.m., I checked in with Megan. No new sightings had come in, and I believed Maye was tucked away somewhere and hadn’t emerged yet. I told Megan I was going to grab a short nap and asked her to call if anything changed.
After about an hour, I woke up and checked my phone—nothing. I launched the drone again and resumed searching. By then, people were out walking their dogs and morning traffic had picked up. I called Megan once more, and she informed me that Brett had just received a new sighting report.
I immediately moved the drone to the area and noticed a couple who appeared to be walking their dog. They were pointing and talking, and I observed the husband looking around near a house before returning to his wife. I landed the drone and approached them.
When I asked if they had seen Maye, they explained that they had called in the sighting. They told me Maye was tucked into a basement window well of a nearby house. The gentleman walked me over and showed me exactly where she was. As we passed by, Maye looked at us but didn’t run. She was clearly exhausted.
I contacted Megan with Maye’s location, and she notified Kayla. We all met across the street to develop a capture plan. The couple stayed to help. The gentleman volunteered to hold a net and block one possible exit route. Kayla positioned herself behind me to cover another escape path if Maye slipped past. Megan managed traffic and served as our final layer of security.
I quietly approached with a slip pole while Maye was in a deep sleep. As she began to wake up, I was able to guide her into the loop and secure it around her. Once the pole was on, we wanted a second point of control, just in case. Megan came in from the opposite side and successfully attached a leash.
We let Maye sit for a few minutes to settle down before moving her into a transport cage. Once she was safely loaded and secured, Kayla transported her to the veterinary hospital for evaluation and treatment. Megan contacted Brett to let him know that Maye had finally been captured and was on her way to the vet, and that he should head there to be with her.
This rescue took the efforts of many people. Including complete strangers working together to bring Maye back home to Brett. I can only imagine what Brett has gone through over the past 17 days.
A huge thank you to everyone who reported sightings, assisted with the search efforts, and helped make today’s successful capture possible. Because of all of you, Maye is finally safe.
