A Very Happy Ending!

On March 20th SBYNEWS posted about 2 missing dogs in the Berlin area.  
This story was posted on the Facebook page of LostPetsPR.
It is a long story with a very happy ending. You can see the pictures by clicking HERE.  Great Job to all those involved in bringing these 2 dogs home! Enjoy!

Here is the story of today's recovery of Chika and Chief. This isn't the best photo but I chose it because it shows the scale of what we were dealing with. When you stood where I was in this shot, you can't even see the dogs.....and the house in the background is on the other side of the field so that give you an idea of how large this area was.

Saturday, 3.22.14

The two German Shepherds were still missing early this morning when I went to meet up with the owners. We talked about what to do and felt a facebook page would be good for centralized updates on Chief and Chika. I left Berlin around 8:30am and headed home; took our dogs out and sat down at the computer to type one line....before Michael called to say they had found them. When he said they were lying together in the center of a large field and that they weren't moving around my heart sank. All I could think was that one of them had been badly injured and couldn't move. We talked briefly about gathering people together to form a band around the field and that we needed to hurry.

This field wasn't where we'd met earlier in the morning, and it was unfortunately located close to route 50. Once I saw how large the area was I had doubts that we'd be able to block the dogs if they bolted - and yet, we had no other options. When Michael handed me binoculars to look more closely at the two dogs huddled together it was worrying - I wasn't sure how injured they could be and/or if one could even get up. (**Note here: I'm not real clear on the distances that we were from the dogs or how big the field was - if someone who was there could possibly add that info I'd appreciate it. Reason being, we to learn something from each recovery and I'd like to make notes on approximate details like that. Thanks.)

Brilliant idea of the day: someone showed up to the staging area with construction fencing. Not sure if that was planned or he just had it with him? But yes, it was brilliant....and we needed a lot more. While waiting for the fencing to arrive, more people gathered and that's when I noticed they didn't all know each other. Basically our community of "dog herders" today was just a bunch of folks that heard we needed help and showed up. So simple, yet so often overlooked.

After seeing the size of the field I contacted a few individuals I thought may be able to help, that were fairly close by and hopefully able to arrive quickly. And they did just that, like many others this morning....thank God we were so fortunate. Animal control was there, the fencing arrived and we started to split up into groups around the field. Both owners were aware of how to approach the dogs in a non-threatening way, so as they started slowly towards them we fell into place with our moving fence lines. (Again, here I'd love to give approximate ranges because when I looked around once I saw these tiny pieces of fencing with giant gaps and thought if the dogs bolted we'd have no way to close in.)

As the two Shepherds began to grow uneasy one started to whine and I prayed it wasn't in pain from an awful injury. Jennifer and Michael slowly dropped to the ground to be less threatening and waved us to a stop. The dogs both got up at that point and my joy at seeing them move turned into panic watching the huge spaces we still had in the fencing. I believe there were five total fences, 100' each but I may be wrong on that - either way the gaps seemed to be as big as the fence sections. We had to close in; the dogs were starting to pace back and forth in the center of the field as they watched us approach.

The whining of the one (or both, I'm not sure) grew louder, and when both dogs began trotting faster and back and forth almost checking out the escape routes I could see where they were planning to bolt. The construction fencing was still brilliant, but without poles to anchor it you could hold the top, or the bottom, but not both well. Stepping on the bottom of the fence allows you to hold it better in case you have a dog actually racing into it, but I could see them looking at gaps in the bottom and also wondered if they were considering the jump height (4'.)

Suddenly it was as if they sped up and starting darting faster; we closed up and tightened in our barriers, working towards a perfect surround enclosure. If they had run full force at the fence I don't believe any of us could have held against them as we were spread out with only 4-5 people per 100 feet section.

To really hold up against a 70lb scared dog launching themselves at it I believe you'd need at least double the number of people. I caught sight of Jennifer flat on the ground, working to gain trust of the dogs that loved her but couldn't bring themselves to get near her. Michael was able to block one of the larger gaps in the fencing before we closed in enough, but they were now very nervous, bolting back and forth.

I don't know at what point this happened, or if it was partly how I perceived things, but in an instant the whining and cries of fear I was hearing turned into cries of joy. I believe it was when Chika actually LOOKED at Jennifer and realized she was "mom", because up until then we could have been aliens as both dogs paid no attention at all to the people they knew. Suddenly, and tripping over excess fencing bundled up, we WERE getting in a small, tighter circle and then.....both dogs were leashed. It was AMAZING and I didn't even see who grabbed which dog or how, I just knew we had an enclosure and the dogs were inside it. Had just one or two people not been there, and moving as swiftly as they did, I don't believe we could have pulled it off.

Immense, joyful relief arrived upon seeing the dogs had NO injuries, except to their paws. They appeared to be in pain from the rough fields ground and brittle plant stalks and that may have been why they had suddenly crashed to a resting place in the middle of the field. They were overjoyed to see "their people" again, because once you get an animal off the pattern of "running wild" they can again see who is who.

It's worth noting that on Thursday both Jennifer and Michael had been at close range with the dogs at different times - within feet of them and a vehicle, which normally was something wonderful to hop aboard. But since Chief and Chika had got into the mindset of wild dog, running for safety, etc, they couldn't even approach their owners. That is a zone that lost dogs fall into, and no amount of treats or begging or how hungry hey are, they will not come towards you. Safety is perceived by speed and flight ability, so once that happens you loose communication with your pet completely. It's heartbreaking for many owners to see, especially the first time and I know both Michael and Jennifer were devastated seeing their pets turn and bolt from them. It's important to remember that we couldn't have caught them by walking through the field whistling or throwing food; at that stage of the game you've lost touch with them - right up until the moment both dogs were at close range with their people and suddenly snapped out of the "fight or flight" pattern.

Big thumbs up to everyone today....we did it! Team/group effort was awesome and a big thanks out to my friend Leisha who I believe was able to capture some of these events on camera. I'd hope we can use today as a great learning tool via the pictures because this could work again in a similar situation. Thank you to all who shared, cared, looked and worried along with us. The owners left little undone and by springing into action so fast, getting fliers done immediately, calling in help, etc, they shifted the odds in their favor. TIME IS OF THE ESSENCE WHEN YOU ARE MISSING A PET. It's not doing fliers in two days, or waiting to go out searching when the weather clears, it's right then. Every hour you wait can mean your dog is closer to being struck by a car so a good chunk of the success in recovery is in your hands. Today, we celebrate a great job and effort by everyone!!

Welcome home Chief and Chika, welcome home.

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