Dogs Finding Dogs Tracking Stories - Dog Tales (Cat Tales)
Walker's Story
Walker for what ever reason, probably nature, jumped a vulnerable part of our fence when our backs were turned and ran away. We did not know which way to turn. We made up a few flyers, signs for posts and contacted the Humane Society. Then Anne from Dogs Finding Dogs contacted us. Over the next two weeks we spent time with Anne and Janel following the trained noses of Heidi and Lee each time that there was a Walker sighting. All of a sudden, sightings of Walker stopped coming in. On July 3, we received a call that Walker had been found. Tragically though, he was found lying between the North and Southbound rails of the Baltimore Light rail. We positively identified him and completed our goal of bringing him home on July 4, 2009. While we are extremely saddened and heartbroken by the loss of our dear, funny, energetic and tenacious friend, we can thank Walker for being the catalyst to gaining two new friends, Anne and Janel and their faithful companions Heidi and Lee of Dogs Finding Dogs.
The Walker Fund was initiated by Paul and Betsy Marchand of Finksburg, MD in honor of their dog Walker. This fund was set up to help offset the costs of our services for pet owners who could otherwise not afford it. Click here for the entire Heart Warming Story of Walker and how the Walker Fund began. If you are interested in helping continue The Walker Fund, please contact us.
- Paul & Betsy Marchand in Finksburg, MD
Great Pyrenees "Cricket" Recovered from Fatal Car Crash
DFD first wants to extend its deepest sympathies to Mr. Jack Perry and family for the loss of a beautiful, kind and wonderful woman, Charlotte Perry. Mr. and Mrs. Perry were involved in a fatal car accident while coming home from a dog show that featured Cricket. Mrs. Perry sadly was killed in the accident.
Cricket was thrown from the van and escaped from her crate at the accident site. Dogs Finding Dogs along with Mr. Perry and his family, friends and the local news stations led a search for Cricket which started at 6:30pm 2 days after the accident. The public support of loving strangers for Mr. Perry was overwhelming.
DFD took its most senior SAR dog Heidi out to search for Cricket. With media in tow, friends and family of Mr. Perry, we all followed behind the search dog. Without going into a books worth of details, Cricket was running a wooded power line nearby the crash site. Cricket answered by barking back to Mr. Perry's grandaughters cries for her. Cricket was showing us where she was. The trick was catching up to her in all the 4 foot tall massive field of weeds.
After 3 hours of searching, Cricket finally was caught by the side of a road.
Mr. Perry, whom had just been released from the hospital, sat in the back of his family's van all night waiting for us to find his dog. It was with the MOST GREATEST pleasure that Cricket was reunited with him at approximately 10pm. It was the determination of all those involved to find Cricket for Mr. Perry. Where this is the saddest case we have ever had, there was still some happiness that we could give back to a wonderful man who had just lost his wife. He needed Cricket back to help go on with his life.
This Memorial Fund for Charlotte Perry in the name of her dog Cricket has been set up in conjunction with members of the National Capital Area Great Pyrenees Club to honor Charlotte's memory. All the donations will go towards helping DFD offset the costs of reuniting the missing pets of owners who cannot afford to make a donation. Donators will be highlighted in a special section of our Angels page specifically for Charlotte.
For me, I have never cried so much with a case as this one. Before I started Heidi tracking, Mr. Perry's family asked me to come to the van for a minute. I walked with them as they told me that their father wanted to talk to me. As the van door opened, there was Mr. Perry sitting there. He grabbed my hand and asked that we find Cricket. With tears coming down, I said to him "Mr. Perry, I am so so sorry for your loss. I GUARANTEE that we will find Cricket! You have my word sir! We will get her back to you".
By the Grace of God and the hard work of alot of wonderful people, Cricket was back in Mr. Perry's arms that night.
- Written by Anne Wills - Executive Director and Lead Tracker for Cricket's Search in Haymarket, VA (July, 2011)
Candi is Back! Sweet!
I'd like to take this opportunity to thank you & Dogs Finding Dogs for your quick response to my phone call last Wednesday pleading for help in finding Candy, a very damaged puppy mill survivor. To our utter delight, Candy was
back in her home 24-hours later. Candy's Mom) & I are convinced this could not have been accomplished without the help of Lynn & Mabel. Once Candy was located, it took expert directions from Lynn to actually get close enough to Candy to capture her & of course, it took a lot of time & patience. The end result was thrilling. Now that Candy is back home, she's adjusting beautifully. There doesn't appear to be any ill-effects of her 4-1/2 days on the run but she'll be checked out at the vet's on Saturday. Thank you again for your quick response & for Dogs Finding Dogs being there in our time of need.
- Linda & Jane in Maryland (August, 2011)
Lost in the Park, Stolen, Sold and then Stolen Again by a Prostitute - 6 Times Cops Called
We're going to try to lay this out so it can be followed. Back in March, Magoo ran away in the State Park. He had on tags. A man picks him up, calls the number but doesn't leave a message. DFD brought out Anne And K9 Heidi. The phone number is called while there to hear the guy say he threw Magoo back into the woods. Yeah Right! The tracking path with the dog only showed a small path so it looked like the story was a lie. We got the callers number and went to his house in Dundalk with the police. He denied it. We hung flyers up outside his house and his child calls stating that Magoo was in Dundalk. Strange! The guy then sells him to a prostitute in Brooklyn. On Mothers Day, the prostitute is visiting her mom on Landsdowne and looses Magoo. A kind neighbor picks him up and calls the number on his tags. Criminals are stupid! Really....left the original tags on. While on the phone with us the prostitute assaults her and steals Magoo back out of her arms. Cops are called 2 times to come to the house with us. They would not give Magoo back. They were VERY VIOLENT! Then they send a family member to the good neighbors house and he threatens her for turning them in. Cops called again. We then research the house to find out the mom's name. In the process we find an obituary that lists all the kids. Researched their addresses and put flyers up all around their homes. Prostitute thinks its funny and tells her friend about it..laughing. Friend does not think its funny and calls us from a Craigslist Posting. At 10pm at night here we are with Baltimore City Police, Magoo's Owners. Baltimore City doesn't play!!! They knocked that door so hard and for so long it sounded like it was going to break. The prostitute comes out and lies of course. The neighbors come out and says Magoo is there. A warrant was going to be issued to raid the house and just as all of this was to happen, out comes the prostitute's boyfriend with Magoo and he gives him back. Now to show how STUPID criminals are......there was a $1000.00 reward for Magoo. They could have had the money but instead almost got arrested for stolen property. I don't think any other stolen dog case will top this one.
- Special Thanks to all who helped in Magoo's search in Ellicott City, MD (March - May, 2011)
Maggie Does a Repeat and Sends Us All Out Looking for Her Again
Anne and Dogs Finding Dogs helped find my dog Maggie not once, but TWICE!!! And Maggie didn’t make it easy for us, either! She is an ultra runner and is notorious for ‘going to ground’ and practically dropping off the face of the earth when she doesn’t want to be seen.
Most recently, Maggie escaped my yard with my other dog, Morgan to play with our neighbor’s poodle. When the neighbor came outside and tried to herd the dogs into the house, Maggie became frightened (in her typical fashion) and ran faster than the speed of light into a nearby wooded area. Morgan and I went to the wooded area to draw her out, but we were unsuccessful. When I called Dogs Finding Dogs, Anne remembered me from last time. Once again, her insights and expertise were integral in getting Maggie back. Anne was super attentive and very consistent in her follow up for the entire month it took to catch Maggie in a humane trap near the woods. Today Maggie is home safe and sound, no worse for the wear and that wouldn’t have been possible without Dogs Finding Dogs :O)
- Terel, Morgan, and Maggie in Baltimore, MD (July, 2011)
K9 Corpsman Makes Debut with DFD on a Stolen Dog Case
We love Corpsman! Without him we would not have found out who stole our little Chihuahua. Corpsman and Jim came out and tracked my dogs path for 2 hours straight in the heat. Corpsman took us straight to the house of the gal who stole my dog. It was incredible. But what was hard was getting him back. The police had to be called. The girl admitted to seeing him and we knew he was inside. After alot of hard work we got him back home safe and sound. My little dog was just fine. He was my husbands fathers dog. He has passed away so the dog was really important. We are so happy he is home safe and sound.
- Ashley in Crofton, MD (June, 2011)
Husband Loses Dog While Moving from Florida to NJ
My husband got into to so much trouble. We were moving and took a break at Arundel Mills in Md to let the dog go to the bathroom. He let her out without a leash and she took off. Now what? We searched all that day and night, slept in the moving van and had to take our car off of the trailer to drive around. We were referred to Dogs Finding Dogs by the local animal control. They came out and found that our dog was in the area and at a construction site of new apartments. We had to go to NJ because my husband needed to be at work on Monday. Ladies, you will love this! When we had to drive back I was so mad that I tricked my husband into going into the trailered car to look for something for me. When he got in I pulled off and started driving. I left him there about 3 hours when finally I got sick and tired of hearing him blowing the horn at me. He lost my dog! On Wed we came back and were able to catch Sparky at the construction site. Some workers there helped all of us round him up. This time on the way home I let my husband ride in the car. He wasn't banished anymore. DFD came out to help total strangers. This is a terrific feeling.
- Ellsa in New Jersey (June, 2011)
Pomeranian Almost Eaten by Fox & Causes Searchers to get Poison Ivy!
Munchie was lost by my elderly inlaws even after I told them DO NOT TAKE HIM OUTSIDE! My husband and I live in NY and were visiting the inlaws here in MD. While we were out with friends they let the dog outside to go to the bathroom. I had put papers down for her inside. Once she was outside she took off and my father in law could not keep up with her. His neighbor referred us to DFD. I have to say I was very stressed when I called them. My husband drove back down to MD to meet with them to search. While out they found where Munchie was. She was in the heavily poison ivy filled woods behind a neighbors house. There was a fox there that kept chasing Munchie so it was so scarey and we had to catch her. Once we knew where she was we set up feeding stations and food paths that led back to my in laws. The next morning my father in law saw her in the driveway but he did not tell us unitl later that afternoon. So DFD came back again, verified that she was still there. We did not let the search dog go into the woods after her because we did not want to chase her off. DFD was on the phone with my husband seems like all night into the early morning guiding him on what to do outside. They told him at one point to walk down the path that the dog said Munchie was using. And there was Munchie! He got her to come to him and he came home to NY. I have never been so greatful for the help we received. The only sad thing is that everyone got the worst case of poison ivy. My gratitude will always be to DFD.
- Sam in Westminster, MD (June, 2011)
Julie the Greyhound Escapes from her New Home
Julie is a greyhound that we rescued. She used to race and is very fast. She got out of the yard when the air conditioning company came one day. She ran thru the yards and wound up being spotted in a span of woods at a school. We searched the woods high and low and could not find her. The rescue told us to call Dogs Finding Dogs. They brought out 2 teams to search the woods and they found Julie the first time out. They lent us traps to put out but Julie would not go in them. We put feeding stations and blankets out for her and she would eat the food and sleep on the blankets. We saw her footprints. DFD came out a second time to make sure that she was there and she was. She was caught walking a path that lead to a golf course on the other side of the woods. We were just about to give up! My youngest daughter is so happy to have Julie back. They became quick buddies.
- Kate in Laurel, MD (June, 2011)
Pitbull Stolen by Neighbors - Returned in 24 Hours After DFD got Involved
Thank you DFD! You ROCK! My name is Ron. I am a musician in a local Baltimore Rock band. My dog Harley got away from my roommate while I was at work. I could not find him. He vanished! Dogs Finding Dogs came out for us the following day. The tracking dog ran out Harley's path and then it abruptly stopped on a yard of the local VFW hall. This was about 1 block away. But, while we were tracking there the dog stopped at a house and would not leave. It was really insistant! These people hid in the house until we left and then started to follow us in their car. They then started a confrontation with us as to why we were at their house. It was as if they had something to hide, and they sure did!!!!! Anne told us that they know something and probably had my dog. She told me to branch out further and hit the Harford County shelter with a report. I live in Baltimore County. She said that people will dump the dogs a little further out to avoid being caught. The very day Harford County called and they had Harley. What the neighbors didn't think of was that the shelter makes you show your drivers license when you drop off a dog. That is how I found out the the tracking dog was right. They got scared and the morning we got the call from the shelter they had dropped him off. Wow! Rock on DFD! We owe you a concert.
- Ron in Essex, MD (June, 2011)
Dogs Finding Dogs Tracking Stories - Cat Tales (Dog Tales)
Walker Fund Supports Search for Cats Lost in Fire
This is a picture of a kitty that was saved in a house fire that myself, Christine and Dick went out to. We all took our dogs. The fire was awful and in Crownsville. There were 6 cats total in the house. 2 were found in a closet and were brought out. 2 more were found and the firemen revived them and they are doing well. There were 2 still missing.
We went out the very next morning with Heidi, Keelah and Jean. Dick,myself and Heidi did the interior search to find one of the kitties hiding in the drop ceiling/rafters of the basement. Then we all went outside to look for the other cat. There was scent path on the ground below the windows of the bedroom. Keelah started the track outside and led the way. Jean was to first to find the final hiding spot of the last cat. All the dogs hit really hard in the woods behind the fellow's house that lead to his back neighbors shed.
It was amazing in many ways. This was a Walker Fund case. Folks, this is what it is all about. These people have no home for at least 6 months or more until their house is repaired. It was pretty bad. But the only smiles that the owner had was to have all his kitties home safe and sound. He is very grateful that we found his last 2 cats. He cannot thank us enough.
- Crownsville, MD (April, 2011)
Kittens Kittens and More Kittens - 22 to be Exact!
My local rescue for cats had a big problem! A abandoned farm, whose owner passed away, left a trust for all of her animals. The trust fell into the wrong hands and the animals suffered. Horses were rescued and the cats were left behind. We went and trapped 18 of the adults and had them fixed. But we then realized that 10 of them were moms. So WHERE ARE the KITTENS? We looked high and dry and needed help. Having used DFD to rescue some of our fosters from a house fire, K9 Heidi came to the rescue. She first found a litter of 6 2 week old babies under a broken down rabbit hutch. We quickly scooped them up and bottle fed them right there on the spot. Then she found more under a shed. Then in debris. Then 2 more in the neighbors broken down cars. All in 1 day!!!!! Without the nose of the dog these babies surely would have died! The kittens are now being bottle fed and some have been adopted. Heidi was in her ABSOLUTE GLORY! So many babies hidden everywhere! And she was as gentle with the babies as the momma cats would have been. She would follow us back to the car with the kittens and would not leave to search for more until she got to sniff the babies and see that they were all OK. Then it was off baby hunting again.
- CATS R US in Annapolis, MD (June, 2011)
Kitty Attracted to Litter Trail -- Finds Way Home
I must share with you my experience with Dogs Finding Dogs. My cat was missing and had never been out before and is 9 months young. A horrible storm came through just as he got out. The following day I called your team and spoke to Anne who assured me Kitty wasn't far and put me at ease. Anne then gave me TONS of information on how I could get Kitty to come home. One of the things she suggested was to put trails of used kitty litter from the cat box outside so he could find his way back home. I saw where my cat ran to, so I made a trail through the woods and along the side my neighbors house across the street. Funny thing is I stopped the trail at my neighbors front yard. Anne also informed me that Kitty most likely wouldn't come out of hiding until later in the evening when things were quiet. I walked outside at 10:30 PM with a flashlight to start calling him again. Wouldn't you know it....he was laying (crouched down and scared) in my neighbors front lawn right at the end of the litter trail. I COULDN'T BELIEVE IT!!! I should've ran it to my front door. AMAZING!!! I was offered SO many hints and tips and did several (my husband was scratching his head as I was doing my "come back home, Kitty ritual" slinging cat food all over the yard and making these litter trails). I can't thank you enough, Anne, for taking an extensive amount of time to feed me your knowledge. I will recommend you to anyone that is missing their furry family member.
- Julie Maryland (July, 2011)
Corpsman Gets His Moxie
Thank you DFD for assigning Corpsman to come out. Without your showing me where Moxie was and for helping us set up the area to get her back inside we would have never found her.
She is several pounds smaller, whiskers singed, thigh fur matted, and very very hungry. Her fur is falling out in clumps - probably from the stress and weight loss. Hubby spotted her in the back yard while I was on my meditation cushion, and when he opened the door she dashed in --- he brought her upstairs to me --- she curled up in my arms and we're both still purring.
Thank you again for your support!
- Tracey in Severn, MD (July, 2011)
After 3 weeks and 4 days, Murphy Returned Home
George and I were devastated when she disappeared on June 5. It took us a couple of days to realize that she was really missing, put out flyers, and then friends suggested I call www.dogsfindingdogs.com. Anne, as soon as I spoke with you I knew that we had the best help available. You were so responsive and explained the whole process to me, and within 24 hours Christine and Keelah came down to Friendship to help us. We tracked for almost 2 hours that evening, and it was almost 100 degrees—way too hot for Keelah (and us!) to continue. Christine was wonderful—she explained all the things we could do to try to locate Murphy. She was with us all the way. Christine never let us feel like she and Keelah had “left us”—she offered to take Keelah anywhere to track Murphy. I think it is only because of Christine’s support that I never gave up hope. The local newspapers ran stories, and the flyers were put out even further away from home. We had callers saying they had spotted Murphy, some of them far away from our home. So, this morning at 5:30 a.m. Murphy was waiting out on our porch for us to let her in. She was thin, but she suffered no obvious trauma—her paws were in good shape and her fur looked good. If only she could talk, we would love to know where she’s been. But we won’t take a chance with her any time soon—she’s grounded for a long time. I can’t thank you enough for this wonderful service you render to people who are desperate to find their dogs and cats. Christine and Keelah saved my sanity, and I know that our local papers want to do stories on dogsfindingdogs, especially to let others know what a resource you are. On our flyer for Murphy we offered a reward for her return, and we will be donating that money soon to dogsfindingdogs.com. It can’t go to a better group.
- George and Colleen in Friendship, MD (June, 2011)
Kitty Runs Walls and Ceilings in Pet Grooming Center
What a nightmare! Poncho was being boarded in Baltimore and was going to be groomed. However, they decided to groom him in a room full of caged dogs. Poor Poncho was so scared that he ran out of the groomers arms and found a small hole in the wall. He managed to squeeze into it and from there he ran all the drop ceilings and walls of the renovated 2 story bar. He was trapped for 5 days. DFD came out and the dog found Poncho in one of the ceilings. We could not get to him because he kept running away. So we put traps up and started to wait. After 2 days and no Poncho, DFD came back out to make sure he was still there. This time he was found in the reception room ceiling 1 story below. Now we had traps there too! The third time out the dog smelled Poncho back upstairs in the original ceiling again. With everyone out of the room, my husband, who Poncho loves, called him out with his favorite saying for dinner time. This time, Poncho meowed and he poked his head out of the wall and my husband grabbed onto him. With claws out, my husband pleaded for a carrier. He took it like a man! Poncho was put into the carrier and finally he was going home. He was fine and we had a Welcome Home Poncho Happy Hour Party. It was a nice celebration. And we have now made new friends.
- From All of Ponchos Searchers in Baltimore City, MD (June, 2011)
Torti on the Loose for 8 Days
Maggie, our cat, got let out by accident. She is a torti, primarily black with orange, white colors. Dogs Finding Dogs came out and found that she was coming back to the house and was doing a circle around the townhouses and the woodline behind them. The tracking dog was dead on. We set feeding stations up along the path and drew a line of food smell to the house. DFD set up a trap outside the house. Maggie sure enough was caught in the trap less than 24 hours after they left. My little son missed her so much. She is back safe and sound. No harm came to her. She just wanted to explore.
- Kara in Crofton, MD (June, 2011)
Whatever you Want Will to Do, He will do the Opposite!
Willowbee will never do what you want him to do or expect him to do! And he sure caused a fuss when he went missing! It took almost a month of working with Dogs Finding Dogs to track him down. Will ran thru the neighborhoods around my house like he was nuts! He was easy for people to recognize because of his spots. Everytime, off we went with the dog in toe, traps in the car and following him out. A couple of times the dog said that the sighting was not Will and the dog was right once we dug into it. But Will finally landed in a backyard where we went to once again make sure it was him. And it was. But they had a deck and a swimming pool that Will ran around and around and under until we finally snagged him. These people who lived there must have thought we were nuts! Will is back home. He also has a new little sister, a Silver Bengal baby girl 8 weeks old. Not sure what he makes of it but he is on lock down!
- Bobbi in Glen Burnie, MD (June, 2011)
Bengal Goes on Vacation 1 Mile to a Fancy Farm
Everyone, they say that Bengals will be more curious and adventurous then you normal house cat. Hazel is just this. She usually would go out in the yard with us to watch the birds. Maybe she would venture to the neighbors house but she always listens. We never leave her out there alone. We had a freak thunderstorm creep up and it scared Hazel away. Being referred to DFD, we gave them a call. It took 2 times of coming out and an action plan of tasks to be done before Hazel was found. We had gotten tips that we needed to follow up on that lead all of us to this beautiful horse farm. Hazel had made a boyfriend and he brought her in the house with him for food. Hurray we got her back. DFD really works hard to find its missing pets! Thank you.
- Deb in Ellicott City, MD (June, 2011)
Happy Mom's Day from a Lovely Russian Blue
This was the best donation fee ever spent. We are leaving to move to Zimbabwe at the end of May and our georgous Russian Blue Kitty decided to take off. We think it was because the house is being packed up and everything is strange right now. But on Mother's Day, Dogs Finding Dogs took the time out to come over and help us. It took longer to catch our kitty then it did to find him. What a remarkable service and cool too! The dog went thru our back alley and right to a deck in a neighbors house about 4 homes away. There he was! Our kitty moved from the deck to under a car that was right there. With my husband on one side of the car and the search team on the other, my cat howling in complaint, allowed my husband to grab him and bring him inside. What a Mother's Day gift and we can now move with our family all together. Thank you DFD!
- Courtney in Baltimore City, MD (May, 2011)
Cats Don't Like to be Squirted with the Water Hose!
My father, who loves his wifes kitty Sadie, decided to take her out in the back yard one day. Sadie didn't want to come back inside when dad did. It's spring and fun outside. Sadie was first rescued as a kitten outside our home along the waterfront. Sadie decided to outsmart dad by going under the car. Dad figured he could outsmart her and squirt her with the hose. Dad lost! Sadie disappeared and was no where to be found. Dogs Finding Dogs came out and within 1/2 hour knew exactly where Sadie was. She was hanging in the marshy woodline out the back of our property. They set a trap for her and within several hours Sadie was in the trap. I am now writing on all my flyers that Sadie was saved by Dogs Finding Dogs. I am very happy to have her back home. She has special memories of my mom attached to her
- Dan in Essex, MD (May, 2011)
Jack Hit the Road Alright - But He Won't Do It No More
Dear DFD, After 2 weeks of trying to find where Jack ran off to we basically we going to give up until we were referred to you. With all the woods out back and the streams we were certain that he was long gone. There were several false sightings, which we know after you went to all of them for us and your search dog said the scents didn't match. But you were right! Your dog told us immediately that Jack was just 2 doors away. I cannot believe it. Your techniques that you laid out before you left lead him right back to the door that very evening. I know we spooked him out of the wood pile and I think he figured it was time to come back home. Thank you so much and we will be telling everyone about what a compassionate and relentless job that you do.
- Jason in Glen Burnie, MD (April, 2011)
Found! (with help from DFD)
 Friend (11/08) |
 Hagan (12/08) |
 Jasmine (11/08) |
 Rosie (10/08) |
 Jack (11/08) |
 Gibson (12/08) |
 Ralph (12/08) |
 Misha (12/08) |
 Loki (2/09) |
 Jessie (2/09) |
 Mouse (1/09) |
 Toby (2/09) |
 Poncho (2/09) |
 Norman (3/09) |
 Rich (3/09) |
 Bernie (4/09) |
 Sierra (4/09) |
 Reggie (4/09) |
 Damian (7/09) |
 Barley (8/09) |
 Jewel (9/09) |
 Onyx (9/09) |
 Paisley (9/09) |
 Pepe (9/09) |
 Dewey (9/09) |
 Sunny (11/09) |
 Zeke (2/10) |
 Molly (1/11) |
