Stampede: Lost and Found

Like many pet owners we occasionally misplace a pet. A door is left open, a leash is dropped, a fence is climbed, or a collar is backed out of, and just like that they are loose. Thankfully, the majority of the time they don't go far and we are quickly able bring them back to safety. Unfortunately, there are also times when we can't locate them right away and we experience the same hopelessness owners everywhere feel when a pet is lost. Where do you even begin to look? Are they safe? It's a pretty dark hole you go down and the stress is not diminished because they are a shelter animal.

About 5 weeks ago it happened again. March 13th was a weird day; Mercury in retrograde or Mars in Sagittarius, something like that. By noon we had already had a couple of dogs get loose in the yard or on a walk, so it was almost unsurprising when late afternoon another dog had got loose, but this time it was Stampede; a semi feral dog who our staff had been working with for months to gain his trust. He backed out of his collar on a walk and was gone. We were able to follow him for a while as he frantically ran from the people trying to recapture him. We brought his favourite people and yummy treats, but he was in full flight mode and wasn't about stop for anyone.  He made it to the river, swam across and we lost sight of him. So began the coulda, shoulda, wouldas and the fruitless searching.


Stampede
 

The next couple of days brought a tonne of anxiety and numerous sightings of him all over Cochrane, but he always ended his day in the vicinity of the shelter. Every night he came back here. Why? Because it was familiar? Because he was hungry? We didn't know. The first few days you could set a watch by him; coming by around 9 pm, then again around 1 am. He wasn't going into the dog trap, but we would see footprints in the snow around it, or in any of the pens we left open in the hopes that he would just wander in and lay down. So we moved on to Plan B - Stakeout! We had staff and volunteers in the shelter overnight to watch for him and hopefully have an opportunity to contain him. After a few sleepless nights we seemed to be getting further away from our goal, so on to Plan C - a bigger trap. A walk-in trap was baited with any number of delicious aromatic foods; KFC, bacon, garlic sausage, salmon, venison. This dog would be eating better than a lot of people. There was talk of simmering crockpots and barbecues, anything to entice him in. Once he was going in the trap we realized he wasn't tripping it, so a group of dedicated volunteers suddenly became engineers, coming up with any number of ways we could get it to trip. Using supplies from around the shelter they redid the roof, set up a food dispensing board and ropes to shut the trap door. It was like an episode of MacGyver.


Setting a trap
 

At times we felt that we were stuck in a Roadrunner cartoon and we were Wile E. Coyote, constantly coming up with new and often crazy ways to catch him. Time after time he either outsmarted us or just didn't play by the rules. We plan overnight stakeouts, he changes his pattern. We set up a camera, he stops coming by.  He would walk down the street and look into the seemingly empty shelter and you felt he was staring right at you, saying "nice try" or more fittingly "beep beep"! 

What are you guys doing here?
 

Fast forward a couple of weeks and he was still at large, but we knew where he had been spending his time. Shortly after his jail break he made his way a block away into the yard at All Span. So base of operations moved down the road, Plan F. We set up a trap there, which he avoided like the plague and so it was removed. Then we gave up on trying to catch him at all and just provided a dog house with straw to hopefully keep him warm in the unusually frigid spring; which he also avoided.  It became something of a joke. He was making friends with the guys in the yard, but would leave when we showed up. He chose to lay beside the dog house with the straw we lovingly provided rather than go in it. He was definitely thumbing his nose at us! We would go over to the yard a couple of times a week, check in with the guys, get within 15 ft. or so of Stampede before he sauntered off like the majestic lion he resembles. Our final plan involved sedatives which we were hesitant to use, so we got up the courage to come right out and ask if he could stay. Miracle of miracles, they said yes! The end of Stampede’s story, at least for now, is that he will remain with the fine people of All Span. They will feed him and work towards developing a relationship with him in the hopes that someday soon we will be in a position to bring him back. In the meantime he is happy, cared for and safe where he is.

New friends

 

Stampede has taught us so much; mostly that even with all of our education, experience and skill we needed his cooperation for this to work and he had no interest in giving it. It's his show and we are merely players in it. Stampede has become a bit of a local celebrity and we have many people to thank for the caring and concern they have shown while he has been away from the shelter. First of all, our incredible volunteers who have helped search, lost sleep, offered suggestions on new and intriguing ways to capture him and put us in touch with other agencies who could help. They have worried about him as much as our staff; he is after all, their dog too. Hundreds of people have been following along on this journey through social media and we are often asked how he is, thank you to each and every one of you for your concern and we may need you at some point to help find him a permanent home. Our business neighbours have been incredibly supportive. Believe it or not an organization whose most visible residents bark and poop in their yards is not always as well received as you might think. Our neighbours have been very understanding and we truly appreciate it, especially StoreSmart and Half Hitch Brewery who have joined in the hunt from time to time. And finally, All Span. Stampede chose their property as a place he felt safe, they were never asked he just showed up and decided for himself this was his home. The guys that work in the yard have been wonderful, allowing him time and distance to relax and start to build bonds with some of them like his best buddy Julien who can hand feed him, call him and he will actually come. Thanks to Angelina, who has been our main contact and has never said no to any of our hair brained schemes and especially to their management for allowing him to stay.  We could never fully express our gratitude to them for giving us this option for Stampede. It not only shows their commitment to being a caring member of our community but also that the life of one single, stubborn, homeless dog matters. We could never hope for more than that.