Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
Thank you.
Last night a man driving snapped a picture of her on a main street. She's limping and looking wiped out and thin. She has moved her base of operations about a half-mile in the other direction of my house- sightings at the elementary school. Today I got a call that she was in someone's back yard near the school. I got there in about 8 minutes, and she was gone. I started bushwhacking in the woods. It is remarkable how many old summer paths/tractor lanes-cut-throughs there are in this town, and all through woods. Well, the woman who called started yelling, she's back in the yard and I'm running through the woods, falling, a mess. The woman said Brandy looked bad- hunched up, limping. She fully expected Brandy to lie down,lethargic. The woman turned to secure her dogs and Brandy was down the street in seconds. So this very generous woman (on her lunch break from work) starts to hike down the obvious path, while I drove around to head her off at the road. I saw a runner, gave her a flyer and she said, "I just saw that dog a minute ago by the hayfield." Off we went, the woman running, me staggering. Apparently it was just a couple of minutes before, but the dog veered off somewhere into the blasted woods and the woman lost her. I drove my car down the tractor path thinking I knew where I was, but ended up in a hayfield. Oh, well, who needs an oil pan or axles anyway.
After that I just toured the whole area and gave out flyers. I do think she's on her last legs. My sad hope is that she collapses near someone or in public, not in the woods. It's been 12 days and she might not have eaten at all although there is lake water around. SO CLOSE I think she'll have to get weak enough to not run away from me or somebody.
I'm going to put a dish of food and treats up at a particular spot at the elementary school tonight. The custodian (who I gave a flyer to yesterday) saw her this morning, very early at that spot, and suggested I leave food. He gets in before any teachers or students. I asked him to consider trying to gently catch her and put her in his car and call me. I am starting to suggest that, especially to guys, if they could gently catch her she might be weak enough not to run away, put her in the car or get her into the garage or a workshed or something and call. I'd take her right to the 24-hour emergency vet if she's still alive. I sadly don't think she has much longer, plus, the coyotes are supposed to come out and be more active pretty soon. I don't know how she got injured (limping) but now that she's on a major road crossing (apparently) and was described as "lethargic" except for her panicked running away... I just want her to stop suffering and I want to know where she is and what happens. I don't want her to die in the woods and we never know.
The guy last night who took her picture sent it to me, and she looks exhausted and very stray, although her collar is still on. She doesn't look like someone's pet who just got out of the yard and is on her way home. She looks like she needs help.
I think this story is winding down and it's not looking too good. We are all sick about it. I try to remember how incredibly kind and involved so many people have been - my town is really really a lot of utterly decent people of all ages. I think of how many people really love this little mutt and we only want her to have a happy home in her late years. It is so sad to think of her staggering out the woods and weakening.
I know I mentioned calling an animal psychic. I also today ordered two bacon-scented candles to be overnighted to me. Yes, two. I'm not running around the woods waving a bacon candle around by myself. She loves bacon treats and food. Of course, now I think she'd eat almost anything.There's no garbage in my town- no garbage pickup. People either have composting or take their stuff to the trash dump. THere is very little for her to scavenge and it shows.
I am completely at a loss. I've never imagined that a dog would behave this way when she seemed so OK about leaving the shelter.
Of course I will update you. I am trying to focus on the enormous amount of generous goodwill from so many people in my town. It is humbling.
Oh so sad. I hope someon can carefully capture her soon so she can get nourishment. I love all the details you shared...even if they weren't the best news. Your love and devotion is so strong. I hope you get the chance to share it with Brandy.
Hang in there! Wish I could help. You're such a trooper!
Praying bigtime for her now, really ramping it up, Bright. That is a hellish scenario you just posted, for you and for her. That poor girl. If only someone could get through to her that the people who frighten her are just trying to save her.
Tonight, on my way to my night shift, I dropped a dish of food and treats at the elementary school and checked a few streets, then headed out for work. At the last minute I decided to take a back road where she might have been spotted at an orchard (the guy insisted she had a red collar, but I think he might have looked at the red rabies tag and "red" registered). Anyway, I was stunned- she ran across this back road in front of me, stopped in my headlights. I called her name (stupid thing to do, likely) and she started to carefully trot (slight limip) down the road, then ducked into a cleared woods path. I threw some bacon treats at the head of the path, left my headlights on that spot, and then remembered that I have a crummy old cellphone in my car, and wanted to call the RI women to tell them. Turns out both women had driven the 70 miles up and were hunkering down near the school. They got to me in about 8 minutes, walked the trail with flashlights, said she wasn't there. As we stood by the dark road discussing things, Brandy emerged a few hundred yards up from the woods (her "area" is getting dangerously expanded, and more rural). She started to walk in the dark towards us, when some idiot zoomed by in a car (way too fast for that road and darkness) and she ducked into a house property across the road.
By now I was an hour and a half late for work, plus my cell phone had croaked. The two women decided to park and watch for her, one in the streetlight. She says Brandy will come to her if she can see her, not just hear her.
She was moving pretty fast for so many days with little or no food. Slight limp but still unwilling to stay near a person. She is obviously traversing the town through the woods behind people's houses, getting further when necessary through stands of woods. She is totally lost and confused.
I realized when I got to work that my life is not my own. Because I live where she's missing, and flyers are everywhere and more and more people have them, the phone can ring at any time and I have to rush out, even if she won't come to me. All the "how to catch a scared dog" things know the dog won't come to you, but what to do if they keep going no matter what?
When I give out flyers now, I'm asking people to try and get her in their car or garage or whatever. How long can she go on? She's making pretty good time and distance for her lack of food and age. It's amazing. She no longer looks panicked, just confused. She doesn't bolt away, but trots away, clear purpose of "away." It's been 12 days. How long can this go on? We've all done everything ever suggested about catching a dog, and there are endless paths, old driving areas, rutted dirt tracks all over this town.
I honestly wondered about a tranquilizing dart or something.
Will see if anyone ate the food at the school, I don't want her expanding her wandering anywhere near the main road or the next town or anything, and that seems to be what she's doing. I mean, one of the RI women is an animal control officer. What else can we do? And when can I be home and not sleep with the phone with all my clothes on?
The RI women have mapped out her current wanderings and walked the woods paths. It would appear she is staying in the woods by day, mostly, and coming out from this series of paths at night. I'm setting up a "feeding station" in the recommended spot on the paths and assuming she eats and returns, we'll set up a trap. These women from RI are relentless!
She was spotted today on the road by the orchard that bounds "her area." Getting more calls (not up to date, but appreciated) about her being in people's backyards, looking frightened. I'll set up the food tonight on my way to work (night shift) and check the dishes in the morning (and, of course, check the roads). I so hope this works.
Oh I was hoping she had been caught by now and I wish you the best of luck.
Please register to post and access all features of our very popular forum. It is free and quick. Over $68,000 in prizes has already been given out to active posters on our forum. Additional giveaways are planned.
Detailed information about all U.S. cities, counties, and zip codes on our site: City-data.com.
Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
Oh so sad. I hope someon can carefully capture her soon so she can get nourishment. I love all the details you shared...even if they weren't the best news. Your love and devotion is so strong. I hope you get the chance to share it with Brandy. 
