Praise for Seattle Pet Detectives
Here's what pet owners who have been helped by our volunteer program in Seattle are saying:
Wilson has been found! Wilson is an indoor cat who has only occassionally gotten out and was always apprehended within the hour. When he got out this Tue night, he ran away from me and was nowhere to be found. I looked for him until 1 am with no luck. A big thanks to MPP, especially Jim who was kind enough to come out after 10 pm the 2nd night Wilson was missing. He set up the humane trap and wildlife camera for me and gave me info to help find my other baby!
I put an ad on Craigslist, talked with the local vet offices and put up fliers and neon signs in my neighborhood. Though many people told me it was likely a coyote or raccoon had killed my cat, Jim was very supportive. On Friday morning, I was going to put up a sign near the main street in our neighborhood. I called Wilson's name without sounding desperate or scared(though I was) and out he came, not even four doors down. I think he was in a neighbors garage, as they were out on Friday doing yard work(retired couple). I cried my eyes out and the relief is indescribable. Thank you MPP.
Autumn Norris - Burien, WA
I am sooooo glad and blessed that I came across Missing Pet Partnership's website. Without their help to find my cat Cookie, I don't think I could have done it on my own or be as calm as I was. They were very helpful and it was comforting to have them find Cookie for me! Cookie is special to me and so is my other cat Callie, who had a sense that something was wrong with her sister after she went missing. I am thankful to the neighbors whose garage was where Cookie was found as they were very helpful! So thank you again MISSING PET PARTNERSHIP! I am forever greatful!
-- Amberly Austin, Renton (Highlands), WA
(Cookie was an indoor-only cat who escaped outside. An MPP volunteer responded to help Amberly, who is physically disabled, to put up neon posters, provided hope and encouragement and then finally with a humane trap. The volunteer placed the trap at the location of a possible sighting, which was inside a neighbor's garage. Within an hour of placing the humane trap there, Cookie was captured and returned to Amberly).
Denise and I feel so relieved to get Rocky back, and so appreciative of Jim and Kelsy's work. We found the extensive information on the Missing Pet Partnership web site incredibly useful and I think it ultimately helped us get Rocky back. Having a dog tag with our phone number on Rocky was the key, but this morning I went out a took down all our neon and otherwise signs we posted (with Missing Pet Partnership’s recommendations on how to make them), and in tracing the path Rocky likely took, he would have passed 8 signs to finally get to the home he chose to hole up at.
We knew it was a long shot to bring in Kelsy, and the website was clear that our situation was not ideal, but we did it anyway because if Rocky was holed up in the woods as we suspected (given his incredible shyness) for one more night, we felt he would not have survived another night, given the coyotes and owls and raccoons that are abundant there. He is fast, but probably not THAT fast! Turns out though, he is even smarter than he is fast. Given the signs Kelsy seemed to indicate as to places Rocky likely hung out in to hide, I suspect Rocky may have spent the one night there, then high-tailed it to the house about 1 mile away, a house very high up, on a balcony, on a padded chair, out of the rain, with no people (and no coyotes!) immediately at home, and a bowl of water left there for the labs that lived there (but not home at the time). We feel hugely indebted for the help of Kelsy, Jim and this organization!
-- Greg & Denise, Seattle, WA
I want to thank Missing Pet Partnership for sharing your knowledge about the ins and outs of finding lost pets. My cat Pumpkin went missing in a strange neighborhood while she and I were visiting a friend for a few days. She had been at this home before with me and I kept her inside the whole time. The second time we visited she waited at the door as though she wanted to go out. Little did I know that she would take off like she did, her fight or flight responce kicked in and she was off, and was not recovered til seven weeks later. This took place during a winter of snow. I lived almost 2 hours away and my friend and Missing Pet Partnership volunteers lent their support and services and they just did not give up! I had almost given up for lost, but they did not. I want to thank you for your time invested and to my dear friend for staying on top of what I considered a hopeless situation. My sweet Pumpkin is home again and she is very happy.
-- Susan D, Shelton, WA
(Note: Missing Pet Partnership provided giant, neon "REWARD LOST LONGHAIRED ORANGE CAT" posters and encouraged Susan's friend to keep those posted in the neighborhood. He kept those posters out there. Seven weeks later, a woman took a wrong turn in the neighborhood and saw the sign. She had been feeding a "feral" longhaired orange cat for several weeks so she called the number. Susan's friend rushed over, set a baited humane trap (provided by MPP), captured the cat, and it was Pumpkin! She had traveled only 2 blocks and had been living under the woman's deck who'd been feeding her.)
"Missing Pet Partnership's trap caught Jobie and we had a happy ending!"
I got a beautiful rescue husky, perfect match for our family only a little skittish. But the first day I brought him home after a couple of hours he pushed his way out the door and gone he was! In a panic I ran after him but he ran away from me. I came back home and drove around looking for him. Someone walking their dog saw which way he'd gone and I caught up with him but he disappeared into someone's back yard. After searching the area, I thought I'd lost him but the next morning I went back to the last spot I'd seen him and found him in the same yard! He was terrified and I was a stranger to him and he hid in big blackberry bushes and wouldn't come out. Someone from Karen's rescue network sent me to Missing Pet Partnership's web site. I called and the dispatcher was very supportive and told me to hang in there. Shortly after, Brian arrived and our attempts to flush Jobie out failed. We were trying to get to him and got pricked and tangled in the blackberries but we only got glimpses of him. It was just awful to know Jobie was hiding in the blackberries all terrified and we couldn't get him. So Brian called for reinforcements and Jim came out but Jobie still wouldn't come out. After hours of battling blackberry bushes to no avail, Jim suggested trapping him. We set up a large dog trap and hoped and prayed for the best. It was terrifying to think he could take off again and get hit by a car or lost forever. The next morning there he was, safe and sound in the trap! Jobie's panic run was a shock, and I felt so at a loss and overwhelmed. A skittish dog will hide and keep running until something stops him, luckily Missing Pet Partnership's trap caught Jobie and we had a happy ending! I don't think I would've gotten Jobie back without Brian and Jim--they got stuck and tangled in blackberries and spent most of the day out there with me in drizzly weather. I can't thank Missing Pet Partnership enough! And Jobie who is safe and happy in his home, thanks them too! Thank you guys for being there for pets!
-- Caroline Jensen, Auburn, WA
Yesterday my boss got home and his adorable Siberian Husky baby was gone. I went back to his house and we all looked for her to no avail. We all drove around and I came upon a big pink sign which said FOUND DOG. The description was nebulous and I just drove by, but then I thought I'd better call. The woman was one of Missing Pet Partnership's volunteers who asked me, "Can you describe the dog?" I did and she asked me a little more about her and then said "we have her." I just about fell down! Your volunteer knew it was a purebred dog but did not want to put what breed she was (on the sign) for fear someone who wanted that kind of dog would just come and claim her. I was so thrilled. My bosses' dog could not have been found by a better person! I am so entirely grateful there are not words to say. (I feel like it is my dog since I have so much interaction with her). One thing I will do is donate to Missing Pet Partnership because it is wonderful. There is nothing more terrifying than losing a pet. I felt like I knew how parents felt who lost a child. Thanks so much to you for doing what you do!
-- Dietra Wright, Seattle, WA
I was on a short vacation and had my Ex watch my dog. Lucy, my Boston Terrier, decided that she didn't want to stay at his place in Redondo so she bolted. When I got back, I searched for her without any luck. I contacted Missing Pet Partnership and got a call back the next day. I met with Jim Branson and his dog Kelsy who tracked Lucy's scent but didn't find her. Jim "tagged" Lucy's info on the windows of my truck and gave me neon signs to saturate the neighborhood. I searched for two more days and then met with (MPP Founder) Kat Albrecht who gave me even more neon signs. The next morning as I was putting up the neon signs in a new neighborhood, I got a call. The caller gave me an address over 1 mile from where Lucy escaped so I went there to look for my baby girl. The people were very nice and showed me where they thought they saw my dog. Lucy is not the friendliest dog. She gets very scared and nervous and wont approach anyone, which made this whole ordeal even worse. So I went into the woods and did like Jim instructed me. Instead of calling out for Lucy, I talked casually and squeaked her toy. Within seconds she was in my lap! The people who called had seen Lucy in the area for a couple days had called her but couldn't catch her. They saw the neon signs we had put up the day before and that's how we were reunited. So it's another successful case for Missing Pet Partnership and I thank them all! Lucy went missing on Aug. 6, 2010 and was found on Aug. 12, 2010.
-- Joni Lang, SeaTac, WA
On June 20, 2010 I was walking my group of four dogs in a nature area when one of the dogs, a miniature dachshund, became scared by a deflated balloon that had settled in the weeds alongside the trail. The frightened dachshund started to "defend" herself and worked herself into a frenzy. The remaining dogs joined in before three of them became too frightened and excited and ran away. Two of the three returned almost immediately after being called. The dachshund remained missing. Friends and family searched and called for her for more than 6 hours without success. The search was called off around eight PM and the Missing Pet Partnership was contacted for help. A volunteer called back within the hour and Jim Branson contacted us the next morning and offered to help. Jim and Kelsey met us at the nature area and searched the trails in the area for more than two hours. Twice Kelsey indicated the direction of the parking lot very strongly. Not long after Kelsey indicated the direction of the parking lot for the second time we received a call from a woman in that neighborhood. She called because she heard from people at the trailhead that Sasha was missing and that Jim and Kelsey had come to help. She reported that she had heard a small dog whine and bark near her property that is directly adjacent to the parking lot. Within 10 minutes of that call Sasha and her owner where reunited, she had been in the wood alone for almost 24 hours. Jim and Kelsey, thank you again for all your help.
-- Antje Danielson, Kent, WA
My 8 month old cat, Spatts, was lost on May 18th, 2010 after he got loose from his harness in my yard. A chair had fallen over and the noise scared him. I saw him run off around the side of my building, but when I followed he was nowhere to be found. Since he had only been outside a few times, and only in my back yard, I assumed he was hiding somewhere. I searched but couldn't find him. When he hadn't come home by the next morning, I started to get worried. I called the local shelters, posted an ad on Craigslist, and did a more thorough search of my neighborhood. Still nothing. I put up a couple fliers around the neighborhood, but got no response. After several days I was starting to feel really depressed. My biggest worry was that Spatts was stuck somewhere he couldn't get out and was slowly dying. Luckily some nice person on Craigslist sent me an email with helpful pet-finding resources, among them was the Missing Pet Partnership. When I read that my indoor cat was probably still in hiding, my hope was renewed. I sent them an email asking for help, and got a response. MPP gave me tons of great advice. With MPP's help I got humane animal traps to catch my cat in, a wildlife camera to catch him on film, a drop-trap (in case he was too afraid to go into the humane animal trap), and some giant neon orange poster boards that said REWARD LOST CAT. They helped me know where to place the traps and how to lure my cat in. Unfortunately after a week, I still didn't have a single sighting of my Spatts. Just when I was about to give up hope, I got a phone call from one of my neighbors. She saw one of MPP's big neon posters and said she found my cat! Apparently Spatts been hiding in her garage only a few houses down from me. Because she didn't use her garage for her cars, she hadn't seen or heard Spatts in there. My poor Spatts was skinny and dehydrated, but extremely glad to be home and didn't stop purring for days! Without MPP's help, I probably would've given up hope long before that, and may not even have found him until it was too late. I've recommended MPP to nearly everyone I know. I thought I knew how to recover a lost cat, but I didn't know a thing!
-- Elaine E., Kirkland, WA
On 4-5-10 our Jack Russell Terrier "Cutie" some how escaped from our home and was lost in Federal Way. We put flyers up around our neighborhood but three days passed and Cutie was still lost. Missing Pet Partnership volunteers showed up to help us to look for her when my family had almost given up hope. Then, over a week later, on 4-14-10 a woman called us saying her mother had found a terrier a week earlier. She wasn't too sure if it was Cutie because we lost her in Federal Way and her mother found the terrier in Renton. She said she had seen the bright, neon posters put up by Missing Pet Partnership while driving in Federal Way. So she e-mailed us a picture of the terrier they'd found & it turned out to be our Cutie! Those neon posters helped us bring our baby back almost a week later. If it wasn't for Missing Pet Partnership, I don't think we would've ever gotten Cutie back. Thank you so much & keep up the good work!
-- The Kim Family, Federal Way, WA
Our family adopted Thelma, a terrier mix weighing about 11lbs, on Nov. 29, 2009. Two nights later, on Dec. 1, Thelma darted out of our home, through the garage as the garage door was closing. She was very frightened and would not stop. My husband ran after her and nearly had her, his hands on her leg, when another dog and owner walked nearby and scared her again. She took off running and went into a wooded area. Several more sightings of her happened that night, but no one could catch her as she was in flight mode. For the next several days, we searched, put up signs, talked to many people in the area and had the foster mom of Thelma come out to look also. We had plenty of sightings of Thelma but she would not come to anyone. On Monday, I thankfully learned of Missing Pet Partnership. When I spoke with Jim of MPP, he gave me LOTS of valuable information on how to approach Thelma and conduct our search. He told me about his search dog, Kelsey and the next morning (Dec 8), I met Jim and Kelsey at the industrial park where Thelma was last seen. Jim and Kelsey tirelessly searched, picking up Thelma's trail, but not finding her. Amy, a search volunteer with MPP also joined; both she and Jim encouraged us not to give up on Thelma in spite of the frigid temperatures. Around 2pm, I got a call from someone saying they had just seen Thelma several miles away. We immediately moved our search to that area and Kelsey picked up Thelma's scent. Within 20 min, I got a wonderful call from Jim saying with care and calm "I've got her". Amy and I drove over to Thelma, Jim, and Kelsey where Jim lovingly held Thelma and then gently handed her over to me. She was frail, frightened, but must have also felt relief as her difficult journey came to a good ending. Thelma had been out 7 record cold nights (in the 20's and teens), surviving on her own and running for her life. We took Thelma to our veterinarian that evening where she needed fluids and had lost nearly 35% of her body weight in this long, stressful week. She had lots of scratches, tired paws, no frost bite, and was also testing positive for giardia. Without MPP's help, knowledge, and persistence, we might not have Thelma with us now. She is doing well, recovering, eating lots, and settling into her new home. This is the best Christmas gift (read this blog entry) of all! Thank you MPP - you guys are wonderful, professional, and full of heart and soul. I'm so glad you are out there! By the way, on Thelma's return, I looked up her name to learn that it's Greek in origin and it means "Will." I think she's keeping that name!
-- Lani and Matthias Savage-Leuchs, Woodinville, WA
You guys rock!! On a Sunday evening Roxie, my indoor-only blind cat, escaped outside. A friend recommended Missing Pet Partnership pet detectives. Monday morning after being up looking all night I called MPP. Jim Branson and Kelsy came by noon and searched. Then Kat brought in Sadie, a second dog, in the afternoon. Roxie was found by 5:30pm! These guys are wonderful and worth calling. Jim, Kat, Kelsy, and Sadie saved the little blind cat from starving to death. Thanks so much!
-- Jan White, Kent, WA
(Photo of MPP volunteer Jim Branson returning Roxie to Jan)
On June 20, 2009 my Basset Hound, Daisy, ran away after a service worker left my gate open. I got in touch with MPP on July 1st and Jim immediately started giving me ideas on how to spread the word about her missing. Since Daisy was from a puppy mill, she was very mistrusting of people and was going to run from everyone, so Jim told me how I needed to approach her if I came across her. It took me 3 months an 21 days to find her!!! It took a lot of time, effort, and a huge load of hope to never give up, but she's finally home. I ended up trapping her in a live dog trap (on October 10th) with the guidance of MPP. I just kept thinking she deserved more of a life than 5 years in a puppy mill and they kept telling me to never give up hope. Thanks Missing Pet Partnership!
-- Sam Franklin, Everett, WA
(NOTE: MPP volunteer Jim Branson has coached and encouraged many dog owners who've lost skittish, hard-to-catch dogs, including Sam Franklin. Sam had attempted to humanely trap Daisy on previous occasions without success. But Daisy was spotted on October 9th and Sam jumped into action. On Saturday October 10th she picked up the dog trap from MPP, followed Jim's instructions, and within two hours had Daisy back home! Daisy had lost a great deal of weight but immediately settled back into life with Sam and her pack. Daisy's story is a powerful example of how important it is to instill HOPE into people who've lost a pet that they love!)
I lost my dog, a blue heeler named Zee when a buddy of mine left the door open at my house while I was in San Francisco. I went every where to look for Zee and could not find him. That day I went to Twin Lakes Vet. Hospital and they told me about Missing Pet Partnership and that the website has really great ideas to get attention to find our lost pet. I immediately came home and went to the website. That very night I went to Fred Meyer's and bought the bright green signs to hang around Federal Way. They caught the eyes of many people including a volunteer from Missing Pet Partnership! She spotted Zee running into the brush around 6:30 AM and suggested that I go in and look for him. She also suggested cardboard backing for my signs. I didn't find him that morning but I did make more signs with the cardboard backing so they wouldn't fold. I got a phone call from a very nice women that afternoon saying she had seen a blue heeler with a red collar at Decatur High School and saw my sign! I found my dog that afternoon. I want to say thank you so much for everything that you guys do. You are truly a blessing of great people. I hope to become a volunteer with Missing Pet Partnership very soon. You are an inspiration of hope!
-- Ashley Cook, Federal Way, WA
Missing Pet Partnership was an answer to our prayers! We were visiting my mom in Federal Way when Buster, our 1 year old puppy, was playing in the fenced back yard. We went to bring him inside for bed and he was nowhere to be found. My husband and I drove around the surrounding area until 1am when we sadly went home. The next morning we posted a lost dog ad on craigslist and made a poster to take around to neighbors. My mom left the house and called right away saying she saw a sign that said: "FOUND DOG--BLACK LAB" with a number. We excitedly called the number and MPP volunteer Brian Newsham answered saying that he had the dog in the backseat and he'd bring him by for us to look at. When I saw Buster in the back seat I was SO relieved!! I couldn't believe that after a whole night of fear and concern that our pup was back safely with our family and that my mom had seen the sign at just the right time and we connected with Brian. The best was knowing that MPP volunteers found Buster and took him in for a night and then did everything they could to get him back home. They were trying to find US while we were trying to find him! What a wonderful ending to this terrible experience!! Thank you so much!!
-- Becky and Jim Carson, Lake Stevens, WA
(NOTE: Buster was actually found by MPP volunteer Yolanda Garces. Both Yolanda and Brian worked together on finding Buster's family by capturing him, scanning him for a microchip, and immediately posting giant, florescent FOUND BLACK LAB posters at the intersection near where Buster was found. Please read our "I Found A Stray Dog" page for instructions on how to post FOUND DOG posters!)
Thank you! Our little Chihuahua, Sukhi, got out on July 3rd and we were frantic. On July 5th we went to the Seattle Animal Shelter and Missing Pet Partnership helped us get him back! They were amazing--their volunteers made signs and went to the biggest intersection by our house and we found Sukhi within about 20 minutes! Their support was uplifting in our time of distress. This is what community organizing looks like! Thank you!
-- Cristien & Ajax, Seattle, WA
(NOTE: MPP volunteers conducted a "Lost Dog Protest" and within 20 minutes, the woman who had Sukhi all along drove up to that intersection, saw our protest, pulled over, and told us that she had Sukhi in her house! The local Fox News station aired this recovery.)
I lost my dog BooBoo on the afternoon of the 4th of July. I looked everywhere and knocked on doors to try and find him. I was very worried and scared for him. I thought I would look at the humane society, when I got there I met the volunteers from Missing Pet Partnership. They set me up with several neon colored signs with my pets info on them. I placed all of the signs out everywhere I thought he might have been seen or traveled. The next morning I was on my way to the animal shelter and received a phone call from a person who thought they had my BooBoo. I met the person at one of the signs I had placed near my home. I had been reunited with my best pal and rewarded this person.
-- Rich Baskett, Tacoma, WA
On July 3, 2009 I went to the VA Medical Center near Seattle to visit my sister as her husband was in the hospital. I left my Doxie mix Odie in the car. I must have left the window down more than I should have because he escaped from the car. When I came back, Odie was gone! Oh what a tragedy for him and me! I thought I would just die from despair. I just knew that Odie would be confused, scared and in a panic mode. After hours of searching, I had lost all hope of finding him. The 4th of July was the next day and I was terrified. Then I saw Missing Pet Partnership on the computer and contacted a lady named Kat. Without her help, I never would have found my Odie (she is and all the staff are hero's in my book) I FOUND ODIE by placing the posters that Missing Pet Partnership gave to me around the hospital. He was hiding in a woman's yard nearly 7 miles away for two days and was returned to me on July 6th. That woman just happened to work near where I had placed my posters. Odie and I will now survive, thanks to Missing Pet Partnership! Thank you to the Missing Pet Partnership volunteers and to Kat!
-- Margie Braster, Port Angeles, WA
I would like to give a Huge Thanks to one of you volunteers (I did not get his name) who just brought my dog Lulo back home. Lulo just had ear surgery on Sat. and escaped this morning out of our garage door. He is a 120 lb Great Dane. One of your workers saw him and placed him in his car. He was getting ready to take him to a local vet clinic when our neighbor (thanks to her too!) who was passing, gave him our address and he returned him to my door. Thank you from the entire Rickman Family (NOTE: An MPP volunteer spotted Lulo trotting along a busy roadway wearing an Elizabethan Collar! He evaded capture from that volunteer and a Federal Way police officer. Then MPP Volunteer Brian Newsham responded and, after a short chase, was able to capture Lulo with a Snappy Snare. Our goal is to equip all of our volunteers with Snappy Snares. PLEASE DONATE to Missing Pet Partnership and help us equip our volunteers so we can save more animals lives like Lulo!)
-- Lynette Rickman, Federal Way, WA
Bubba, my Cocker Spaniel, was missing from our home in Federal Way for seven days. Within ONE HOUR of contacting Missing Pet Partnership, they were able to find Bubba! He was being cared for by someone 1/4 mile away who rescued him from a very busy road. He was quickly returned home safely and our family is so happy! THANK YOU Missing Pet Partnership from the Cook House in Federal Way!
-- Conn Twiggs, Federal Way, WA
For 37 days Tank, our lovable indoor/outdoor cat, was lost! No, not in our neighborhood but 23 miles away in a huge warehouse parking lot surrounded only by businesses - no houses for miles. It was Dec 16th, 2008 and the weather was snowy and frigid. We were pretty silly humans to think that Tank wanted to go with us so he wouldn't be alone during a house-refurbishing project. Along the way we decided to stop and get a few groceries. While I shopped my husband thought he'd give Tank a "breather" outside of our parked car. When I returned my husband told me that Tank jumped away from him and took off to the south, totally disappearing it seemed. We searched that day for four hours along the river walking path, the bushes, calling him constantly. Other walkers, bikers and runners even tried to help us find him. But he was too scared to make a peep. It was cold and dark and we decided to head home. That evening we placed an ad on Craig's list in hopes that someone found and took him in. We didn't receive any replies. We felt so guilty and so scared for him. I cried so much for him and we prayed he was with someone staying warm in the miserable weather that had taken over the area. We then received a call from Amy from Missing Pet Partnership who told us to check out their website, so we did. Taking their advice, we put up signs, big and bright neon-green signs. Kat of Missing Pet Partnership lent us two signs and we made four more. We posted them anywhere they would get a lot of attention. Well, days past, weeks past and no Tank. Through the rough weather the signs were pretty much destroyed so we repaired them and placed them out in different places. A couple of our friends even saw the posters. It was real important to keep these posters up and looking good. And, most importantly we kept the posters very simply, as suggested by Kat, who also encouraged us "not to give up!" My husband had a hunch and decided to place two of the signs to the north of where Tank was last seen, actually at an entrance of a business complex. It was an area that was quieter, less traffic, less people, more smelly garbage containers that attracted small critters. The next day, at 2:00 a.m. we received a call from a security guard who said he was sure he saw our cat! Without even discussing whether or not we should go at that hour, we headed out the door. By 2:30 a.m. we spoke briefly to the security guard and he pointed to where he saw the cat. With flashlights in hand, we traveled along the river path, spotting lots of rabbits, a homeless-fellow camped out, in and out of the bushes and finally, behind my husband there was Tank just following him, quietly without a meow. He turned around and gently picked him up! So many things we learned from this experience! Never will we ever bring our animal anywhere without being in a carrier, without a halter; we got him micro chipped too. I feel pretty proud of ourselves for not giving up! But, I am even more proud of Tank for not giving up on us! 37 days without him seemed like eternity and it truly was a miracle he came back to us and, except for tons of mats in his long gray and white fur, he's in relatively good condition. We thank Kat, Amy and the rest of the volunteers of Missing Pet Partnership for all their help in finding Tank. I can't say enough about their organization. Happy Once Again, T & T & T
-- Ted and Trish (and Tank) Bottorff, Maple Valley, WA
I am very grateful to MPP and particularly Jim Branson and his dog Kelsy for helping me find "Koko", my 9 month old chocolate Labradoodle. After talking with Kat and getting some very helpful and encouraging advice, I met with Jim at the site where Koko became separated from me the day before in the Cedar River Watershed, east of Seattle. I was amazed at how soon Jim was able to arrive at the scene. Koko became spooked when we became separated in the watershed. I had her off leash because I had her hiking with me in the past without any problem. When I called her name in a likely too loud and frightening tone she bolted into an awful swampy area full of blackberries, thick brush, and water. I thought for sure she would become tangled and trapped, leaving her easy prey to cougars, bobcats or coyotes in the area. It was a very large swamp (wetland) and I looked for her until 10 p.m. before finally returning home having to give the bad news to my daughter and wife. The next day began at 4:00 a.m. I returned to the swamp thinking for sure Koko was trapped in the blackberries yet too scared to make any noise. A fellow employee at the watershed called SARS and they told us about MPP and so I called Kat who was in L.A. at the time. She was very generous with her time explaining to me all the things to consider in trying to find a lost dog. She also told me to call Jim Branson who has a tracking dog named Kelsy. Jim arrived within a couple hours without Kelsy to size up the situation and interview me. We looked for Koko until evening again sat in. Jim advised I leave a feeding station with some scent items at the scene that night. The next morning we planned to post signs provided by MPP and then use Kelsy to determine if Koko was in the swamp area. I had brought my wife and daughter to help. To our delight Koko was at the feeding station when we arrived. Jim had previously cautioned us to be very careful if we came across Koko so we followed Jim's advice and slowly got out of our vehicles and walked around talking to each other as if Koko wasn't there. We did not want her to become scared again and run off. We played catch with each other using a tennis ball and frisbee. Koko ran up when the frisbee hit the ground at my daughters feet. It was a very joyful moment when my daughter gave Koko a big hug and we had her back on lease. Kelsy was ready to do her job but fortunately for us, her services were not needed. The amazing thing is that Koko spent two nights somewhere nearby in below freezing temperatures and she looked just as clean and groomed as she did before she ran away. She somehow got out of the swamp and must have found shelter in some higher ground under cover of trees.
Thank you Kat and Jim for this happy ending!!!
-- Jim Kapusinski, Issaquah, WA
My precious cat, Norm, had gone missing from our back yard one afternoon. Unfortunately I had placed him on a leash, to avoid such a situation, and had set the leash down when he took off. I was so very afraid that he was stuck somewhere, or worse. After looking for him myself for several days with no luck, I turned to the internet in hopes of finding some help. I came across Missing Pet Partnership and sent them an email. They were kind enough to return my call quickly and there was a volunteer and a search dog out at my house later that day. Amy and Harley were kind enough to take time out of their busy schedules to help me find Norm. We spent the first evening looking for 2 hours with no luck. They came back over 2 days later and we found Norm almost right away. He was trapped under our neighbors hot tub enlcosure, and he wasn't making a sound because he was so scared. Without the help of Amy and Harley I might never have found him, and I hate to think what might have happened to him. Norm means the world to me and I am so thankful and grateful to have him home with me again, safe and sound.
-- Katie Valaas, Bellevue, WA
Last night about 8 pm I got a call about a sighting of my Bernese Mountain dog, Cosmo, and drove over there in the dark and rain and by 9:30 pm had Cosmo back with the help of my husband and the woman who first spotted him there!! He was in the Laurelhurst Park neighborhood which was a short distance from the Metropolitan Market staging area and fairly close to our intersection alert which was coordinated by Missing Pet Partnership and some other caring dog lovers. It was one of the sightings that came shortly after the intersection alert, seeing him in Laurelhurst Park, that prompted me to use one of Kat's large signs in the park. The woman who spotted him last night had seen that sign and when she saw him drove to the park and got my phone number to call me. So when the call came in last night, I immediately drove over to where the sighting took place. I was walking and driving around the neighborhood calling Cosmo for about 45 minutes. I finally spotted him under a street light and called Paul to drive over to help. Even though it was dark and rainy I knew it was Cosmo and called him and walked toward him. He stopped and looked at me and then ran into someone's back yard.The chase was on! Gina and Kat, you were so right because Paul and I spotted him several times and he stopped and looked but it wasn't until we just squatted down, with the bag of dog food I kept in the car and was carrying, that he began to approach. It still took a while after that to catch him. He had been circling a certain block running through back yards for a while. Paul and I decided to walk around the block in opposite directions so he would hopefully, eventually run into one of us. Finally, I turned the corner he was just right there at Paul's feet eating food and jumping around him. He seems to be in very good shape and not too thin. He has an infected eye and I will take him to the vet today. He was extremely hungry. He slept so hard last night but woke up playful and very excited. Thank you Kat and Gina and please help me extend a thanks to Gina's family, and Jim, Brian, and Marie and all the great people who cared and helped and continued to call me telling me to not give up hope. He was gone 2 weeks and 2 days exactly.
With tremendous gratitude,
Deb Heinricher and family, Seattle, WA
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