Lelo Is Settling in at Home

Lelo's vet check-up after going missing for nine days was good! She had lost four pounds, so with only a couple of pounds at most to spare, she can now stand to gain a couple back. (When she was first adopted last June, she was overweight, and she got to a pretty good weight, no more than a pound or two above perfect.)

The nice man that found her, Charles, tells us that he had never been mushroom picking in the place where he went when he found Lelo! It's an area that doesn't get a lot of traffic (only foot traffic is even possible), though Lelo's dad, Dan, had been to that area looking for her the day after she went missing. Charles wouldn't have seen her had she not been barking for his attention when he came into her view. Smart girl for calling out to him even though she was clearly as frightened of him as she was generally frightened. She may have been there as long as 24 hours when he found her.

Seeing how much help she needed to get calmed down, he sat with her for a time and talked to her before even attempted to untangle her from the thickets that trapped her right where she was. Once he did that -- and she still had her harness and leash! -- they went to the parking area. When they got there, he went up to the first person he saw and asked her if she knew if anyone was looking for a lost dog. The woman took one look at Lelo and said "Uh, yeah! She looks just like the dog pictured on that flier over there!"

Imagine how happy Mariana and Dan were to get the call, and how happy Lelo was to see them! By this afternoon, she was starting to return to her old self, after initially being a bit out of sorts when she got home.

Here are a few photos taken of Lelo and her family today -- one day after she returned home:

 

Thanks to everyone that helped, in any way, in the search for Lelo. It was appreciated more than you will ever know.

Lelo is HOME!!!!!

Lelo was found a short while ago, tangled in a thicket!

From Mariana: An Army Vet hunting for mushrooms found Lelo at Southrun intertwined in in shrubery and logs. We have her and have an appt. with the vet at1:50p.m.

Because she was entangled and not able to get away (for how long, we'll never know!), the man was easily able to contain her. He led her out on the trail, and encountered another woman, and together, they found Lelo's tags with the numbers to call Mariana.

If you can help pull down the hundreds of fliers posted in the last week, please meet at South Run Park in the first parking lot, across from the dog park entrance (which is located at 7550 Reservation Dr, Springfield VA 22153), at 1pm on Sunday. (Pulling down fliers can actually be fun when people are stopping you to ask if you found the dog, and you can say yes!!!!) Then let's find a place to go celebrate afterwards!

Jump Start the Heart

Checking shelters for Lelo using http://www.petharbor.com/ is now a part of daily life. So about mid-day Friday, there was a picture of a beagle who resembles Lelo an awful lot. So Mariana called the Fairfax County Shelter and one of the staff said that that beagle had a microchip and the owner had already picked it up.

More checking of the feeding stations -- sometimes it was empty, other times the food was still there. A camera has now been set up to monitor one of them.

Plans for the evening were to pick up a trap, so that it would be ready for use if a pattern can be established.

Fliering and biz carding this weekend. Thanks in advance for helping if you can.

Activities this Week

The search for Lelo has been active! Here's what has been happening in the last few days in addition to setting up, checking and replenishing feeding stations (which have been eaten from):

• Monday, April 19: a HS student reported seeing a beagle running loose on Keene Drive.
• Tuesday, April 20: A HS student told Mariana (Lelo's mom) that she had seen a beagle running loose on Keen Drive, off of Sydenstricker Road, the day prior. With Mariana, Sam & Salsa with Pure Gold Pet Trackers tracked Lelo's scent to the Indian Oaks subdivision. To enhance the scent trail, rotisserie chicken pieces were also added, by volunteer Nadene
• Wednesday, April 21: More fliering
• Thursday, April 22: Mariana and Lelo's companion Muffin (another beagle) spread their scent by walking the powerlines up almost to Fairfax County Parkway, near the feeding station.

Here's how you can help (fliers & biz cards will be provided):

• Friday, April 23: Meet at South Run Rec Center at 8:30pm to flier
• Saturday, April 24:  Meet at the Rolling Valley Mall Shopping Center at 10am to distribute Lelo's business cards there at the Petco and the nearby grocery stores.
• Sunday, April 25: Meet at South Run Rec Center at 1pm to flier

Lelo is Missing!

Lelo is a small, female beagle who took an opportunity to go off exploring, or so she must have thought, while at South Run Park in Springfield VA with her family on Thursday, April 15th.

On Sunday, Sam & Salsa with Pure Gold Pet Trackers came out to trail Lelo's scent. The map of the track is posted to this blog. Another track was run this evening, and the map for it will be posted. Here are some things that Sam said about the first track:

When she first escaped she was just running through the woods and during that period she was making much tighter circles but once she hit a path (the owner walks her on the paths frequently - although not as far as we walked yesterday) she followed paths the entire time with only a few detours off to either avoid people with dogs or to chase a small animal or even to rest awhile.

Based on what we did and her pattern of travel I can project that she could have been back to the place where she escaped by that same afternoon. The only thing that would have changed that outcome would have been either getting cornered and picked up or getting off on Ox Road and ending up in one of the surrounding developments. We need postering expanded out at least a mile out from our track in all directions and business cards handed out at the area parks that are connected by the paths.

She doesn't appear to like roads as she only crossed one road and shortly came back across and into the woods. If she continues that trend she will not be seen as frequently as she would be if she were wandering up in a residential neighborhood.

Some fliering has been done, though more is needed. Are you near Springfield, and can you help? Better yet, if you see Lelo, please contact the numbers at the top of this page!