Has anyone contacted the owner to see if this boy has been found?
Jennifer
Lost- Tri Female, New London CT- 12/22
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Here is an update from the owner. Hopefully, he can catch her tomorrow!
I tracked Bunny through the woods about 1 mile (as the crow flies, not as Bunny traveled!) to an active quarry, where I lost her trail (there was no snow on the dirt roads in the quarry). I circled the edge of the quarry and picked up her trail again near a neighborhood, followed her tracks house-to-house, went door-to-door and handed out this morning's flyer. One woman gave me a new container of pepperoni dog treats and told me she'd pray for Bunny's safe return. I left that woman's home and picked up Bunny's tracks, which led toward the street-side entrance to the quarry, which quarry I earlier exited through the woods. I then called my daughter, who was distributing flyers, to come and drive me back to my car. She said "Dad, before we go back I just want to drive up to the gate in the quarry." We did that and I asked Zoey to call Bunny. After she called I got out of the car to watch and listen. At 2:30 pm I saw Bunny in the woods about 30 meters from me, but she ran away as soon as she saw me (I was wearing heavy clothing and I doubt she recognized me). Zoey got out of the car and called again, but she would not return. At 2:30 pm I received a call from the woman who gave me the treats, and she said her nephew saw Bunny in the back yard, approached her, and she again took off. That house was about 200 meters from where I last saw Bunny. So, she was once again off in the direction from which she came. We continued searching until dark, and I came back to update and redistribute the flyer (tonight) via email. Tomorrow, before first light, I'll run the route again, and Lucienne and Zoey will go door-to-door with updated flyers in the search area.
Good news. She's alive, apparently healthy, and she can still run like hell!
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I'm praying that you can get a hold of her. Thank goodness she is safe right now.
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Update today on Bunny/Sophie (the little girl that Westcoastflea fostered)…. how I wish I lived closer!
12/26
Bunny was seen again last night around 7:40 pm at a home she visited around 8:00 that same morning. she covered several miles of wood trails and was sighted about 1 mile away 3 times around 3:00 pm. she seems to have a territory.
Widening the flyer area a little this morning (another 150 homes), and back into the woods to track her again. see attached flyer for update.
As before, please email anyone you know in tolland, vernon, coventry area.
Thanks,
Greg Pinto -
I so hope they are able to catch this girl - especially with the storm coming in…:(
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He may be able to get a live trap from local animal control and put out yummy food to trap her, as they have a regular route she travels. I hope she is caught soon!
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Has anyone read the book Huck by Janet Elder? Bunny's predicament reminds me of this book…hopefully, the outcome with Bunny will be the same.
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I just received this heart-wrenching email from Greg… how I wish I lived closer so I could brave the elements and help them look....
Hello, everyone,
Many thanks to all of you who made phone calls, searched, put out food, let us set up Havahart traps, and forwarded emails to residents in the area. Once again, if you have time please forward this update to Tolland, Coventry, and Vernon residents.
Bunny was not seen at all yesterday, and Lucienne and I covered the entire area where there were Bunny sightings and tracks over the last week, and there were no fresh tracks anywhere. While we still hold out hope that she found shelter (there are many barns and sheds in the area), we are not confident that she was able to survive the storm, extreme cold, and high winds. The reality is that it's likely she didn't make it because of the cold.
We distributed about 1,000 flyers to homes and businesses and talked with about 100 residents and business owners. Unless there is another sighting or more tracks in the snow, we'll continue with a scaled-down search and keep in touch with all of you by email until this weekend.
Thanks again,
Greg Pinto -
My heart goes out to Greg. The storms in the area have been bad (we watch them on TV). But I will pray that she is a clever dog who has found shelter somewhere, or that someone picked her up.
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Here is the latest update… a little more hopeful!
I just got back from a property that I visited at 2:00pm. The woman who owns the property called and told me she had new tracks in her back yard, and they were probably just a few hours old. Bunny has been to this house several times (it's located high on a hill overlooking a quarry on Mtn Spring Rd, mentioned in earlier correspondence), and the new tracks could be hers. I have tracked numerous foxes, and as a rule they have been avoiding houses (but not outbuildings), but they are so similar to Bunny's tracks it is very hard to tell the difference. So, maybe Bunny, maybe a fox. Also, maybe NOT coincidentally, the woman who owns the home has a Basenji mix (which dog also has no propensity to come when called).
We'll set a trap with nice smelly food tonight and hope for the best.
Thanks again,
Greg Pinto -
Fingers crossed - wishing for a successful capture. Good luck, and keep us posted.
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Our hearts go out to these poor people, they must be so sick with worry. Maybe since she's been coming to that one house with the mix, she will be enticed by food and the idea of warmth and companionship. Please keep up the postings.
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Just got this by email to the BRAT-CHAT group.:
HAPPY NEW YEAR!!!
Roberta Kosek
Windham, NH
-----Original Message-----
From: greg pinto -
I'm a wuss. I teared up when reading that. What a wonderful display of humans banding together for a greater cause. Now Bunny - stop scaring your parents like that!
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**HURRAY!!!! I just got the same email and burst into tears! I am so happy for this family, that there CAN be happy endings!
Thank God. :)**
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Fantastic! What a happy ending to this thread!
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Happy new year indeed!
I am touched and deeply moved by everyone's efforts in this process. -
I was thrilled to read this on another list. Yet another testament to a basenjis uncanny ability to survive. A Happy New Year indeed for that family, and everyone worried about Bunny.
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Yayyyyyyy!!!!!
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I'm SO happy and relieved to hear that Bunny is back home with her family and not much the worse for the ordeal!
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Thank you everyone for your thoughts, prayers, emails, phone calls, and help during Bunny's time in the wild. To recap, Bunny left home at about 5:25 pm on 12/22/10, to find her center of the universe, my wife Lucienne, who was preparing meals at a local soup kitchen. From 5:25 to 5:50 pm, Bunny returned home several times to see if Lucienne was there. Not seeing or smelling her, she immediately left the yard to continue her search. My daughter, Zoey and I, left the doors to the house open from the time she left until well after Lucienne returned about 6:10 pm, but Bunny did not come back after Lucienne came home.
At a few minutes before 6:00 pm on 12/22, a moderate snowfall began. So we looked for tracks beginning about 8:00 pm, because at that time there was enough accumulation to see tracks. No Bunny tracks were found, but a set of fox tracks were. I followed those tracks for around an hour until those tracks looked like they were made seconds earlier. They disappeared into a storm sewer and reappeared on the opposite side of the street, which was enough to let me know we were not on Bunny's trail after all.
Bunny was in the wild from 5:25 pm 12/22/10 until about 1:40 pm on 12/30/10, for a total of about 7 days, 20 hours, and 15 minutes. At 1:41 pm I took a call from a woman named Connie who had helped us search for Bunny for days. During this time, Connie was quite ill with the flu. Nevertheless, she likely spent more time and energy helping us than any other individual. As I mentioned in an email, Connie owns a Basenji mix (whose name is Ahu, and who came to the U.S. via Pakistan) that she rescued through Our Companions (http://ourcompanions.org/) . A kindred spirit, Connie is!
As you can see from an earlier post, we set a large Havahart-type trap (about 18" x 24" x 72"). Inside that trap was dry dogfood, cat food, bacon, chicken broth, and dog treats. Outside of the trap were 2 bacon fat trails; we wanted Bunny to scent the trail, but we did not want her to have a chance to eat anything until she was in the trap. At a different location 5 days earlier, we placed a carrot (Bunny's favorite treat; probably the reason for her name, though we're not sure. Her birth name is Attullah RU Ready to Party.) outside of the trap. According to the homeowners (Doris and Donna), who happened to be looking outside their darkened window when Bunny arrived, she snatched the carrot outside the trap and immediately ran to the woods. So, lesson learned, food inside the trap only.
Lucienne, Zoey and I, as may imagine, immediately sped to Connie's home after she called to tell us "Your dog is int the trap". When we arrived, Lucienne raced to the trap ahead of Zoey and I. When she arrived at the trap (about 15 seconds before Zoey and I) she started sobbing tears of joy. Zoey arrived a few seconds ahead of me and the sobbing became a chorus. Having a little more dignity than my wife and daughter, I cried quietly (okay, that's a fib). So, there we are, all crying tears of absolute joy and amazement (remember, the little crapper had us worried sick and riding a roller coaster ride from hell for nearly 8 full days!) …
