Fancy June

I mentioned it to Travis and we both felt with the weather conditions outside and how long people had been trying that Travis would look around where she had been spotted and see if he might get a glimpse of her. Yesterday morning he had a couple of errands and he decided he would drive around some of the spots she had been reported seen. He had no luck and gave up and headed home. We have a major highway that divides Anna in half, the east side and the west side of 75. Travis had been looking on the east side because that’s where she was last seen, on his way home low and behold he sees her behind a gas station on the west side of the highway, so clearly this girl is going across the overpass in the city over the highway, very dangerous traffic indeed.

He pulled into the gas station and messaged all of us that he has eyes on her and asked us to bring him some hot dogs and raw food to see if he might be able to get close to her. We brought him Bibble as well, brining a dog that is a goodwill ambassador and a dog that will behave friendly with any dog many times strikes interest in the stray, and allows you an opportunity to get their attention to see if you might be able to get closer to them. This Bloodhound behaved very nervously and pretty much moved about quickly, Travis kept his eye on her and when she approached the busy road he would flank her to keep her away from the road and stay safe in the field. She finally stopped to rest and laid down near some rocks and shrubs. Travis sat and just observed her for a couple of hours.

I would like to remind all of you here that might be new to the page that we have been catching dogs for 20 years, we work with thousands of dogs at the ranch, hundreds of rescues at the sanctuary and are very well versed in dog language and behavior. Travis has caught dogs that nobody else has been able to catch, it takes a lot of patience and you have to be able to move very slowly and carefully reading the dogs language which is exactly what Travis did yesterday for 8 solid hours.

He never gave up, he never quit he just sat, at first 60 yards away, and if she would move he would quietly and from a distance move with her. Live traps had been set up for her, she approached them and got close but she did not enter. Instead she moved to hang out behind some buildings on a strip mall. She would lay down and rest, Travis just sat and observed and waited. Eventually by this time it was dark outside and she moved to a grassy area behind the buildings and curled up and went to sleep.

Travis sitting on his butt with his back to her with no eye contact, and now 50 feet away from her, he began creeping backwards toward her 2 inches at a time. Always observing, is she raising her head?, is she smelling the air? She did both but she stayed put, so Travis now began talking to her telling her what a pretty girl she was, he said he would sing little songs to her, and every few minutes would scoot back a couple more inches. He sent us a photo and said he was now 15 feet from her, still singing and talking sweetly to her and she continued just periodically raising her head and smelling him, but then laying her head back down. As he continued to creep back toward her for over an hour he was finally within reaching distance. The question you always have for yourself at this point is do you let them smell you? Will she bolt? Can you touch her? Should you reach and grab? It truly is all instinct at this point. Travis opted to keep singing and she smelled his hand and didn’t offer to leave. He stayed, his back to her, continuing to sing, and touched her face, she didn’t move, he took his hand away and she reached her nose to smell him as if to say she kind of liked that maybe you would pet her again, he obliged and she stayed put. He said he felt like he was reading from her that she was not going to flee at this point so he opted to just hang out with her and keep chatting with her, periodically giving her a little pet and then stop. After about 10 minutes of this, he pet her on the top of her head and made his move, tossed the leash over her head and tugged it down and boom she was caught, she only pulled back for just a second and then that was it, she was safe and she knew it.

He attempted to put her in his truck but she was very afraid of him touching her stomach, he called out to us to bring the small rescue bus so she didn’t have to be lifted that way. Emma was there in 5 minutes to help load her up, they opened up the back and she just jumped inside and was safe and sound. She honestly didn’t seem to be in terrible shape but we didn’t want to take any chances. Travis and Emma drove her to the ER and she spent the night, bloodwork, 4dx test to see what she might be sick with, some X-rays to make sure she seemed okay and a good nights sleep in a hospital was what we wanted for her for now.

She does not have a microchip, she does have a midline scar so she appears to be spayed, unless she’s had a c-section but that seems doubtful as her nipples are small, she doesn’t look to have ever had a litter of pups.

I don’t believe there has been any reports in our area of a lost Bloodhound but we of course are always open to finding an owner if there is one out there somewhere.

For now, she is safe and sound, she will be provided with absolutely anything and everything she needs medically and socially and if no owner is found she will be placed up for adoption once she’s ready.

Welcome to Dog Ranch Rescue Fancy June