Final Chapter

Tundie is home, safe and sound, and doing incredibly well. Our vet said it was unbelievable that he a) survived his 21 day adventure, especially with his extended exposure to the snow, ice, and bitter cold, and b) that he came out of it in outstanding physical condition! He lost fifteen pounds and the pads of his feet were slightly abraded from his journey. His tests all can back negative – he didn’t even pick up any parasites after three weeks of scavenging and drinking stream and ditch water. He was one very resourceful pooch with very strong survival instincts!

He is eating a lot and resting, mostly lounging around the house keeping close to my side, although he does occasionally go off on his own to hop onto my bed for a nap. He most definitely does not want to go outside first thing in the morning in the dark and cold!

I still find it nothing short of a miracle that he survived and found his way home. He most certainly had a host of angels looking out for him, and many of them were of the human kind. The prayers, well wishes, and many kindnesses, large and small, of everyone who read this blog helped keep both of us going throughout this ordeal. I could not have kept my faith without all of your assistance.

My “thank yous” are profound and many. First, to Nancy Despeaux who contacted me immediately when she saw the lost dog posting on Craigslist to offer her assistance, I cannot begin to express my gratitude. She created this wonderful blog to spread the word and track Thunder sightings, and kept the search active. Her advice was invaluable and her encouragement and support kept my hopes for his safe recovery alive. She was my rock and anchor and I am honored now to have her as my friend.

To the wonderful volunteers from the Virginia German Shepherd Rescue group, God bless you one and all. Sue Garrison was my point of contact and she coordinated with the volunteers who brought their dog out to search for Tundie, who set up food stations in areas where he had been sighted , who papered Fairfax and Loudoun Counties with lost dog fliers, and who spread the word to colleagues and friends via email. To each and every one of you who gave up hours of your own time to trek through the miserable cold and snow to help in the search for Tundie, my sincerest thank you! VGSR is a wonderful organization and its efforts to rescue and re-home lost and unwanted German Shepherd dogs are inspirational. Please visit its homepage http://www.shepherdrescue.org/ and consider volunteering, fostering, adopting, and/or donating to support their cause!

There are so many others who deserve to be thanked; I don’t know where to begin, and I don’t even know some of your names. Krissy Meyer and employers of National Realty Partners in Herndon kept Tundie on the radar the first week he was gone, reporting sightings and putting out food. A lady from Marshall collected urine soaked rags from her bitch in heat – a truly nasty job! -- so we could lay paths leading Tundie back toward home. Susan, Rivn’s owner from Page County, did the same and drove up to NoVa to deliver them to us over snow covered roads. After the police chased Tundie off the golf course on Sunday morning, Emily and Jay Hartman drove all the way from Lovettsville with Daisy, Cope, and Sammy, and walked around the course for two hours laying down pack scent to draw him back. The winds were forty miles an hour, the wind-chill was fifteen degrees, and Jay missed the Steelers game. Talk about a sacrifice, thank goodness for TiVo! There were so many acts of generosity that went above and beyond what anyone could realistically expect that overwhelmingly reinforced my faith in the basic goodness of human nature, and especially dog owners. Those of us who have experienced the unconditional love of a dog know we are blessed, and I know you all personally felt my anguish while he was gone. If your name is not mentioned here I apologize, but please know I carry your acts and words of encouragement in my heart and will always be grateful.

To Sandy Ayers, Tundie’s breeder, I offer a special thank you and an apology for putting you through this pain. You love your precious baby as much as I do, and to know he was lost five hundred miles from home and that you could not be there to help was unbearable. We worried together, cried together, and never gave up hope. I hope you know he is in good hands, will be spoiled rotten with love and affection, and is never going on a walkabout again! I promise we will visit next summer! And, Sandy, you should be very proud of the many owners of Tundie pups from all over the USA who extended their heartfelt prayers and support. Special hugs and licks to you all from both of us.

And finally, to my hero and the love of my life, Frank -- you often ask me why I love you – you will never have to ask again! Arms to hold me, a shoulder to cry on, and your unwavering support every minute of the day meant more than you will ever know. Tundie loves you too! It was your house after all, not mine, which he ultimately made his way back to. You are an idiot for tackling him in his den in the dark, but you are my idiot and I will forever love you for the heroic, if foolish, rescue.

And now, to end the story, as all good stories should end … the hero and his lady, and their dog, lived happily ever after, or at least we will all hope they do.

With love and affection,

Sue and Tundie

J

TUNDIE IS HOME!!!!!!!!!

From Sue:

Frank caught Tundie at 5 AM today. We knew he was sleeping under the Reston National Club House so he went over and cornered him this morning while he was sleeping. Frank got a couple of nips, but as soon as he got the leash on Tundie, the dog relaxed and jumped right into the truck to ride home. As soon as I walked into the house he threw himself at me and has been welded to my side ever since, mostly curled up next to me on the couch where he is toasty warm and loved. He is very glad to be home!

He is in very good condition, a little thin, not ravenously hungry, and no signs of frostbite or hypothermia. He does have a little limp. We will take him to the vet a little later to have him checked out just to make sure that he has no serious physical issues resulting from his walkabout.

The picture is from the cell phone, not good, but I wanted to share it with all of you who have been so wonderfully supportive through our ordeal. Each and everyone of you is a blessing in our lives and I will never be able to thank you enough!

More will follow when we are all well rested and able to think clearly.

With love and affection,

Sue, Frank, and Tundie

PS from NHD -- you can see from the Comments that you aren't the only one that's happy to get this great news!

Tundie Still In Reston

Tundie is still being seen in Reston today, and we still want sighting calls from anyone that sees him (whether in Reston or elsewhere). We need to figure out the best place to leave food for him. So please get in touch right away if you see him.

And we've learned of a couple of other german shepherd mixes that disappeared today in the area near Chandon Dog Park in Herndon. We don't have pictures of them, and hope they are already found, but the number to call if you think you see these dogs is 703-861-5179. This is Carla, and her dogs are Kaya and Choco. Choco is a GS mixed with rottweiler and looks like a chocolate lab.

UPDATE SUNDAY EVENING

Sandy and Kristin have commented (see comments today), and they ask a lot of good questions which I'll respond to now. I expect others are having the same thoughts and questions as Sandy and Kristin.

1)  Getting food to Thunder is critical, and hopefully even more effort is being put into helping maintain or increase his body temperature right now. Hypothermia is the primary threat to his survival, after prolonged exposure to below freezing temperatures and extreme wind chill.  No question here but I have to just echo this!  The 2 things that sighters can do is report the sighting, and put down food. Tundie has a couple of times in the past few weeks hung around a location for several days, but he's always moved on.

2)  Could heating stations with heat lamps, heat pads, places to get out of the wind, (igloo and other dog houses), be set up along with feeding stations? Are there ways that food and water could be kept warm? Food that's not frozen can be more easily smelled, and more importantly helps warm body temp. Are these kind of things being done at this point?  Excellent suggestions, though Sue is a step ahead of you! She asked today for an extra dog house, which I had delivered late this afternoon, and she'd told me that it would have a heat lamp trained on it. And I dropped off a heated bird bath later this evening and emailed Sue, but I don't know as I'm writing this if it's been found and set up. Presumably it will be! At any rate, this makes two dog houses now set up around the golf course. If anyone else has a heated birdbath or any other type of heat source they can offer, please speak up!!!!

3)  Might it help if people who see Tundie are asked to note whether he is demonstrating symptoms of hypothermia, such as unusual behavior (confusion) and or decreased coordination (ie. stumbling)?  Sue gets this information from sighting calls at least some of the time, and I wholeheartedly agree that if this can always be a part of the information offered when a sighting is reported, we really need to know this.

4)  Could information be put up on this blog about the symptoms of hypothermia and what readers can do to help if they see or find Thunder in different stages of hypothermia? For instance, if he is found stumbling and confused, or comatose should a vet be called first? Or animal control? Or the same contact info already provided?  Excellent idea. If you or anyone else can do a little research on hypothermia in dogs and email it to me, it might get added to the blog a little faster. It might even be best to get it from a vet.

5)  It's been a long time now that Thunder has been sighted and tracked and food has been put out. He may freeze to death before he is captured at this rate, so it seems that more active efforts to catch him are important at this point. Right you are; more active efforts are needed to catch him. It's past time to ask for help to monitor feeding stations -- this time of people living off the golf course since Tundie seems to have been in this location for 2 days now.  If anyone reading this update can participate in feeding station monitoring, please leave a comment.  

6) What is being done to capture him when he is sighted? Are rescuers throwing tasty food bits to him, from slowly decreasing distances in addition to setting up feeding stations that may enable him to survive the wild life until he succumbs to the cold? Are nets or baited chain link kennels ready or being used? Could neighbors be encouraged to participate in setting up heat stations and close their gates if they see Thunder in their yards?  So far, most sightings have been by people that aren't aware of Thunder and his plight before seeing him, so they are taken by surprise. Some people that report sightings report that they leave food in the spot where they saw him, though it's probably a minority that know and are prepared to do this. It does seem that he retreats when attention is paid to him, when eye contact is made, when people call out to him.

So Sandy and Kristin, thanks for your comments! And Anne and Leah, thank you for your sightings that you left in your comments. They have helped us know that he is still staying put. Food and heat could keep him here until he can be trapped. Once again, anyone that can help by lending out a heat lamp or heated dog bowl (or bird bath), or can help with monitoring a few well planned feeding stations several times a day, please leave a comment.

A Chronology of Tundie Sightings Reported

WEEK 4 SIGHTINGS
- Mon 1/4 & beyond: AT HOME!!!

WEEK 3 SIGHTINGS
- Sun 1/3: numerous sightings at the same location in S Reston
- Sat 1/2, 9:30am: Reston National Golf Course, Reston
- Thu 12/31, noon: Franklin Farms area
- Wed 12/30, 12:50pm: Florida & Alabama Avenues, Herndon
- Tue 12/29, 11am: on Church in Sterling

WEEK 2 SIGHTINGS
- Sat 12/26, 8am & 2pm: Maple & Harrison, behind Sully ES.
- Sat 12/26, 12:30 pm: S Lincoln & E Maple, Sterling
- Fri 12/25, pm: behind Sully Elementary School, at E Maple & S Harrison, Sterling
- Fri 12/25, 10am: behind the bowling alley at Dranesville and Woodson Rds, Sterling.
- Thu 12/24 pm: behind Herndon High School, Herndon
- Thu 12/24, 7:50am: at Chandon Dog Park, S end of Palmer Dr; then another sighting on Alabama ~ 3 blocks N & W of Chandon Dog Park a few hours later
- several sightings learned about from canvassing
- Mon 12/21, 5pm: behind Nextec on Herndon Pkwy, closer to Elden than Spring



WEEK 1 SIGHTINGS
- Sat 12/19, 9am: 1200 block of Sterling Rd, at Herndon Pkwy, playing in someone's back yard
- Fri 12/18, ~ 11:40am: Spring St, behind Spring Park Bus Park, Herndon
- Fri 12/18, am: behind the Herndon police station
- Thu 12/17, pm: Herndon HS; sighting by a teacher
- Thu 12/17, am: behind the Herndon police station
- Wed 12/16, early pm: behind the Herndon police station on Herndon Pkwy
- Wed 12/16, am: Ruritan Circle, Sterling
- Tue 12/15, pm: Ruritan Circle, Sterling
- Tue 12/15, early pm: Herndon golf course; seen by a worker
- Mon 12/14, pm: Bond @ Crestview

Sizzling Hot Sighting - Reston

rom Sue:

We just saw Tundie on the Reston National Golf Course, his second home, at 9:30 this morning! Mollie, our Westie, ran right up to him and greeted him. He was wagging his tail. But as soon as he saw Frank he walked away.

I circled around the course, keeping a very wide berth, hoping to turn him back toward the house but he turned off the cart trail and trotted into the Golf Course View townhouses.

It was definitely Tundie and he looked to be in good condition for the length of time he has been lost. He is not responding to any overtures: squatting, calling "here baby," " good boy," or any of the usual comfort or praise phrases. He was very wary but did not seem particularly fearful.
His doggy play group is out on the hill where he has played with them before -- we are hoping their familiar scents and sounds will keep him around.

We will light up the grill and throw on some steaks in a little bit to get the smell of food in the air and we set up a food station in an area he knows. If he is still here later today we will set up the trap tonight and pray.

He is so close to home it hurts!

Status as of Saturday Morning

From Sue:

Our last reported sighting was on Thursday 12/31 near Franklin Farm Village Shopping Center in Chantilly. We will be putting posters up in the area today. It is bitter cold and windy with several days of more of the same forecast. I hope he has found shelter if he remains in this new area, or that he has retreated to the safe harbor he used to weather the December snow storm.

I updated Craigslist today to reflect the new sighting, adding Chantilly to the location heading. The local HOA has been notified by the homeowner who had the sighting and this should help get the word out to the entire community. I will contact schools in the area first thing Monday so teachers and staff will be on the lookout for him. I am so very cold, I cannot bear to think how he must be suffering in this weather.

Update later Saturday morning:  Please be sure to read the comments from this and the previous update.

Going Feral and Surviving

From Sue:

I have learned a lot over the past two weeks about how dogs react when they are lost. Much of this may be surprising even to experienced dog people who have a close bond with their dogs. It is difficult to accept, but most dogs become feral fairly soon, go into a survival mode and almost never come back on their own to their owners or people they know, especially when they were lost in a traumatic manner.

The person who finally catches a lost dog is almost never the owner, nor the searchers, but rather some unsuspecting person in whose backyard the dog comes in looking for food. That person must not try to grab the dog but needs to be calm, give it a treat, speak softly and encouragingly, and quietly close a door or gate that precludes further escape.

In other words, Tundie's best hope for rescue lies in the hands of strangers. Please help us get the word out by putting fliers in high traffic areas, posting them on your neighborhood mailboxes, and even taking a couple to church this Sunday. Share it with co-workers and your Facebook friends.

The world is full of amazingly generous and caring people who are willing to help in ways small and large, and they are getting the word out in every way possible. I have met so many of you these past two weeks, and I am both overwhelmed and grateful! I cannot begin to thank each and everyone of you who is helping bring Tundie home.

Partial View of the Tundie Map

Click the map for a larger version