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

Sighting Today in Franklin Farms

Update from Sue:

We had a sighting at 12:18 today in the Horsepen Run wooded area between Lady Bank Lane and 7100 at Franklin Farm Road. The caller is a former longcoat shepherd owner who went to Craigslist for photos to confirm the dog as probably Tundie.

We were able to track him through the woods to Piney Ridge where we lost the trail-- the paws prints are huge and bearlike -- another good indication the sighting is valid. This is in the Chantllly Highlands area of Franklin Farms.

This means that he somehow made his way over the Monroe Street bridge and is now on the south side of the Dulles Toll Road. If he sticks to following Horsepen Run it will lead him up to Frying Pan Road and back toward home.

Or he could pick up the gasline right of way north over West Ox toward Frying Pan Road. Both would be good news.

The bad news is that that he is about four miles south and just as easily circle in that direction and end up in the Fair Lakes area even farther from home. Let's hope his instincts are good.

I am calling a tracker today to see if we can try getting someone here this weekend.