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by TessJ10 on 02 June 2010 - 13:06
YAY!!!!! Fabulous news. I'm so glad.
"Who would have thought a blind dog would go exploring on her own...but then, Oakley is special and fearless."
Well, in the woods....lots of incredibly enticing new and different smells...I'd think for a blind dog that would be especially enticing. So happy all ended well.
"Who would have thought a blind dog would go exploring on her own...but then, Oakley is special and fearless."
Well, in the woods....lots of incredibly enticing new and different smells...I'd think for a blind dog that would be especially enticing. So happy all ended well.
by CrysBuck25 on 02 June 2010 - 15:06
I haven't posted here in well over a month, but for some reason I decided to scan the list this morning and saw that this thread had been bumped, and read the new entries, so I thought I would post.
Yes, Oakley and Misty vanished Monday morning. I still do not think that they took off after a smell, that is not Oakley's way, not at all. But I don't know for sure what happened, so it's purely speculation at this point. What I do know is we spent the entire day searching, and found nothing. The very, very, very difficult decision was made to pull out of our campsite and head down out of the mountains, because if someone had seen or picked up the dogs, there was no way for them to be reunited with us, as the location that we were camped at was more than 26 miles north of the closest civilization. I can't tell you how distraught I was, how much that hurt, worrying about all the things that can happen to a blind dog and a smaller one when they are lost in the wilderness in the spring. There are bears just out of hibernation, both grizzly and black, there are wolves, there are mountain lions, there are creeks running out of bounds due to massive amounts of spring runoff and rain, there are cliffs, the list is endless.
Since Oakley is microchipped, I immediately called the registry and made a report. The first thing yesterday I called the Sheriff's office, and all the shelters and vet clinics in our area. Then I made reports with the Forest Service (federal), the Fish and Game (State), the Parks and Rec department, and anyone else I could think of who would have reason to be in the area. Then I went to town to make hard copies of my poster and get them laminated so we could get copies posted up there in the area where they went missing when we returned to look for them. I put up posters in vet clinics, the local CoOp store, the pet store, and then finally came home, to check the answering machine and see if, hope against hope, that God had heard my prayers, and we had a lead.
Sure enough, there was a message from an employee of the Forest Service, telling me that they'd been dispatched to clear a tree from the road that had fallen near the Cedar Creek Primitive campground, and that they'd heard dogs barking when they shut off their chainsaws. They didn't have time to check it out, and figured someone was camping there, so they returned to the compound. There they were shown a copy of the flyer I'd emailed to the receptionist, and one of the men, now off work, decided to go and check it out. So, on his personal time and in his personal vehicle, he drove through a snow covered pass and back to the campground in the valley beyond, where he was met with two very exhausted, very hungry dogs, who were more than glad to go with him back the compound. He put them in a fenced yard there at the compound, called us that he had them, and then raided the kitchens for a good pile of food for them, fed them both, and then waited, instead of going to the get-together being held at someone's house for him and his co-workers.
When I pulled in, there was no doubt that the dogs knew the sound of my truck's engine, and when I and my two girls got out, there was no doubt that the dogs knew us. Oakley is not really a tail wagger. When she's really, really happy to see someone, she will wag a couple of times. But her tail was sweeping side to side, and then she jumped on the fence.
To make a long story short, the reunion was every bit as emotional for me and the girls with the dogs as was our loss of them the day before. We hugged, and petted, and cried, and made general fools of ourselves. Then the dogs started pulling, hard, toward the truck...They just wanted to go HOME. I put them in the back and tethered them securely, sat with them for a while longer, the
Yes, Oakley and Misty vanished Monday morning. I still do not think that they took off after a smell, that is not Oakley's way, not at all. But I don't know for sure what happened, so it's purely speculation at this point. What I do know is we spent the entire day searching, and found nothing. The very, very, very difficult decision was made to pull out of our campsite and head down out of the mountains, because if someone had seen or picked up the dogs, there was no way for them to be reunited with us, as the location that we were camped at was more than 26 miles north of the closest civilization. I can't tell you how distraught I was, how much that hurt, worrying about all the things that can happen to a blind dog and a smaller one when they are lost in the wilderness in the spring. There are bears just out of hibernation, both grizzly and black, there are wolves, there are mountain lions, there are creeks running out of bounds due to massive amounts of spring runoff and rain, there are cliffs, the list is endless.
Since Oakley is microchipped, I immediately called the registry and made a report. The first thing yesterday I called the Sheriff's office, and all the shelters and vet clinics in our area. Then I made reports with the Forest Service (federal), the Fish and Game (State), the Parks and Rec department, and anyone else I could think of who would have reason to be in the area. Then I went to town to make hard copies of my poster and get them laminated so we could get copies posted up there in the area where they went missing when we returned to look for them. I put up posters in vet clinics, the local CoOp store, the pet store, and then finally came home, to check the answering machine and see if, hope against hope, that God had heard my prayers, and we had a lead.
Sure enough, there was a message from an employee of the Forest Service, telling me that they'd been dispatched to clear a tree from the road that had fallen near the Cedar Creek Primitive campground, and that they'd heard dogs barking when they shut off their chainsaws. They didn't have time to check it out, and figured someone was camping there, so they returned to the compound. There they were shown a copy of the flyer I'd emailed to the receptionist, and one of the men, now off work, decided to go and check it out. So, on his personal time and in his personal vehicle, he drove through a snow covered pass and back to the campground in the valley beyond, where he was met with two very exhausted, very hungry dogs, who were more than glad to go with him back the compound. He put them in a fenced yard there at the compound, called us that he had them, and then raided the kitchens for a good pile of food for them, fed them both, and then waited, instead of going to the get-together being held at someone's house for him and his co-workers.
When I pulled in, there was no doubt that the dogs knew the sound of my truck's engine, and when I and my two girls got out, there was no doubt that the dogs knew us. Oakley is not really a tail wagger. When she's really, really happy to see someone, she will wag a couple of times. But her tail was sweeping side to side, and then she jumped on the fence.
To make a long story short, the reunion was every bit as emotional for me and the girls with the dogs as was our loss of them the day before. We hugged, and petted, and cried, and made general fools of ourselves. Then the dogs started pulling, hard, toward the truck...They just wanted to go HOME. I put them in the back and tethered them securely, sat with them for a while longer, the
by CrysBuck25 on 02 June 2010 - 16:06
Oops...Too long.
...with them a for a while longer, then I took a picture, and we headed home...Here is that picture.
They were both so relieved to be going home...
I am writing a big thank you letter to the folks at the Forest Service in Priest Lake area, Idaho...One of their employees, a man I know only as Jared, went above and beyond the call of decency, and he brought my babies back to me...I can't thank him enough, can never thank him enough for going back up, just to make sure...There are some truly good people in this world, and I am grateful to have met so many.
Special thanks go to Steph at Montana GSD Rescue, for activating the rescue network, just in case they turned up in any town in this region. Thanks also go to all the kind folks who were so decent to have offered me prayers, good wishes, and what assistance they could to locate the missing dogs, including the Parks and Rec Department, and the Idaho Department of Lands, and a ton of ordinary people!
For future reference, when we go camping, if someone needs potty duty and I can't go out with them to be sure that they do their potty duty safely, they will be safely secured on a cable trolley system. This will never, ever happen again. I have my pups back, and here with me is where they'll stay!
Crys
...with them a for a while longer, then I took a picture, and we headed home...Here is that picture.
They were both so relieved to be going home...
I am writing a big thank you letter to the folks at the Forest Service in Priest Lake area, Idaho...One of their employees, a man I know only as Jared, went above and beyond the call of decency, and he brought my babies back to me...I can't thank him enough, can never thank him enough for going back up, just to make sure...There are some truly good people in this world, and I am grateful to have met so many.
Special thanks go to Steph at Montana GSD Rescue, for activating the rescue network, just in case they turned up in any town in this region. Thanks also go to all the kind folks who were so decent to have offered me prayers, good wishes, and what assistance they could to locate the missing dogs, including the Parks and Rec Department, and the Idaho Department of Lands, and a ton of ordinary people!
For future reference, when we go camping, if someone needs potty duty and I can't go out with them to be sure that they do their potty duty safely, they will be safely secured on a cable trolley system. This will never, ever happen again. I have my pups back, and here with me is where they'll stay!
Crys
by Kalibeck on 02 June 2010 - 16:06
Annie is awesome! Never doubt those instincts! If she says it's not cool, it's not cool! Our dogs definately have the ability to scent out the bad guys.....almost like they can read their minds! And I'll bet Annie is even more sensitive to bad vibes, scent, or whatever, than most......she must be developing 'second sight'! God Bless you both! jackie harris
by Kalibeck on 02 June 2010 - 16:06
Sorry, I just read the rest of the thread! Annie is awesome, & so are the forest service folks who rescued her & Misty for you! Rescued twice in a life, that's enough for anyone1 Thank goodness you have them back! Whew! jackie harris
by CrysBuck25 on 02 June 2010 - 16:06
Whew is right, Jackie....
It was a brutal, sad, and worrisome forty hours missing. I have never had such a bad headache, such incredible tension in my shoulders, or such bad night sleeping. I worried like I have never worried about a dog. Visions of all the horrible ways to die up there haunted me, and I cried a lot.
The only thing that kept me going through all of this was my family and the hope that a Good Samaritan had picked them up...That wasn't the case when I was thinking it, but it sure turned out to be the case. My prayers were answered by a quiet and unassuming young man that works for the Forest Service for a living...
We are all having a nice day today, but I think I'm taking Oakley down to the school with me this afternoon for after care with the kids...Oakley deserves a nice social outing after all that. I'm proud of her and Misty for staying safe all that time.
Crys
It was a brutal, sad, and worrisome forty hours missing. I have never had such a bad headache, such incredible tension in my shoulders, or such bad night sleeping. I worried like I have never worried about a dog. Visions of all the horrible ways to die up there haunted me, and I cried a lot.
The only thing that kept me going through all of this was my family and the hope that a Good Samaritan had picked them up...That wasn't the case when I was thinking it, but it sure turned out to be the case. My prayers were answered by a quiet and unassuming young man that works for the Forest Service for a living...
We are all having a nice day today, but I think I'm taking Oakley down to the school with me this afternoon for after care with the kids...Oakley deserves a nice social outing after all that. I'm proud of her and Misty for staying safe all that time.
Crys
by GSDtravels on 02 June 2010 - 17:06
Wow, how scary! It's wonderful that they stayed together. Amazing that Jared did such a good deed! I'm really happy that they're safe and sound.
by starrchar on 02 June 2010 - 17:06
Wow Crys, What an amazing story...with a very happy ending. I still find it so incredible that Oakley does so well and adapts to any situation. There mere fact you take her on a camping trips and she manages to get around okay is amazing, but then to be in the wilderness with all kinds of terrain and obstacles to deal with is just...well astounding!!! i know she probably follows Misty a lot, but still, it's not like walking down the sidewalk! The whole thing just brought tears to my eyes. I am so glad both she and Misty are safely back home. I am thinking that during the next camping trip those two will think twice before leaving the camp area 
by DebiSue on 02 June 2010 - 17:06
It was a very emotional day. My husband called me at work to tell me he had received the bad news via an email from Steph and I cried all day at work. Late last night we were standing out on our drive in the dark and I was crying to him about all the horrible thoughts going through my mind as to what could have happened to Oakley and Misty when I thought I could hear our house phone ringing. I ran for it and caught it just before it went to voice mail and it was Steph calling with the good news so then I was crying for joy. I couldn't sleep last night for the roller coaster ride I had yesterday. So very glad we got a happy ending. Paul & I plan on meeting Crys & Oakley in person this month when we go up to Montana for our vacation. I can't wait to meet the famous Oakley. I always said they should write a book about her...now we know what it should be called...The Adventures of Annie Oakley!
by CrysBuck25 on 02 June 2010 - 18:06
And the name for this chapter should be "Miracle at Cedar Creek"!!
Crys
Crys
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