For three weeks, Granite State Dog Recovery has been chasing their latest quarry – “Missy,” a mixed breed dog that roamed between at least six towns, shying away from all attempts to rescue her.
“She was definitely petrified,” said Susan Piche, the vice-president of Granite State Dog Recovery.
Piche, along with other Granite State Dog Recovery volunteers Holly Mokrzecki, Colleen Coleman and Amy Mailhot spent the last several weeks tracking the dog’s trek through the multiple towns.
On Monday, the Manchester nonprofit was finally able to lure her into a trap, taking her off the streets, and starting the process of either reuniting her with her family, or finding her a new one.
The dog, who appears to be a Great Pyrenees/Golden Retriever mix, clearly had a home at one time – she was wearing a collar when she was captured – but the collar had no tags, and she is not microchipped, making finding her home more difficult.
Named Missy by her rescuers, sightings were reported from the towns of Mason, Temple, Greenville, Wilton, Milford and Brookline to Granite State Dog Recovery.
The rescue organization specializes in trapping loose and stray dogs, some of whom have been on the streets for years.
It’s unclear how long Missy has been away from home, but Granite State Dog Recovery first heard of her plight on May 9, when they were notified of a dog running through yards on the border of Greenville and Mason.
“We’ve done a lot of research, and no one in the area seems to have seen her before [May 9],” Piche said. “So we don’t know if she’s from Greenville, or somewhere else. It’s on the border, so she may even be from Massachusetts.”
Local residents put out food, hoping to attract her, but she didn’t take the bait.
“Everyone is well-meaning, but they thin that if they see a stray dog and they whistle or call or clap, it will come, and it’s usually the opposite,” said Piche. “Lost dogs turn into this feral dog mode, where they see everything as a predator – sometimes even their owner.”
On May 18, Piche was out to set up cameras and a feeding station in an attempt to capture Missy, but instead found Missy running loose on Route 31 in Greenville.
“Cars were swerving into my lane, and I thought it was a deer or a jogger they were trying to avoid. Then I saw it was the dog,” Piche said.
Piche tried to catch her, but she cut across traffic and disappeared into the nearby woods.
After that, there were lots of sightings – but Granite State didn’t get that close again until Monday, when they received a call about a yellowish dog in the field by the Milford Drive-In Theater.
The team headed out with a trap and camera and set it up in sight of the dog, who was laying down in an empty parking lot. The rescuers got permission from the landowner to set up a trap to try to lure the dog in. Then, they waited for hours for Missy to take the bait meant to lure her into the trap. But the dog was stubborn and at the end of the day the rescuers finally called it a day and went home. Once she was alone, she took the bait, and the cameras alerted volunteers that they had finally accomplished their goal.
Despite her shyness during the chase, once caught, she was sweet and gentle, Piche said.
“It was almost like she was grateful to be caught,” she said.
Missy was taken to a veterinarian and found to have hundreds of ticks. She also tested positive for Lyme disease and anaplasmosis, both tick-borne illnesses, which are being treated with antibiotics. Her paws were sore, joints stiff and she is at least ten pounds underweight, but is in otherwise good condition, Piche said.
Missy is being held at the Bedford Animal Rescue League until an owner comes forward. Once medically cleared she could also be adopted to a new home if she is not clamed.
Granite State Dog Rescue is asking anyone with information about how long the dog had been wandering, where she came from or her owners to call Granite State at 1-855-639-5678.
You can learn more about Granite State Dog Rescue or make a donation online at www.granitestatedogrecovery.com. The site also contains an action plan for dog owners to follow if their dog goes missing, and lost and found dog report forms.
Ashley Saari can be reached at 924-7172 ext. 244 or asaari@ledgertranscript.com. She’s on Twitter @AshleySaariMLT.