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Harnessing The Energy – Part 3

Two Illinois based rescues joined together to facilitate Ellie, shy foster dog, return. 30 days later Ellie was trapped.

Effectively coordinating your volunteers in the search for a lost dog is what we call “harnessing the energy”.  When everybody is on the same team and pulling in the same direction, great things can happen.  When the efforts are scattered and fragmented, volunteers will get frustrated and the search can end badly.

This article will focus on the steps to help your rescue or shelter’s volunteers work effectively as a team to generate sightings of the missing dog.

First and foremost – please make sure that you have done the Five Things to Do If You Have Lost Your Dog. Putting scent items and food at the spot where the dog went missing from will help keep him in the area – even if he is unfamiliar with the location.

1. Assign one “point person”.  Preferably this is the person that is most bonded with the lost dog (the owner or foster parent) and with the biggest emotional committment to the process. The point person must be a responsible individual with the time required to be able to answer EVERY phone call and go to every sighting location.  The point person must be dedicated to the process for the days, weeks or months that it might require to successfully catch the dog.

2. Use a phone number on the flyer that will be answered promptly. Do not use a shelter phone number that won’t be answered during closed hours. Do not use an automated voice system or answering service. Many people who see your dog won’t call again. They will try ONCE. If you miss the opportunity to speak with them, you may never get another chance and you might miss valuable information about your dog’s location. Do not rely on texting. Callers need to hear your voice and your emotional commitment to the dog. This will encourage them to keep helping you.

3. Change the message on your phone to include a message about the missing dog. If the caller reaches an ordinary voice message, he may hang up and not try again. The caller must know they’ve reached the correct number to report a sighting.

4. Do NOT offer a reward for the missing dog.  In our experience, this is almost always a bad idea. Rewards encourage people to chase the dog, possibly into oncoming traffic. A dog that is being pursued for a reward will not settle and will become more and more elusive and possibly move out of the area altogether. Then you will have to start all over in a new location.  You want sightings of the dog so that you can implement a plan to catch him safely. Rewards are counterproductive to this effort because you will not be able to pay a reward for each sighting.

5. In the early hours of the dog going missing; rescue volunteers may panic and want to rush to a sighting location to “search”.  This is almost always a bad idea. Their energy should be used for quickly flyering the area – going door to door and trying to speak to as many people as possible and leaving a flyer in their hands.  Searching for a shy lost dog will chase the dog out of the area and possibly into the path of traffic.  Or the dog may go into hiding, reducing sightings and prolonging the search. Your goal is to let the shy lost dog settle, without the pressure of being pursued. You will have a much greater chance of catching him.

6. The point person should be organized and ready to distribute maps and flyers to the volunteers.  Use a Rubbermaid tub in a central location to store flyers, maps and supplies. Then anyone with some time to spare can do some flyering without duplicating efforts.

7.  Don’t congregate noisily in an area to flyer. Don’t slam car doors. The dog may be hidden somewhere nearby watching you. Too much activity may frighten him into leaving the area.  Flyer in groups of two for safety, but be quiet and calm.

8. Pace your volunteers. Make sure they understand that this could take weeks or months. Volunteers will be needed to flyer after every sighting, to make and move signs, to update Craigslist, radio, and  newspaper ads and to keep notifying vet clinics, shelters, etc.

9. Try to keep everyone “in the loop” so they feel useful and engaged. Consider using a closed Facebook group for the volunteers to keep everyone informed. Stay positive. Negativity won’t help and will probably prolong the search. Don’t waste any time in assigning blame for how or why the dog went missing. This does nothing to help find the dog and will decrease the morale of the team.

Next, we’ll focus on the best way to respond when you get your sighting calls.

Part 4  https://www.lostdogsillinois.org/harnessing-the-energy-part-4/

Previous Article https://www.lostdogsillinois.org/harnessing-the-energy-part-2/

Harnessing the Energy – Part 1

“Finn, a shy lost dog, was successfully captured by a team of volunteers from NBRAN and other concerned area citizens.  This team has now gone on to help capture other lost dogs in the area.”.

There are more lost dogs now than there have ever been.  Pet ownership is up and we, as a nation,  are saving more dogs, with many more people choosing adoption as their option. This is a great thing but it comes with its challenges. For many people, this is their first experience owning a shy, rescued dog. These dogs are often high flight risks and can quickly escape through a door or wiggle out of an ill-fitting collar, harness or slip lead.

Searching for a shy lost dog is expensive and time-consuming. Most shelters and rescues are obliged to help search for a dog that has gone missing from a newly adopted home, a foster home, their transport or their facility. Here is a list of the potential costs associated with a lost dog search:

  • Printing flyers, possibly thousands of them
  • Printing and making intersection signs
  • Newspaper and radio advertising
  • Automated calling services
  • Trap rental or purchase
  • Gasoline
  • Lost wages
  • Shelter/rescue staff and volunteer time that go towards the search instead of their regular duties

When you take all of this into consideration it is very apparent that it is in the best interest of everyone to make sure your team of volunteers knows the most efficient and productive way to conduct a lost dog search.  Your rescue or shelter does have a team, don’t they? A well-trained team that can quickly mobilize when a dog goes missing will save your rescue time, money and possibly the dog’s life.

Since their inception, Lost Dogs Illinois and Lost Dogs of Wisconsin have helped reunited over 60,000 dogs. Most of these were found safely, some ended in heartbreak.   Many of these were from rescues, shelters, transports, or were in foster homes or newly adopted homes. We would like to share with you what we have learned in this next series of articles.

Lindsey, former puppy mill dog, escaped from a fiery crash. Family was injured and from out of town. Midwest BREW’s Find Snoopy team trapped Lindsey.

Part  2- https://www.lostdogsillinois.org/harnessing-the-energy-part-2/

Finding Finn, an Interview With Susan Hennis

On March 31, 2012 Finn, a two-year-old Brittany, escaped from a vehicle in a parking lot in Joliet while being transported to a foster home in Canada by the group National Brittany Rescue and Adoption Network (NBRAN). Finn quickly became somewhat of a celebrity as hundreds of volunteers across several counties in Illinois followed his story and eventually assisted in his rescue. After two-and-a half months on on the loose, they captured him in a trap set at the home of a woman in Romeoville who had been feeding him.


NBRAN Coordinators Cathy and Susan, both of whom have been fostering for about 11 years, created a Facebook book page dedicated to his rescue and heavily utilized Lost Dogs Illinois’ tips and networks to eventually bring him to safety. They had a stealth plan of setting up cameras and relying on sightings across several towns. Volunteers were told not to call or chase him and instead call them with tips and photos. They set up video cameras which helped them track his feeding and traveling patterns.

I caught up with Susan Hennis to talk about her journey finding Finn.

Was it hard to resist the urge to call for him or chase him?

It was extremely difficult not to call and chase Finn — in fact, we did at the beginning. We were calling him all the time and trying to find him. It was at the advice of Lost Dogs that we stopped trying to call him as well as encouraging others to not call him and chase him.

How did it feel when you saw videos and photos of him while he was lost?

It was so amazing to see photos and video of Finn while he was lost. The first actual photograph was from a Forest Preserve Officer in the middle of May- we had sent them a flyer probably a month or more before that time and he had kept it. He called me right after he saw Finn and had taken a few photos with his phone.  It was reassuring to see that 1) it was him and 2) he looked okay. Anytime you rely on sightings you have to hope that the people are truly seeing the dog you are looking for. The video was shot shortly before he was caught and it was also so appreciated…it was crazy to see him looking so confident and on his mission. And to see that he moved like we remembered and it was really Finn that was in that area.

How does it feel knowing so many community members, most of them strangers, I assume, helped in the rescue?

It was very touching and also crazy that so many community members- in multiple communities- got involved with “Help Find Finn.” It started from the very beginning…Finn got loose on a Saturday and a woman (who heard about Finn through a few other people) emailed me to ask if it was okay if she went to look for Finn. Finn got loose in Joliet- I live in Normal and the other coordinator lives in Earlville. I was so completely thankful that a stranger who did not know Finn, me or NBRAN was willing to spend time looking for Finn. That woman looked for him four times that week…she hung flyers, searched and left dog food. As we went from community to community we met so many more wonderful people who offered to help. People hung signs, told their neighbors, called newspapers, arranged radio interviews, actively searched, ran out at the drop of a hat when we got a sighting. I was continually amazed that we were so blessed to have so many people interested in Finn’s story and willing to help.

How quickly did you get over 400 likes on the “Help Find Finn” Facebook page?

We got likes on our FaceBook page a number of ways…initially it was really word of mouth. As more signs and flyers were hung and newspaper articles were written people became really interested in Finn’s story. He spent a considerable amount of time in Channahon and Minooka and then a long time in Romeoville and I think we really gained a lot of likes during that time…but there were also others that were “Finn Fans” that lived a distance away.

What kind of support did you get from Lost Dogs IL fans on our page? How did having Lost Dogs IL as a resource help you feel supported?

We received a lot of wonderful support from Lost Dogs of IL.  As I  mentioned, we really knew very little about finding and catching a lost dog…in addition, Finn was a different story since he was a rescue dog lost on a transport — he didn’t know where “home” was.  LDI gave us a lot of welcome advice from the very beginning. They provided advice on how to get the word out, how to post signs, how to use a live trap, how to get a dog used to an area…LDI also kept us hopeful when we were down by being extremely supportive. It was hard when we wouldn’t get sightings for a while and LDI would give us stories of other dogs found after a long time. LDI also really stressed that most dogs won’t starve to death, die in a storm or get attacked by an animal…most dogs get hurt when pursued (running into traffic etc.).  I don’t think we would have gotten Finn back without the advice of LDI.

Have you thought of any steps to prevent a dog from running away that you can share with other dog owners?

Cathy and I have both talked about making sure all dogs on a transport have two very snug collars that are linked to separate leashes. We have also obtained large tags with phone numbers and “rescue dogs” on them. If we learned anything from this is that ANY dog could run — Finn was not a runner and was a “model” foster dog. After being found he quickly adapted to being in the home and is as adjusted as any dog. What I would share is never assume your dog won’t run. Treat all of your dogs as potential flight risks and take all opportunities to keep them safe. Aside from teaching them commands, make sure anyone in your home is aware of the dogs and not opening doors around them or giving them the opportunity to escape.