Missing from Nova Scotia, Bandit

I am, also, still praying for Bandit's safe return. I still have faith that he will reunite with his Mommy.

Lord, continue to keep Bandit safe and sound and continue guiding him home.
Thank you Lord. I ask this in Jesus name. Amen.
 
Linda

I missed this thread previously. I'm sending hugs to you and am praying that Bandit is found soon.

The fact that he is being sighted is very positive. But these elusive Shelties are hard to catch.

My Indy went awhol a couple of weeks ago....granted it was only a couple of hours, and his tummy found his way home in time for dinner. But he had been sighted and reported to the Humane Society before he came home.

The lady who sighted him tried to get him to come to her, but he would not. And this is a dog who LOVES any attention he can get. Apparently he loved his freedom more at the time and he had not wandered far enough to be unable to find his way home again.

When I was a kid, we lost our Sheltie in the mountains of Germany. We called and called, but she was off on her own adventure. She was found 2 weeks later, half-dead by the side of the road....she came back for help eventually. (btw, the Germains filled her with sausage and shnitzel and I don't think she ever wanted to come back to us again

It makes me think that there is a special art to capturing renegade shelties. I don't know what it might be exactly. But beating bushes and calling doesn't seem to work with them, it just sends them running again.

Have you contacted any Sheltie rescues to get unique Sheltie tips on how to corner Bandit?

My heart is with you! Take care!
 
I'm thinking there must be something special to catching them as well, but I don't think anybody's really pin pointed it just yet. I've heard that they are one of the most difficult breeds to find and catch (and Bandit is proving that one!), but that they are also one of the most likely to survive because of their natural instincts. So his breeding is working for and against us. There are SO many places in Falmouth where he could take shelter and find food, plus there are a LOT of wooded areas there, makes searching very difficult as well. People are VERY aware of him though, posters are everywhere, and I'm now replacing them with fresh ones, and I had Flier Services deliver them throughout the entire Falmouth area with their weekly flier packs a couple weeks ago (also been in the newspaper). I don't think there is a person within miles who hasn't heard of him. I still feel very confident that we will get him back, but I think we've got a very long, difficult road ahead of us still.

I'm now trying to read through all the missing sheltie posts on this forum, just trying to see if there is an idea somewhere that I haven't yet thought of. But these stories are hard to get through without crying! Read about Angus and was just beside myself!

btw, I'm trying to find a good picture of a sheltie paw print in mud or snow or something, to compare to prints that I keep finding, is there any way anyone could maybe take your baby out for a little muddy walk and take a pic & send it to me? I know all breeds have differences in paw prints, so I really would like a sheltie-specific print.
 
Oh, that's great, thank you!! I know different breeds have different prints, and I wasn't sure what I was seeing, or even if it was a dog or maybe a coyote, this will be very useful, thank you so much! We have had pretty good weather here, although we did just have a big wind/rain storm, so lots of mud right now, and I don't think it will be too long before we have snow. Prints and droppings are 2 things I have been searching for. I've heard of shelties missing for a very long time too, in fact on facebook I've connected with two women who's shelties went missing at the same time, one in my town, the other in Yarmouth, south end of Nova Scotia. The one in my town was gone for 5 1/2 months, the one in Yarmouth was gone for 7 months! Both were found safe and sound. And I read on here about Aspen, that one just blew me away! 20 months!! It is a relief to know that they are very hardy and such good survivors, but I sure hope I don't have to wait that long! We love our boy so much, and really miss him, we are SO ready for him to come home!
 
Linda said:
I'm thinking there must be something special to catching them as well, but I don't think anybody's really pin pointed it just yet. I've heard that they are one of the most difficult breeds to find and catch (and Bandit is proving that one!), but that they are also one of the most likely to survive because of their natural instincts. f wooded areas there, makes searching very difficult So his breeding is working for and against us.
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That's for sure. The animal control guy we worked with said even a live trap won't work unless you know exactly where they are hanging out. Our Kasey kept being sighted miles from his last sighting. He had about a 5 mile range. Even with all the posters I put up, it turned out that on the day we caught him we got a tip from a guy who just saw the poster that day. The postings were out for 20 days and it took him that long to see one. He said he puts out pieces of ham and other meats for the crows. He said he saw Kasey eat the meats for the past couple days. After being on the run for 21 days, Kasey actually gained 1/2 lb of weight.
 
That's just it, they are constantly on the run, so I tried to get ahead of him...but don't know which direction he would go next. It is such a huge area, a lot of heavily wooded areas, etc. We finally had a really good sighting (only one really good sighting so far, and that's because the road he was running on had swamp on both sides so he couldn't get off and hide fast enough, so the driver got a good look, other than that, he's just too fast for anyone to be sure), but a couple days later a couple young people got lost, so there were ATV's and a helicopter in the area. Pretty sure that would have sent him running. It's been over 10 weeks for us now, and that one good sighting was almost 3 weeks ago. Posters are everywhere, I am now replacing them for the second time as they are getting weather beaten again. Been in the newspaper, all over facebook, everyone knows about him. We just don't really know where he is, just the general area. So no idea where to set a trap. It's very frustrating and upsetting. There are at least 2 farms where I know they leave a barn door open every night, and put down food and milk for stray cats, so I know he can get food and shelter, I just wish he'd stick around long enough for someone to see him. That one good sighting said he was 'very thin'.:(
 
Fortunately, you are a small community....and you've had sightings. I really don't have any other advice, so will rely on the rescue folk on this forum to help you guide him home.

My heart goes out to you. I know I would be a wreak if it was me. Bandit, come home!
 
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