HopeShelties
Forums Enthusiast
I'm so sorry to hear this. I JUST went through this a few weeks ago with my Lark. She came home after 5 days missing. It wasn't that we found her... She wandered home. I had put her crate on the porch, and kept it loaded with food. One morning I came home from work, and there she was in the crate. There were no sightings during the time she was gone , and I am in the middle of heavily wooded area in Shepherdsville KY.
Here's what helped for us. Put up flyers where ever possible. Stores, gas stations, light posts, stop signs. Give a flyer to police, mail man, vets, animal control, post office, garbage pick up people. Now, if you have anything of his that was last touched by his, you could take a pair of tongs, pick it up with them, and put it in a bag. Try to get a tracking dog who has tracked lost dogs before out to track where your dog was lost from (I know of 2- 1 in Louisville, 1 in Shelbyville.. I'm not sure how far Winchester is from here or if they'd be willing to travel). Even if they don't find your dog, they will hopefully be able to provide a couple of indications on areas the dog is hanging out in. From there, you can set a live trap in the area indicated that the dog seems to be around (try local animal control, or one of the two KY sheltie clubs- KSSC has a live trap). Try walking the area on a daily basis, leaving a scent trail from the indication spots back to your house. Check the trap often. Also, put flyers in the mailboxes of all neighbors on the streets surrounding the areas the tracking dogs indicate. Put out a crate with food on your porch. Sometimes they will wander back on their own, and it is good to have somewhere they consider safe to go. Once my puppy was home, that's where she went, and she stayed until I came for her. There is also a animal communicator in KY who will try to contact lost pets for free. My Lark was stressed and told her she didnt want to talk. My agility trainer however has gotten some very useful information from her in the past, so she is good, if you want to try (it never hurts to exhaust even the strangest options when one is missing). Don't forget to offer a reward on the flyer. I was told point blank that when my Caleb went missing when kids let him out of my yard during the day on the 4th a few years ago that the only reason they returned him was because of the reward. He was too pretty and too well mannered for someone to want to give up easily.
I had two people track my Lark, and we put out two traps in areas indicated. On top of that, my Athena tracked her as well. She is a green tracking dog, but is one my trainer thinks could get her tracking championship. She indicated the area the other two picked out plus more. I would offer to try tracking her for you, but she is just such an inexperienced dog, and I'm not sure if she would be much help (though she did well on my lost Lark). I walked the area daily, leaving food in the traps, calling her name, bringing my other dogs out with me. It kept my scent fresh in the area, and gave her a trail to hopefully follow home. We had flyers in all of the mailboxes in the houses around the indicated areas.
If you're going to do the tracking option, time is of the essence. The longer it has been, the more the scent can dissipate. Rain or snow will make it worse. That said, we tracked Lark on a track aged 60 hours, with light rain. It can be done, but is easiest when you have a fresh scent to follow that hasn't had many disturbances. If you do try the tracking dog idea, you want one that has successfully tracked dogs before. Not all dogs will track other dogs. Not all handlers have the patience to track a dog. Dogs are much harder to track than people. There is usually a lot of circling that occurs, and you will often find more than one trail to follow.
Good luck. Keep your hopes up, keep looking. Even in the country, dogs can and do come home. This is the second I have had go missing in the country. The first was at a friends house after a dog show. We put our dogs out in her yard, and next thing we knew, my bi-blue had climbed the fence, and was out into the woods, and acres upon acres of farmland. We couldn't find her anywhere. The next morning, she had climbed back into my friends yard. If you need help with resources, I can help
Here's what helped for us. Put up flyers where ever possible. Stores, gas stations, light posts, stop signs. Give a flyer to police, mail man, vets, animal control, post office, garbage pick up people. Now, if you have anything of his that was last touched by his, you could take a pair of tongs, pick it up with them, and put it in a bag. Try to get a tracking dog who has tracked lost dogs before out to track where your dog was lost from (I know of 2- 1 in Louisville, 1 in Shelbyville.. I'm not sure how far Winchester is from here or if they'd be willing to travel). Even if they don't find your dog, they will hopefully be able to provide a couple of indications on areas the dog is hanging out in. From there, you can set a live trap in the area indicated that the dog seems to be around (try local animal control, or one of the two KY sheltie clubs- KSSC has a live trap). Try walking the area on a daily basis, leaving a scent trail from the indication spots back to your house. Check the trap often. Also, put flyers in the mailboxes of all neighbors on the streets surrounding the areas the tracking dogs indicate. Put out a crate with food on your porch. Sometimes they will wander back on their own, and it is good to have somewhere they consider safe to go. Once my puppy was home, that's where she went, and she stayed until I came for her. There is also a animal communicator in KY who will try to contact lost pets for free. My Lark was stressed and told her she didnt want to talk. My agility trainer however has gotten some very useful information from her in the past, so she is good, if you want to try (it never hurts to exhaust even the strangest options when one is missing). Don't forget to offer a reward on the flyer. I was told point blank that when my Caleb went missing when kids let him out of my yard during the day on the 4th a few years ago that the only reason they returned him was because of the reward. He was too pretty and too well mannered for someone to want to give up easily.
I had two people track my Lark, and we put out two traps in areas indicated. On top of that, my Athena tracked her as well. She is a green tracking dog, but is one my trainer thinks could get her tracking championship. She indicated the area the other two picked out plus more. I would offer to try tracking her for you, but she is just such an inexperienced dog, and I'm not sure if she would be much help (though she did well on my lost Lark). I walked the area daily, leaving food in the traps, calling her name, bringing my other dogs out with me. It kept my scent fresh in the area, and gave her a trail to hopefully follow home. We had flyers in all of the mailboxes in the houses around the indicated areas.
If you're going to do the tracking option, time is of the essence. The longer it has been, the more the scent can dissipate. Rain or snow will make it worse. That said, we tracked Lark on a track aged 60 hours, with light rain. It can be done, but is easiest when you have a fresh scent to follow that hasn't had many disturbances. If you do try the tracking dog idea, you want one that has successfully tracked dogs before. Not all dogs will track other dogs. Not all handlers have the patience to track a dog. Dogs are much harder to track than people. There is usually a lot of circling that occurs, and you will often find more than one trail to follow.
Good luck. Keep your hopes up, keep looking. Even in the country, dogs can and do come home. This is the second I have had go missing in the country. The first was at a friends house after a dog show. We put our dogs out in her yard, and next thing we knew, my bi-blue had climbed the fence, and was out into the woods, and acres upon acres of farmland. We couldn't find her anywhere. The next morning, she had climbed back into my friends yard. If you need help with resources, I can help
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I can't imagine losing either of my boys
