Dunkirk, MD – You don’t have to hire a human detective to find a domesticated pet. According to Calvert County woman, there is a better solution and the fee is a tax-free donation.
Sarah Martin Rosier of Dunkirk told The BayNet that last December when she and her husband moved from North Beach to Dunkirk, their American tabby cat, Matterhorn, or Matty, ran away. Rosier said her husband was loading up a moving van at the home the couple was vacating when Matty “snuck in the van.”
Somewhere around 5th Street and Boyds Turn Road crawled into the truck cab and jumped out the window.
“We spent all day looking for the cat,” Rosier recalled, adding that Matty remained missing for an entire week. Rosier got some advice from the person she hired to walk her dogs. The dog walker “told me about a dog that can find other animals.”
The organization that came to Rosier’s aid is Dogs Finding Dogs, a 501(c)3 nonprofit based in Baltimore County. The tracking dog, Keelah, was provided with Matty’s teddy bear as a “scent article.” Keelah got a good whiff of the teddy bear and the Rosiers then lead the trackers to 5th Street and Boyds Turn Road where Matty was last seen.
Within four minutes Keelah had discovered Matty hiding under a residential pool deck.
The Rosiers made a generous contribution to Dogs Finding Dogs.
According to Anne Wills of Dogs Finding Dogs, the organization was started nearly a decade ago when a German Shepherd/Labrador mix named Heidi went through obedience and tracking training with a police agency. Dogs Finding Dogs then became a registered charity. Wills told The BayNet her organization currently has 15 tracking dogs in circulation with more in training. In addition to German Shepherd/Labs, purebred German Shepherds and bloodhounds also are used as trackers.
“We find anything that walks on the ground,” said Wills. “Cats are pretty easy to find since they are hiders.” Other dogs pose the biggest tracking challenge. “Dogs like to run. They’re a moving target. It’s like trying to catch a fox.”
Among the animals Dogs Finding Dogs track, Wills admitted “we calls for turtles all the time.” One of the most unusual capers involved a pet frog that hopped out of its aquarium and made good its getaway. “He hopped about a block but we were able to find him,” said Wills.
Sarah Rosier said while it was aggravating to lose Matty, finding him safely was well worth it. However, Matty remains grounded for the foreseeable future. “I won’t let him out of the house,” said Rosier. “He’s not too happy about that.”
To learn more about Dogs Finding Dogs, visit their web site.
Contact Marty Madden at marty.madden@thebaynet.com
