Modern Dog Blog

Seriously, this dog rocks. I know, I know, everyone thinks their dog is the most brilliant thing ever – but my dog just TRACKED DOWN A LOST CAT!! On purpose! Because I asked him to!!!

So I get this phone call this morning from a dog training friend of mine saying that she sent me an email about a guy looking for a dog to help track down his lost cat. I’ve heard of tracking dogs finding lost pets, but never really thought about it much. Well, as many of you know, Dyson has had tons of training in contraband detection work, so we have a pretty solid relationship and he loves finding things for me. I know how to trust him and let him do his thing – he’s got the nose. Dyson has had some basic tracking training, and took to it amazingly well; and we have kitties at home and he certainly knows what “Where’s the kitty?” means. So, why not? Can’t hurt to give it a shot.

I got in touch with the missing cat’s dad and learned that the cat, Dash, had worked the door open late Sunday night and been gone ever since. He’s 2 years old, and strictly indoors, so not only has he been out during the hottest few days of the summer, he’s surely scared out of his wits. Dash and his family live in an urban area, an apartment complex with lots of landscaping and lots of places to hide and get lost.

D and I got there, and I put on his “working harness” so he’d know something was up. I got him all spun, talked happy to him about finding toys and kitties – and you could tell he was getting wound up. We started in the apartment – which was on the third floor! – and Dyson snuffled through Dash’s bed and favorite toys. I asked him to “Find the kitty, where’s it at?” and he first checked the house. No kitty, so we headed outside. This is about where the light clicked on and Dyson realized what we were doing. Like an old pro, he picked up Dash’s trail on the patio out front, spent some time checking and headed right downstairs. Dyson stopped at the neighbors door and sat, his signal to me that he’s found something. Then he got up and sniffed the door again. We figure that Dash spent some time there maybe trying to get into that apartment. I kind of pulled D off, told Dash’s dad to check with that neighbor, and Dyson picked up Dash’s scent on the next set of stairs. Then he really went to work and it was beautiful to see. He checked once to make sure I was coming with, and off we went. Down the stairs, a sharp left into the bushes, a few mad circles, and he stopped and jammed his face into an opening at the bottom of someone’s patio. Major snuffing and tail wagging and I knew he’d found something so I went over to help him. There was a barbecue up against the patio wall, and I nudged it and sure enough, Dash shot out from under it and across the patio.

His dad is yelling “That’s my cat!!”, I’m yelling at Dyson to “Stop! Out! Leave It! Come!!!” because the chase was on. Dash panicked, he’s been outside for three days, has never seen a dog, and now a monstrous black one is in his face. The cat runs, Dyson’s prey drive kicks on, I’ve been telling him to “get the kitty,” what did I expect really? I’ve never seen a cat puff up so much and move so fast, I’m pretty sure Dash made it about 8 feet up the side of the stucco wall, but luckily when he darted he went towards home. Dyson came to his senses and stopped chasing Dash long enough for his dad to grab him.

Dash got carried upstairs and into the house, Dyson got many hugs and kisses. Poor Dash, it may take him a day or two to recover from the big scary black dog, but he’s home. He’s fine, safe, and about now, his mommy is coming home from work and covering him with kisses. I’m sure Dash is enjoying being back inside, safe, and with the people who love him. Dyson is a hero, maybe a little sad that Dash didn’t want to play with him, but D knows everyone is thrilled with him.

Getting to be there when Dash’s mom was told that Dash had been found was the best moment. Hearing that your beloved friend is safe after days of fearing the worst, well, it’s a big deal. I think Dyson knew, as he doesn’t usually pay attention to people, but he gave her a big sloppy, wet kiss.

This has definitely been a wonderful experience, and a great lesson in what a well trained dog can accomplish. I truly didn’t know what to expect, but I trusted my dog and he came through for me, for Dash, and for Dash’s family. I know they will sleep easy tonight, all the horrible images of what might have been fading away as they snuggle with Dash. I wonder if he’ll be getting his very own GPS?

Pics of Dash can be found here

Posted on September 5th, 2007 by michelle
Filed under: My dogs