Dog Gone – Darn Near
Ten month old Dale, a 35 pound Airedale Terrier mix, and his litter-mates had made Lucky’s Place their temporary home. Fortunately, Dale was deemed a match and quickly adopted by a wonderful family from Seattle, Washington.
All was well until the first break of their long journey home. During a quick stop for gas, Dale decided an open window was his invitation for a walkabout – much to the dismay of his new family. Out of sight before they could replace the nozzle on the fuel pump, Dale took off to explore the town of Alpine on his own. Fraught with worry and on a tight schedule, the family was forced to give up their search and proceed home without their new family member.
Social media postings, radio classifieds, posters and word of mouth all served to quickly put Dale “on the milk carton” in Star Valley. A few days later, sightings began to come in and numerous attempts to capture Dale were undertaken by the caring folks of Alpine. Dale, still dragging his leash, proved to be too skittish to even be approached, let alone caught, by strangers. After two very frustrating days of missed capture attempts, a decision was made to take Mickie, Dale’s brother, to Alpine and attempt to lure this very frightened puppy to safety.
Mary Ann, Director of Lucky’s Place, Susan, and Mickie searched the neighborhoods around the Alpine airport for hours. Determined to find him, they finally received a break from a neighbor who alerted them that Dale was last seen hiding in the woodpile in their backyard. Utilizing Mickie as bait, and being very, very patient, the group waited for Dale to appear. Having finally recognized his brother and seeing other familiar faces, for the first time in days Dale eagerly ran toward a human being. With a wagging tail and jumping for joy, Dale and the group were successfully reunited hence the stressful adventure came to an end. The Seattle family had already returned home, but family member Matt, living in Idaho Falls, was in touch with Lucky’s Place and happily fetched Dale the afternoon of his rescue.
Lucky’s Place is committed to the animals and the communities of Star Valley. We want to sincerely thank everyone who helped in Dale’s rescue.