Bellabons has some great news this afternoon!! Jovi, the Shih Tzu/Bichon mix lost in Danville since Wednesday afternoon is now safe at home with her family!! We all wish she could tell us her story, but she cant, so we will tell you her story from our angle :) Bellabons got the frantic call from her owner, Selina, on Thursday about Jovi being missing. She had just found out about the 2 sightings that morning. One was the night she went missing at about 5 pm at the Danville High School grounds, and the second was also there at about 11 am Thursday morning. We got the owners there to work the area and put out some food for her, hoping she was still there. But they still did not see their girl. Friday came and went, and no sightings, but something had at least eaten some of the food put out. They continued to watch the area but there was just no Jovi in sight. We had a good amount of snow coming in on Saturday, which isnt good, except at least there would be tracks to follow! She had been seen, so we knew she was ok, but couldnt set a trap because once they got there she was nowhere to be found so we didnt know where she was. On Saturday morning Selina saw a message under one of her lost posts that she had been spotted on the Danville Hospital grounds Friday night about 5 pm, but we were now 15 hrs late. But Selina and Randy, her VERY dedicated owners, went out and searched things, followed tracks, got the flyers printed up that Bellabons designed and continued their efforts to bring their girl home. We decided to give it one more night because of not knowing now where she was once again before setting a trap. Its not a good idea to follow a dog around with a trap when you dont even know where they might be eating, or at least staying. They worked that area hard, even taking Bandit, their other dog to use as a Velcro dog in case they spotted her, but they never did. I had a feeling that Jovi was going to make her way back to the high school and they would get her there so we sent them back over to check out that area. They still had not been able to spot her, BUT, Selina thought she heard a small whimper near a pipe behind the school. For about the 10th time, lol, I coached her into what to do if she would happen to spot her. She once again took Bandit and worked the area but didnt see Jovi, and there were no sightings from anyone all day Saturday. With all the snow I figured she might be laying low, plus the high school would look good to her because there was hardly anyone there for the weekend. FINALLY, a break came this morning!!! Randy went riding around watching for her, and spotted her!!! He right away called Selina, and went to get her and Bandit. We needed to try using a Velcro dog. I was at work and got the message about them spotting her, so I took my break and called Selina. Once again I went into coaching mode. Randy was watching from a distance so Selina called him and told him what she was trying to do and had him stay low too and not move near the area. Randy would give a signal each time Jovi would head back towards Selina and Bandit. She sure took her time though! :) She finally got to the point she would peek her head out of the fence at the track, stand there staring, then turn and walk away. I told Selina thats ok, she will come back around to see who that was. You see, these dogs know its their human, but they dont, if that makes sense. They need time to snap out of the funk in their mind. We also wanted her to spot Bandit, and Bandit to spot Jovi, and finally that moment came!! Bandit spotted her and barked!! I forgot to mention that Selina also heard her bark when they arrived there as well. Jovi would peek only her head out of the fence, and not get her body out there though. Each time I would hear some stress in Selinas voice I would remind her to calm down. A couple times I told her to now be silent and let her come to Bandit. I told her to put her head in her arms, and act like she was softly crying, but dont look at Jovi. Well, Bandit sat there and growled at Jovi in a low growl and Jovi even at one point growled back low. Between all this I had her paying attention to Bandit, acting like they were having a day in the park, hoping Jovi would want to join in. She would watch awhile, turn and walk away, then get more curious. I explained to Selina to inch the leash with Bandit attached closer and closer to her if Jovi was to approach, kind of like reeling in a fish! But Bandit wouldnt go out there very far from her anyway, little stinker. Then my break was up :( But I knew I had coached her enough that it would all stick in her mind. I went back to work, and was biting my nails the whole time. At 8:56 a.m. I texted and ask if anything happened yet. There was no return text, but I knew she was working with her and couldnt text right then. Well, at 9:10 a.m., just minutes after getting off the phone with her, I got the text!!! It said Got her, shes in my arms!!!! Oh happy day!!! After an hour and 45 minutes of working with her with the Velcro dog Bandit, and Selina being patient, softly speaking, and remaining calm, Jovi was safe!!! Randy was off at a distance watching all this happen. He could finally breath again! Selina said she first came up towards Bandit, then it clicked, that was her mommy there!! She ran to her and started to give her kisses!!! You might ask why I didnt want both of them out there, as well as Bandit, working with her. This is because when the dog is in this state, the state I like to call a funk in their minds, its safest to have only one person out there. The lost dog needs time to figure out who this is, and if they are safe, and with two people it causes a situation of alarm in the dog because they now have 2 people to watch, and decide if it is in fact their human or someone else. So I like to use just one person. Using a Velcro dog works as well, but only when used properly, and using the right Velcro dog. Between Selina and Randy remaining calm, no eye contact, softly talking, and Bandit as the Velcro dog, they were able to get their girl to safety. I didnt mention that the VERY busy Route 11 was NOT far behind where Jovi was ducking into and we couldnt risk her getting spooked and running that way. I want to start by thanking Selina and Randy for trusting in me, first enough to call me to help, and second, to listen and trust in me when I had to explain to them that their dog might not just run to them. That is the hardest thing to convince an owner. Second, thank you Bandit!!! You did a wonderful job bringing your sister home!! Such a cute Velcro dog!! I would like to thank my cousin Chris Donmoyer for going out there, meeting the owners, and doing all the searching that you did. Thank you for talking to people and explaining that if they saw her not to chase or yell for her. I would like the thank the WHOLE town of Danville, the people at the school, and the State Hospital grounds for allowing them access to the property, to search, and set up food. Danville pulled together and helped these people in every way they could :) And last, but not least, thank you so much for the sighting calls, and EVERYONE for sharing and caring :) This was truly a team effort once again. WELCOME HOME JOVI!!!!!
Posted on: Sun, 25 Jan 2015 21:23:35 +0000
Trending Topics
Recently Viewed Topics
© 2015