Nala

Christina slipped while walking Nala on Friday, November 14th, 2008.  The impact of her hand hitting the ground knocked the leash from her hand, and Nala took off in fright.  Christina and her fiancé, Bill, looked everywhere for her, with no luck.  Over the next few days, they spotted her and received reports of sightings of her, but Nala would not let anyone get close enough to grab her.  They used the Barbecue Technique a couple of times, where they set up a barbecue near where she had been seen, and cooked meat, attracting her with the aroma.  This did bring her around, but still not close enough to catch. 

Christina and Bill put up flyers all over the neighborhood, many of which were removed by homeowners associations and condo managers.  She posted large, fluorescent signs with Nala's picture, and she handed flyers to as many people as she could.  They had a magnetic sign made for their car, with Nala's picture and their phone number.  They used FindToto.com to call hundreds of people in the area with a message about Nala.  They received many reports that Nala had been seen running around the golf course across the street from their home.  Christina and Bill spent many hours in their car at night, hoping for a sighting of Nala, and then Christina spent many more hours in the car by herself when Bill had to leave on business.  

When they contacted the Missing Pet Partnership, we didn't have a trailing dog trained, yet, but we did offer advice on posters, search techniques, and resources.  They hired Deborah Cooke to drive up from Arizona with her search dogs, Dudley and Riley, to follow Nala's trail.  Deborah, Brian Newsham, Christina, Dudley, Riley, and I piled into Deborah's van, and a dog and three people searched while the other dog and a person rested.  We followed Nala's scent all over the golf course, through neighborhoods, along a walking trail, and into a steep ravine with a stream.  While we didn't find Nala that day, the trail seemed to suggest she liked to hang around the golf course.  After Deborah and her dogs returned to Arizona, Nala showed herself several more times in the neighborhood.

Christina rented a trap and set it up on the back side of some condos near the golf course.  Using a remote camera, Christina could see that Nala was very interested in the food, but she couldn't overcome her uneasiness enough to enter the trap.  Finally, MPP loaned Christina the Collarum trap.  This spring-loaded device throws a snare over the dog's head.  Christina set up the trap on the edge of the golf course, using a barrier of sticks and stones to force Nala to approach it from the correct direction.  She covered the snare with snow so that all that showed of the trap was the lure that the dog is supposed to bite and pull to trigger the snare.  Three hours after she set the trap, Nala took the bait and the snare caught her.  A quick trip to the vet revealed that Nala remained healthy during her 32 days on the lam.  She gained seven pounds, did not go into heat, and came home with surprisingly soft and clean fur.  Also, the Collarum did not chip her teeth or hurt her eyes, as can happen on occasion. 

I got to meet Nala a few days later, and she "got lost" for Kelsy so she could find her on a practice trail.  Christina used two leashes to prevent Nala from ever getting loose again: one attached to a harness and tied to a belt loop, and a regular collar with a leash in the hand.  Nala remains cautious about almost everything, but she is very sweet and gentle.  She walks right by Christina's side, putting no tension on the leash.  I would have liked to pet her, but I respected her wishes and only admired her from a distance.  Nala did let me take her picture, with semi-frozen Tukwila Pond in the background.  I hope I'll get to pet her some day.

While Nala is a beautiful and gentle dog, deserving of the best, I will have to say that I have rarely seen someone so dedicated to taking care of another creature as Christina is dedicated to Nala.  When I first got a dog, I did everything wrong.  Porter had to teach me how to be a good dog owner, and Tess and Kelsy benefitted from the lessons Porter taught me.  Christina did everything right with Nala, her first dog, before she even brought her home the first time.  She lost Nala through no fault of her own, and worked tirelessly to get her back, using every tool she could find and investing hundreds of hours in the search and recovery effort.  I wish all dogs were as fortunate as Nala is, to have guardians like Bill and Christina.