not-Olivia

not-Olivia
This sweetie turned out not to be Olivia, but a picture like this with Olivia would be identical.

Sweet, lovey Livvie

Sweet, lovey Livvie
My favorite picture of Olivia

Monday, November 8, 2010

My Foster Dog Olivia is Gone!!


I recently took in a foster-dog, a 90-lb. brindle English Mastiff named Olivia. She was very recently rescued and has been fought, bred, and abused. She is severely underweight, had several recent surgeries, and is generally in pretty rough shape. She wouldn't eat or drink for the first two days I had her and still wouldn't even take treats from me as of Monday. Her biggest challenge is that she is not socialized: she is afraid of humans (including me) and, because she was locked in a garage, basically everything in the outside world is new and scary to her. I have never cared for a more needy, vulnerable dog.

On Monday morning, as we were crossing Mass. Ave. (NW, DC), her harness came detached from her leash. (This is odd because she still makes me drag her out of the apartment by the harness, and the connection to the leash was strong enough not to come apart when I pulled her into the hall. Regardless, it came apart one way or another.) Once she realized she was off-leash, she started running, right out into traffic, and kept going. I chased her to the Capitol, and the Capitol Police followed her to the intersection of 11th and G SE, but then they lost her as well.

She's incredibly adept at dodging people, and she ran much longer and farther than I would have thought she could. Between the activity and her general anxiety, she is almost certainly hiding. She likes to hide in bushes; and, for a 90-lb. dog, she's pretty good at making herself invisible. She is not at all aggressive - when approached, she runs/backs away as much as possible, then just hides her face.

She was wearing a red-orange martingale collar and a black Easy-Walk harness. She had had my dog Leah's extra i.d. tag on her harness, but had gotten that off. (She's a veritable Houdini when it comes to getting out of collars and harnesses!) She did not have her own i.d. tag yet, so the only tag she has on is the one from her rabies vaccination. She probably has not lived here long enough to find her way back, but if you see her (or even just think you might have seen her), please call (617) 947-5627.

Please, please help me find this dog! Please post this somewhere (/everywhere!) and forward it to everyone you know, people or groups, in DC. I have already contacted lots of authorities, organizations, businesses, etc., but if you can think of anyone whom it might help to contact, please do send it - I'd much rather have people receive her information twice than risk their not receiving it at all. I would also appreciate any other suggestions for publicity or other ideas on how to find her.

Please let me know if you can do anything to help find lost Livvie!

Thank you so much!

10 comments:

jmudjitaba said...

We will keep our eyes open for Olivia! I hope she comes home soon :)

allisonjhazen said...

We'll keep an eye out for her as well (we're in the eastern market area). Let us know if you need any help with fliers, etc. We've adopted a number of pets ourselves, so we really hope you find her soon! -Ally
allisonjhazen@gmail.com

Unknown said...

I posted this link on Facebook for my DC friends. Good luck finding Olivia. For inspiration, read the story of Angus T. Loner, a fearful mastiff that survived on his own for 4 years in Nebraska, before becoming the mascott & ambassador for the local animal shelter!
http://www.ohmidog.com/2010/01/18/angus-t-loner-a-loner-no-more/
And don't forget the happy ending for Rocky, the Aussie cattle dog lost in Arlington!

Bridget said...

I just reposted on my FB page, too... I hope you find her soon, poor girl...

linzo said...

Hi -- I just sent this around to all the folks who go to the Virginia Ave SE dog park (near 11th and G streets SE, which is where I live too). Do you have an update? Do you need any additional help? I have the day off tomorrow and can help you.

Lindsay -- lindsayhench@gmail.com
240-994-8701
11th and G streets, SE
Fellow dog owner/lover.

allisonjhazen said...

Hi. We already chatted by email. Including my # in so you can program it in for the search: 202-246-4068 (And, we're at 16th and A SE so if I'm able today, I'll also head over to where she was last seen and see if we have any luck). --Ally

Stampin' Dymonz said...

Will post to my blogs. Please keep us updated if you find her! Sumaiyah (Finnegan)

Anonymous said...

Do you have any updates? I just forwarded this to my friend who works for Lost Dog in VA and asked them to forward it along to any shelters in DC in case she was turned in. I hope you find her!

allisonjhazen said...

Hey there. I printed up some fliers today and got some packaging tape. I'll check in again in the morning and, if I haven't heard anything, no worries and I'll put up some fliers between eastern market and capitol hill. Also, you probably already thought of this, but you may want to put a free ad in the washington city paper just in case olivia turns up. And, hopefully it'll all turn out ok; I lost my cat for 3 weeks a few years back and was lucky enough to get her back! - Ally

allisonjhazen said...

Hi there. I put up 20 or 30 fliers near where she was last seen and trailing back towards eastern market. Hope that helps. I saw a lot of your fliers and saw a couple of people who had taken the number; so, that's a good sign. Let us know if you hear of any more sightings and I can put out more fliers tomorrow. Also, one place to check if you're out and about is under the overpass near the park where she was last seen..I stumbled on that and gave it a quick look but there was definitely enough room under the chain link fence for her to have slipped under and it's a huge area (let me know if you're not sure if the area and I can try to look up and and send cross streets); so, it's a remote possibility but one to try if you're in the area. Best of luck and let me know if you need any help tomorrow. I have a lot of fliers left but am holding off to make sure I'm putting them up in the right area. -- Ally