Lost Mastiff Olivia

Another (very, very) near miss!

2012-02-20T04:37:00.004-05:00

I just found an email in my spam folder from someone who sent along some pictures of a brindle dog found a couple of months ago. The sender thought it wasn't Olivia because of markings on the paws, and was right - it's not Olivia. Even though I was prepared by the comment, though, my reaction when I saw the first picture was, "Oh my God - it's Olivia!!!!" None of our other near-misses has looked so incredibly much like her as to elicit this reaction! I'm really glad the person noticed the paws because otherwise I would have been so sure we'd found her then be really, really disappointed to go get the dog only to discover she's not Olivia. (Still, my hope made me want to send back the ridiculous question, "Any chance her paws were bleached or that's white paint?" I know better, but I just really, really hoped it was Livvie.)

Here are the picture that I thought was Olivia and the one that shows it's not.

I'm posting this not because it is an actual lead, but just because this near miss was so exciting for me! Meanwhile, even though the fliers we put up on our huge search party in December didn't elicit any sightings, I'm going to try to put more up in case Livvie has been laying low but shows her sweet face again soon. Anyone want to help?

No Such Luck....

2012-02-17T19:57:00.002-05:00

I'm really, really sorry to say that Bean, the dog at the Harford Humane Society, was not Olivia. I always like to go in person if I can, but this one was an hour and a half away. I was not able to borrow a car to get up there, so I talked to the staff person responsible for her there. As hopeful as I wanted to be, I actually didn't think it was her from the picture. First, Bean did look a lot like Olivia, but her brindle coat seemed more brown than black (whereas Olivia's is more black than brown), and - it's kind of hard to articulate, but - her face didn't quite have the same hang-dog look as Livvy's. Also, the shelter staff had estimated Bean's age to be about 5 and, if the vet's estimate of Olivia's age was right, she should only be about 3. Still, that wasn't a big enough difference to make me sure that Bean isn't Olivia.

Since none of that was dispositive, I talked to the caretaker there about some other details. The criterion I usually use to screen possible matches ruled Bean out. She has white markings but Olivia doesn't. I actually had him double-check and he said she actually has several white spots. There was one other factor that only confirmed it. Bean was becoming eligible for adoption, and the shelter staff brought her up front to the office. When I heard this, I asked about her demeanor. Apparently, Bean is friendly and well-socialized - he said he would not even describe her as shy, much less unsocialized to people.

So this potential lead ended up being a disappointment, but I'd always rather find out about all possibilities, no matter how remote. Unfortunately, we still haven't gotten any recent sightings, so please keep your eyes open, fingers/paws crossed, etc., and maybe our luck will turn around soon.

Could it be Olivia?!

2012-02-10T03:55:00.002-05:00

Yesterday I got a call from a shelter in Harford County, Maryland - about an hour and a half (by car) away from DC - about a dog they call Bean who looks incredibly like Olivia! It may or may not actually be Olivia, but this is the first exciting lead since our big search party in December. I am going to try to drive up there and meet this dog today, and I really hope it's Livvie! Fingers crossed...

All I Want for Christmas is My Foster-Dog!

2011-12-09T10:42:00.003-05:00

Now that it's December, Christmas is drawing near and, unfortunately for poor Olivia, the weather is getting cold. I hate the thought of her underweight self out there shivering or even just having her ears cold. I have been asking for help putting up flyers and handing out business cards and I am delighted to report that I am getting it! A Forever Home, Olivia's rescue, is organizing a search party on Saturday, December 17.

By the way, A Forever Home has spent thousands of dollars funding the search for Olivia when she wasn't even their ward in the first place - this wonderful group took her on after she was already lost! Please donate to them (/the search) if you can.

Here is an excerpt about the search party from an email from an AFH volunteer:

We really want Olivia back in a foster home by Christmas so we are organizing a large-scale search on Saturday, December 17th in Washington DC. I am asking all of you to please come and help us search. We will search in teams - with each team having a specific area (several blocks) to cover. Each team will be given posters to attach to telephone poles and place in store windows (with permission from store owners). They will also be given business cards to hand out to citizens in the neighborhood. This will be a well planned and well coordinated search, with AFH personnel directing the search. Your responsibilities will be putting up posters, handing out business cards, and talking, talking, talking. We really need to connect with local citizens. They live there and they are the key to finding Olivia.

We want to start early in the morning for several reasons, so are asking that people meet at a designated spot at 9:00 am. We expect the search to take no longer than 2-3 hours. I will be coordinating volunteer sign-up, so please email me ... if you can help us. For those of you who are unable to walk/stand for long periods of time, we can use your help too. Each team is accompanied by someone in a car who shadows the walking teams. A team can be anywhere from 2-5 people. You don't have to come with a team. If you sign up alone to help, we will assign you to one.

I rarely ask for help, but I am asking all of you, as a personal favor to me and AFH, to please come out and help us search. Bring a friend - or friends. Bring husbands, wives, girlfriends, boyfriends, and older children. Bring your well behaved, dog and people friend dogs (on a leash).

Please don't let Olivia spend any more time on her own. It's just a matter of time before her luck runs out. We want to find her before that happens. Please contact me no later than Thursday, December 15th to sign up to search.

Thank you.

PS: All searchers will be provided with a contact list of the search leaders, a map of their assigned area, and a "how to" list (which will include search tips).

We welcome help from anyone who can help with the search. (Also, please spread the word, whether or not you can help, in case someone you know might be able to help.) Please email me at lauracolleton@gmail.com if you want to participate. I know the email gives a deadline of December 15, but I'd be happy to accommodate late-comers as well. Thank you in advance for your help with the search. If we can find Olivia and keep her from spending her Christmas hungry, cold, and alone, this will definitely be my best Christmas ever!

Our Latest Olivia Flier

2011-12-07T08:18:00.004-05:00

Hi folks. We're gearing up to do more fliering over the next couple of weeks and will be out working to bring Livvy home next Saturday (Dec 17th). If you'd like to help, get in touch using the contact info at right.

If you're already signed up to help, thanks!!!!! I'm including a link below to our latest flier. If you live anywhere near Eastern Market, the SE Waterfront, Anacostia, or Capitol Hill, tracks put her in your area and it would be great if you could help us get some fliers up.

+ Download a copy of our latest Olivia flier (doc)

Belated Thanksgiving for Olivia - An Anniversary Sighting!

2011-12-06T12:58:00.004-05:00

Good news, bad news. The bad news: it's been a year since Olivia ran away. Good news - actually, great news: we got a report of a new sighting indicating that Olivia is alive and well!

The sighting is quite credible: the location of the sighting was one of Livvie's favorite spots, Marion Park in SE DC. This is where the very first sighting took place and where the last track ended. The sight-er reported that she was playing with another dog but, when the other dog's human tried to approach, she ran away. Still, not only is she alive and ok, she was playing with another dog! This made my day/week/month and I counted it among my most joyful blessings at Thanksgiving. (This post is a belated report of the sighting because I was out of town for several weeks due to a sudden death in the family.)

We decided not to track from it because it is already central in the area we know she wanders. What we did instead was canvass all of the houses that border the park, handing out flyers and business cards and asking them to watch out for her in and around the park. The neighbors were very receptive, so we are hoping this will generate another sighting.

Livvie's Lying Low...

2011-10-18T09:53:00.002-04:00

Hello, everyone. I'm sorry to report that no one has seen Olivia for a while or, more accurately, no one has seen Olivia and reported it to us for a while. Despite this frustrating lull, I am putting up a new post for two reasons.

1. Flyers, flyers, and more flyers. And then some business cards. The best way to generate reports of a sighting is to get and keep flyers up all over her area and to hand out business cards and talk to people around there. I printed up a couple hundred more and assembled them by putting them into plastic sheet covers, stapling them in, and backing them with little wooden skewers so they'll stay flat. Unfortunately, the magnitude of the task is so great that I am not even close to being able to keep up. Her area is so large and I am so car-less (to say nothing of the 50-60 hour work-week) that I have fallen way behind. Consider this a desperate plea for help! Please let me know if there is anything you can do to help, whether by putting flyers up yourself, driving me around to do it, or (best of all) by handing out business cards and talking to people.

2. Even though Olivia has made herself scarce lately, there is cause for hope on several other fronts. Olivia's (as-yet-unmet) friend and fellow lost dog Sassafras has shown herself several times lately, definitely this month and maybe as recently as last week. (More on that at her blog: findlostbeaglesassafras.blogspot.com) Also, just yesterday, I got word of a dog who was lost in a serious car accident. When I called to offer to help, however, her daddy gave me the excellent news that she had gone into a crate they put out for her near the accident site and now she is home safe and sound. One more thing: a not-so-near miss, but it's still better than nothing. Montgomery county shelter got a female brindle mastiff in, but it's not Olivia because it listed her as "unaltered" and it's not Bogey because the tail is not cropped. These don't actually help Olivia, but they do let me know that at least some good things are happening.

This is enough activity to keep me from total despondency and, more importantly, my desire and hope to get Olivia home is still plenty strong enough to keep me going. As ever, I appreciate all the help you have already given and any more you can offer!

New Sighting and Confirmed Track -- Go Livvy!!!!

2011-08-07T10:48:00.002-04:00

New confirmed sighting!!!!! On July 30, we received a call from a kid who thinks he saw olivia running through his yard the day before. He lives only 6 or 7 blocks from the point where the Capitol Police lost sight of Olivia originally.

We can happily follow the news of the sighting with more good news: the sighting was valid; we were able to track from it; and the track area shows that she's basically still circling the area we already knew (though this does widen the circle).

The only problem with this is that it creates more work to do. Given the wider circle, though, we need to put up new flyers, and we need to refresh and replace many of the flyers we put up before. We also think it's time to do another round of emails with flyers to vets and other doggy-businesses, as well as posts to the neighborhood blogs and listservs in Olivia's chosen area. Also, we now have the camera up at the feeding station, so we need to keep replenishing the food and checking the camera daily.

If you can help at all -- either with checking the feeding station near Eastern Market, with fliering, or with anything else, please contact Laura using the information to the right of the blog.

Thanks so much in advance for your help and for all our volunteers who have already been so great over the past year!

2011-07-13T19:30:00.002-04:00

*** Request for Volunteers ***

We have a new feeding station set up near Olivia's latest confirmed track and need to recruit some more volunteers to monitor it. We have a schedule set up; you can sign up for once a week, or more or less, as your schedule permits. Interested? Email Beth at riguski@gmail.com and I'll send you the sign-up sheet and walk you through what you need to do. Thanks so much! Let's bring this girl home!!

* Brand New May Sighting of Olivia *

2011-05-28T06:57:00.002-04:00

Laura passed along the wonderful news to us that Olivia showed her sweet self last night! Hallelujah!

A woman who had seen the posters (yay flyer-ers!) was driving down (or up) 10th street southeast. Ahe and her husband stopped on the 700-block and got out of the car, and she thinks she saw olivia then. It was 10:30 at night, so it was dark and she didn't get a very good look at the dog, so she said she couldn't say for sure whether it was olivia. I told her not to worry about that - Our tracker dog, Salsa, will be sure one way or the other. Anyway, Olivia was just "trotting along" (true to form, according to the other sightings!) down the street, doing her thing. Also consistent with the descriptions in other sightings, Olivia crossed the street to avoid the woman and her husband. Another advantage of that is that, if it was Olivia, her scent will be on both sides of the street, so we won't need an exact point at which to start the track.

A track is tentatively planned for today (Saturday). Keep your fingers crossed!

We'll be sure to keep everyone posted and, as always, if you're available at all to help, please let us know via the contact information at right.

Olivia's Latest Tracked Route (As of 4-6-2011)

2011-04-08T10:35:00.003-04:00

Sam and Salsa were able to do another recent track for us based on the sighting that we had a few days ago. I'm attaching that track now and, above it, a graphic that shows the track overlaid with all previous tracks. The good news is that, at least for this latest track, she seems to be staying in SW near the Coast Guard Facility, as opposed to crossing over into Anacostia. We'll keep you posted and, as always, if you're able to help with fliers, please email or call any of us (contact info at right) and we can most definitely use the help! Livvy's been out there for quite a long time; this would be a great month to finally bring her home.

New Sighting of Olivia!

2011-04-05T08:33:00.002-04:00

After a bit of a dry spell for sightings, we just received a call from a woman who believes she saw Olivia yesterday (Monday) at 3rd and M St SQ (her known, tracked route)!!!

Thanks so much to all of you who are keeping an eye out for her, and thanks to Debra who suggested the Craigslist ad; that ad brought in our latest sighting. If you happen to see Olivia, please call immediately (Contact info is listed to the right) and one of us can come down and try to find her.

We'll be working with Sam over the next week to determine next steps. And, as soon as we know the plan, we'll let you know so you can help!

All the best,
Team Olivia

Latest Track Confirms The Very Recent Sighting of Olivia

2011-03-02T15:03:00.007-05:00

Attached is the track Sam & Salsa ran on 2/27/11. The track confirms that the very recent sighting by our Coast Guard friends near the power plant was, in fact, Olivia. Now that one of the guards has actually seen her, they'll know to watch the shadows for her from now on and investigate any rustling in the bushes next to the guard shacks.

If you can help: Since Olivia's expanded her track further out, we have some gaps in flier and poster coverage. We can provide all the supplies for anyone who is available to volunteer to put up fliers in his/her off time. Thanks so much in advance! You guys have been really wonderful about volunteering your time so far!

Also, a big shout out to our blog followers in New Zealand!

* * * New Sighting Tonight * * *

2011-02-24T21:19:00.005-05:00

We just got a call at 8:15 tonight from a guard at the Coast Guard facility who saw a solo dog that matches Olivia's description.

She was on 1st St SW between V St and T Sts SW and was by the fence at the Pepco Power Plant (see attached map at left for the location of tonight's sighting).

We're heading there now, but even if we don't locate her tonight, this will still be one of our first confirmed, "real-time" sightings of Olivia in a while, so it's wonderful news!

Olivia's Latest Track & Another New Sighting!!!

2011-02-21T17:01:00.017-05:00

We have a new sighting of Olivia! One of our volunteers (thanks to Beth!) handed out a business card to a jogger near Randall Rec Center -- one of Olivia's known spots. He'd seen her on more than one occasion "near a pond" and pointed away from the waterfront area (so, north). I'll look at a satellite map tonight, but if anyone knows what pond he might be referencing, comment below -- it would be either north, northeast, or northwest of the Randall Rec Center in SW.

Sam and Salsa did another fantastic and long track yesterday. You can see them at left tracking along the Anacostia Riverwalk. Sam puts it best below, but the short of it is: Olivia is much braver than we thought, has extended her range in circles out as far as Anacostia and has even crossed a railroad trellis/bridge to get there! Her track is below (the latest track is in turquoise; the track from a week or so back is in red).

From Sam: "Here is the track from yesterday. The map doesn't really show how 'interesting' this track was. Our girl has really expanded her territory and is much "nervier" than we thought. She walked across the Anacostia River on a train trestle and found a nice, dry shelter right on the other side of the river.

Then, after spending some time munching crabs in the pavilion (photo right) and sightseeing in the Anacostia park, she walked across the South Capitol St. bridge into the old neighborhood and turned right between the stadium and the river.

We stopped there because Salsa was getting quite tired after 2 1/2 hours of tracking and almost 5 miles. However, what we were able to answer is why did she just keep going and going, and the answer was, she didn't, she just is making much bigger circles. Also, the way that she was able to get across the river twice without any dead ends leads me to believe this is not her first trip around that block.

Postering needs to also be expanded to cover the park and the neighborhood (at least the big intersections) on the other side of I-295 between Pennsylvania Ave and S. Capitol St."

Olivia's Latest Tracked Route

2011-02-19T19:20:00.008-05:00

Sam and Salsa came out for a track on 2-13-11. Here's the latest known route that Olivia has taken.

Also, I was just out this past Friday and spotted very large prints just to the east of the track's stopping point, so we're heading back out tomorrow (Sunday) morning to verify whether or not they're Olivia's. Keep your fingers crossed. It's a great location for her -- lots of discarded food along Canal St, a water source, a hiding spot or three (lots of woods and enclosed areas), etc.

Here's a photo of one of the paw prints I spotted (next to my giant foot for a size comparison). These are much bigger than a retriever, so we're hopeful.

And, to lighten the mood a little, although we haven't found Olivia yet, we have found a slew of other critters. Here are the best wildlife photos our surveillance cameras have taken to date:

+ Wildlife Photos (Flickr)

New Track: Olivia Has Moved Further East

2011-02-13T22:43:00.003-05:00

Sam & Salsa's track today put Olivia still near the Randall Recreation Center in SW, but also tracking much further to the east within the last week -- mainly along M St SW and SE (past Navy Yard and heading toward Eastern Market). We'll post the exact track in the next day or two. We also found several very large paw prints all along the tracked route today.

We'll be putting up new fliers this week, which we hope will bring in a new sighting of Olivia soon!

New Paw Print & More Feeding Station Activity

2011-02-12T17:46:00.006-05:00

We had new activity at the Randall Recreation Center feeding station today (7 of 10 milkbones were taken). We'll be checking the infrared camera soon; keep your fingers crossed that it's Olivia.

We also spotted a new, very large paw print today just to the North and East of her current known route. We'll be out tomorrow (Sunday) with Sam and Salsa for a brief track and fliering effort.

If you can participate tomorrow or any time this week, please call one of the numbers to the right or email allisonjhazen@gmail.com.

Thanks so much for all your help in bringing Olivia home!

New Paw Prints and An Urgent Request for Volunteers!

2011-02-11T14:51:00.003-05:00

Great new, folks! Sam (our excellent tracker) and Laura (Livvie's foster Mom) just spotted new paw prints at Randall Rec Center (the site of one of our current feeding stations).

We have now set up an infrared camera at that feeding station so we can capture images of what ever has been eating the large Milk Bones at night; keep your finger's crossed at it's Olivia! We'll certainly keep you posted!

We need your help this week! We believe that Olivia has found shelter somewhere just North of the Randall Recreation Center. We plan to put up fliers in the area this week, but if you're available for an hour or two this weekend or next week and can either help by printing off fliers or putting some up, please email me at allisonjhazen@gmail.com.

We Still Need Your Help! We Have a New Flier and an Updated Search Strategy

2011-02-05T16:37:00.013-05:00

We haven't had a sighting of Olivia since January 7th, but we're confident that she's still around based on recent paw prints. She's a very tough dog to have survived this long and we can really use your help in bringing her home!

Sam (our tracker) has taken over the search (which is great news since she's amazing!) and has recommended that we do the following:

Make regular checks of our 2 existing feeding stations and their cameras (which we're already doing). We continue to have milk bones taken from both stations, mostly at night, and will soon set up infrared cameras to find out what's hitting the station(s) at night.

Post new fliers to the East and to the North of her existing tracked route (note: a little slow to load, so give it a few minutes) in case she's moved locations (which would account for the lack of sightings lately). We posted about 70 new fliers south of M St SW, between Half St SW and up to (but not including) New Jersey Ave SE -- so, we got Nationals Stadium and the surrounding areas covered today.

We can REALLY use help in the fliering effort!!! If you can volunteer to help flier this week or anytime soon, please email allisonjhazen@gmail.com and I can put you in touch with the group right away so we can tell you the spots most in need of fliers. We can also help advise on how to put up the fliers so they're rain/snow resistant, and we can provide volunteers to accompany anyone who would rather not flier alone.

Here is the latest flier:

Latest Flier

Supplies you'll need (or that we can provide to you):

Clear roll of tape
Plastic sheath to protect the flier
Fliers

Here is a map of the areas already covered with the latest flier. We can still use fliers further east and north:

Thanks so much for all your help to date!

We Found Paw Prints!!!

2011-01-28T14:29:00.002-05:00

Although the snow has wrecked havoc for we humans, it has certainly helped us track Olivia's paw prints! After having very little activity the past week, we're back in business!!

Paw prints were discovered around her usual feeding station haunts, so our volunteers are going out to track her, and likely will go into the weekend.

The greatest news of all is that Olivia has weathered the storm and out hunting for food!

Olivia Search Team

Olivia Still Missing: New Strategies

2011-01-21T22:01:00.002-05:00

We had a cookout last weekend to see if we were able to get Olivia out of hiding, to no avail. We had several sightings last week but have been unable to get ahead of her. We're in the process of developing a new strategy.

We have volunteers consistently checking the DC shelter, Craigslist, Pet Harbor among others, but if you happen to hear of a large (x-large), female Brindle dog being picked-up, we welcome any and all leads.

We do need some additional help checking feeding stations in the DC area. If you are available to help, please contact Yvonne at audicabrio2003@gmail.com.

Olivia Search Team

Olivia has been Spotted!

2011-01-13T20:04:00.003-05:00

Over the past several days, we've received quite a few calls regarding Olivia sightings. Our search team to deciding on strategy to determine whether we should setup an enclosure trap and entice her to enter with some very high value food (can anyone say chicken?).

Keep your fingers crossed we bring Olivia home this weekend!

Olivia Search Team

OLIVIA SIGHTING TODAY!!!!

2011-01-07T21:31:00.002-05:00

YAY!!! We received a sighting call in which the foster mom confirmed to be Olivia! She was sighted in the general area of where professional tracker has scented her, which even confirmed to the foster it was Olivia!!

We are tentatively planning for a search party this weekend so if you can help, please contact audicabrio2003@gmail.com.

Olivia Search Team

Still Looking...

2011-01-07T21:26:00.003-05:00

Hello again,

I know it has been two months, but I haven't lost hope and I am grateful to everyone who is still helping me look for Olivia. We think she is still in the area and we are hoping to put up fresh posters and search (for her and for people who have caught sight of her) this weekend. I've designed a new flyer that's somewhat different from the others (the operative phrase on it is "still missing") so that people can distinguish it from the ones that are already up and know to keep watching for her. I will try to have it posted with the other flyers soon, so you can print it out on your own if you want. If you can help put flyers up but would like me to print them for you, feel free to email me. Also, if you can help hand out business cards and talk to people - this has actually proven to be our best method of getting sighting information - please let me know that as well (or just do it on your own and let me know the results). Anything you can do to help is most welcome and much appreciated!

Keep the faith and we'll bring her home soon!

Spotted Large Paw Prints

2011-01-02T23:13:00.002-05:00

Our volunteers have been combing the area, checking feeding stations and there has been some activity! We also spotted some large paw prints and we are having our professional pet tracker verify the prints. Her tracking dog will be able to determine if the paw prints are Olivia, by verifying the scent.

Keep your fingers crossed!

Olivia Search Team

Olivia is Still in the Area

2010-12-30T23:45:00.003-05:00

Our professional tracker, Sam from PureGold Pet Trackers (http://www.puregoldpettrackers.com/), has confirmed Olivia's scent is still in the area.

We are begging and pleading for your help to bring her home! If you see her, please contact us at 240.723.6893 or 617.947.5627.

A Forever Home is offering a reward for her safe return, and covering expenses for her search. Please consider a tax-deductible donation on the Chip-In Fund.

Olivia Search Team

Olivia is Still Missing

2010-12-23T16:48:00.003-05:00

We sent our tracker out during the week and confirmed Olivia's scent is still in the area. Please, please, please, if you see her, please contact us!

We are offering a reward for her safe return.

Thank you!
Olivia Search Team

Olivia Still Missing

2010-12-20T21:00:00.001-05:00

Our search team went out this weekend and checked all around the area for signs of Olivia. She's likely hiding out somewhere to get out of the cold, so we expanded the area where we posted flyers.

If you think you've seen a dog that might be Olivia, please let us know! The more sighting calls we get, the better chance of finding Olivia and bringing her home!

We are offering a reward for her safe return.

Thank you!
Olivia Search Team

Olivia is Still Missing--We Need Your Help

2010-12-16T20:44:00.004-05:00

For those helping with the flyer event this weekend, make sure to dress warmly. If possible, please bring a roll of packing tape, slip lead, and smelly treats. If by chance we see Olivia, we can entice her to approach with the smelly food.

Our outreach has been successful! Check out the FOX news story on Olivia at:
http://www.myfoxd.com/dpp/news/dc/help-needed-in-finding-missing-english-mastiff-dog-named-olivia-120110/

There was even an article in the Examiner at http://exm.nr/i6xq6.

For the person who posted on our blog whether the Craigslist posting of a female Brindle was Olivia, thank you for letting us know. Unfortunately, it is not Olivia.

If you can help out this Sunday, please make sure to contact Debbie!

Olivia Search Team

HELP FIND OLIVIA--MISSING MASTIFF

2010-12-13T15:33:00.006-05:00

PLEASE HELP BRING OLIVIA HOME!!!
It's been over a month since Olivia went missing. She's cold, tired, hungry and we would love to bring her home!
We need your help! We have a major volunteer effort this weekend to distribute and post flyers. Volunteers will work in team to canvas the neighborhood, talk to locals, distribute flyers and business cards, in order for us to generate sightings. If you can help, please contact Debbie.

WHEN: Sunday, December 19

TIME: 12:00pm - 2:00pm (approximate end time)

LOCATION: Parking lot near Ft. McNair and Coast Guard (2nd & V, SW)

CONTACT: Debbie (703.967.7463)

EVERYONE IS WELCOME! BRING YOUR FRIENDS, TELL OTHERS, THE MORE HELP WE HAVE, THE LARGER AREA WE CAN COVER!!

Thanks to the Examiner for helping spread the word about this weekend's event:
http://www.examiner.com/pet-rescue-in-washington-dc/search-party-to-find-olivia-on-sunday-november-19th

Thank you!

Olivia Search Team

I Street Sighting

2010-12-04T12:24:00.006-05:00

Did anyone speak to a man who said he saw Olivia on Wednesday or Thursday around noon at a park on I street? One of the volunteers gave him a business card today and he said he had seen her and called (and he knew her pre-rescue name, "Chopper"). He also said she was not injured ("fine") and still had her harness and collar on. The strange thing is that I did not get that call, nor did the volunteer whose number is listed on my voicemail message. Still, it is more good news! This is consistent with her new routine (it is right along the track), and it is now our our most recent sighting!

(If you did speak to him, could you please let me know? Thanks.)

Oh and here is a map overlaying all of the tracks run so far by Sam & Salsa of Pure Gold Pet Trackers:

Click the map for a larger view

Two (Good) New Developments

2010-12-03T11:01:00.002-05:00

My last post tried to recruit people to go along on Monday's track. Though I was still out of town at the time, the track went really well: Salsa (the tracking dog) followed Olivia's scent for 4 miles and found her water source! As is apparently her habit, Olivia chose a restricted area as it's on the waterfront on Coast Guard property. (She doesn't have approval, but that doesn't bother her one bit. It's actually the third military site she's chosen: first Navy Yard, then Ft. McNair, now this.) Thanks to one volunteer's connection there, we got approval to put up a feeding station there and check it regularly.

There's also an even more recent development: Thursday afternoon, another volunteer was handing out business cards at the Waterfront Metro stop and she found a woman who saw Olivia on Tuesday night between 8 and 9 across from the CVS at 4th and I Streets. The woman did not approach Livvie because, surprise, surprise, she thought she was a pit bull. (Of course, for me that would be a reason to approach the dog, but not everyone shares my love of pitties.) Anyway, it was clearly Olivia because the woman noticed her nipples, which are still evident from her recent pregnancy. She said she was just wandering, which amuses me. Here we are looking for her frantically at all hours and we see nothing, but other people who don't care see her just aimlessly going along, apparently not trying to hide. So it goes.

I will put up a feeding station there today, but now there are several, so I need help checking them, ideally twice a day. Please let me know if you can help. Also, I still really need people to help put up flyers. Olivia covered a lot of ground, much of which we had not flyered before, and very few flyers are still up even in the areas we did flyer. Handing out business cards is obviously effective, as it got us this most recent sighting. Maybe we will be able to track again based on this most recent sighting. In the meantime, please let me know if you can help in any way, whether it's printing flyers or business cards, putting them up, checking a feeding station or a shelter, or helping me keep up with calls and emails to make sure people stay aware of her situation and watch out for her.

Thank you very much!

Search and Track Party Tonight!

2010-11-29T15:28:00.004-05:00

Hello! Hope you all had a good Thanksgiving! I am actually on the way back to DC from the midwest, but fantastic volunteers are continuing efforts to find Olivia before I arrive. Tonight at 6, meet at 6th and Water Streets SW. There's a parking lot there; actually several, but if you get there and can't find other people (or if you have other questions), please call Karen at (240) 723-6893.

I got a call several nights ago from someone claiming to see Olivia and wanting the reward, but he didn't give a location sufficient for us to find them. What's worrisome is that he also said she had a broken leg. I don't know whether any of what he said is credible or not, but it's entirely possible that she's injured and it's definitely true that the weather is colder, so finding her feels even more urgent now!

We are planning to have another search tomorrow, time t.b.d. I will be back by then and will participate in the search, but if you have questions or need to contact someone about this in the meantime, please call Debbie at (703) 967-7463. By the way, we should soon have a fund-raising / donation link on the blog as well!

Thanks again for your help and hope to see you out searching!

More Good News!

2010-11-23T10:30:00.003-05:00

No, I didn't mistakenly post this message twice - we do have yet another sighting! Last night I got a call from a security guard in a parking lot at 6th and Water. He'd seen olivia 5 minutes earlier! I got there as fast as I could and he gave me really good, specific information and little Leah and I set out after her. Leah's not quite up to Chewy or Salsa's level yet, but she did clearly follow a scent for a block or so to the walkway a little bit back from the waterfront walkway. After that, I think she just ran around sniffing whatever she wanted. Anyway, we didn't find Olivia and after a little while we stopped looking 'cause it was dark and I was by myself. But we're so close! Wouldn't finding her be something for which to be thankful?! (Actually, I'm thankful just to know that precious, sweet girl and to have met all of you great rescue-dog people helping me find her, but her homecoming would be wonderful!)

p.s. I have to leave town today and I'll have limited email access, so forgive me if I don't get back to you right away. I'll also post a list of people who will be around in case you need to contact one of Livvie's buddies before I get back.

Another Sighting - Need Outreach and Weekend Help

2010-11-22T09:41:00.004-05:00

Yesterday I went out with Sam and her dog Salsa again to try to find Olivia's scent in her (now 3rd) new neighborhood. Unfortunately, the information we had from the sighting wasn't specific enough to give us a particular place to start. Without that to focus her, Salsa decided to turn her attention to hunting squirrels instead. It was pretty frustrating because I knew she had been around there somewhere but, because we didn't know exactly where, we couldn't search anywhere. (Salsa may be a great tracking dog, but she's still a dog, and there were tons and tons of squirrels!) We may have found Olivia's scent at some point, but we couldn't tell the difference between excitement from that and frenzy over the millions of squirrels running around, so it was basically a waste.

When that didn't work, we drove around putting up posters at major intersections in the area. We were starting to do smaller intersections when I ran into some people hanging out outside a building and asked them to watch out for Olivia. Much to my delight, one of them said, "I saw that dog yesterday." I asked her several specific questions to get the information we would need to track her from there or at least put up a feeding station:
What day and time had she seen her?
Where - On which corner of that intersection?
What was she doing?
Did you see her leave? Which way did she go?
The more information we can get from each sighting, the closer we'll be to finding her.

This time, I was even more encouraged, partly because it confirmed the earlier sighting, but mostly because it gave me much more specific information. That was where my luck ended, however, because it was way too late to start tracking then, so it was a waste of a trip for Sam (and a waste of the time and money for me). Speaking of money, I have been meaning to start fundraising to finance this search. When I offered to foster Olivia, I made sure that the rescue would cover all of her medical costs because, though I have the time and ability to foster, that's partly because I am unemployed, which keeps me from being able to pay for all aspects of her care. I didn't want to be an irresponsible foster-mama and take her on when I couldn't provide what she needed, but I thought as long as her medical costs were covered, I could provide her basic food and other everyday expenses. I did not think to ask who would pay for dog-search costs if she ran away - I have never lost a dog before, so it didn't even occur to me, nor did I know how incredibly expensive it could be.

Now, several hundred dollars later (with no end in sight!), I am essentially on my own. Unfortunately for me, her rescue is not helping at all (though the other day they did send a helpful suggestion that I put up fliers). Anyway, I am sorry to have to say this, but I do not have any more money to spend (much less to spend on Olivia's search), so I need to find outside funding. Does anyone have any experience fundraising? (I have exactly none.) Is lost-dog-searching in the budget for any rescue that might be willing to help out? Do you have any other ideas for how I can pay for this? I would hate to have to forgo further efforts that might help her and have her suffer just because she drew the unlucky foster parent who couldn't afford a more extensive search.

Here comes my usual plea: please help put up posters and hand out business cards in her new area (basically SW, south of the Southwest Freeway and west of South Capitol Street). I know (and thank you to the) many of you have already put up lots of posters (as have I), but unfortunately, she keeps moving, so now we have to put more somewhere else. I have loads of posters and business cards; I just need help distributing them. I am going to put more posters today (and also Sonia is going to help me put up feeding stations), and I will try to spend some time handing out business cards at the Waterfront Metro stop, but I can only do so much.

Finally, I have to leave town tomorrow for a week. (!) I hate to go while Olivia is still out there, but I planned this trip to visit my family for Thanksgiving long before I even knew about Olivia and I don't think I can cancel now. This means, however, that I will need people here to cover for me in case of a sighting or (if we're super-lucky) someone has her and we could go pick her up. I will still be on-call 24/7 - it is my phone that's on every flyer and business card - but is there someone here whom I could call if I need something in DC while I'm gone? It may end up being no work at all; I just don't know. Is anyone going to be around over the holiday weekend who wouldn't mind going to look for her / set up a feeding station if someone sees her or to get her if someone has her? If so, please let me know. As usual, it would not need to be for the whole time - I could divide up the weekend by days or even parts of days if necessary. Anyway, please email me if you can do this.

Thank you for hanging in there with me (/Olivia) and continuing to help and care!

New Sighting!

2010-11-20T18:46:00.002-05:00

More good news: we just got a new sighting!

Sandra was giving out Olivia's business cards at the Navy Yard Metro stop and a man said he had just seen Olivia about 20 minutes earlier (about 5pm) near Ft. McNair in SW DC. I drove over there and, while I couldn't get on the army base, I did drive around the neighborhood looking for her. Unfortunately, I didn't find her (not that I expected her to be sitting on a corner waiting to be picked up or anything), but at least now we know we have a new place to look.

Sandra has already moved over there to start putting up fliers and giving out business cards at the Waterfront Metro stop. I will contact the tracker again but, in the meantime, we need to get as many fliers up and as many business cards out in that area as possible. Basically, I think we need to cover the area west of South Capitol Street and south of M Street (or west of Maine Avenue where M Street ends) to the waterfront. It sounds like a lot but, because we don't have access to a lot of it (the army base), it is actually probably a smaller area than where we were looking before in SE. Please put up fliers and look for her if you can - the later it gets, the colder it's getting, and soon I have to go out of town for Thanksgiving. It would be soooo great to have her home before then!

Thanks for your help and let's hope this leads us to her!

Update on Search for Olivia

2010-11-19T11:53:00.002-05:00

Though Olivia is still not home, I am hopeful that we will find her.

We have put lots of fliers up in her new neighborhood near Navy Yard and are giving out business cards to just about everyone we see there. I still need lots of help, though. My latest setback: many of the fliers taped to signs and things blew away in the wind leaving empty sheet protectors, so now I need to redo them. (I am now stapling the fliers into the sheet protectors so that won't happen again.) The places where we most need to put up fliers are L and M streets, between 2nd and 6th, and the blocks on the numbered streets that connect them. I have lots and lots of posters, so don't worry about putting up too many or putting them too close together. I want people to see this poster everywhere they go!

I also really want to cover the Navy Yard Metro stop to give out business cards this evening during rush hour. If people can do little shifts, we can get the people leaving work (around 5-6) as well as the people arriving home (probably more like 5-6). I think it will be especially busy tonight because it's a Friday, so it's a great opportunity to reach a lot of people. If you can make it for a shift - and it doesn't have to be during rush hour - please send me an email so I can organize the timing and fill in where needed. (Because there is only one Metro stop in that area, I am also going to check Metro maps and see if there is a bus stop that is a transfer point or at least has many routes stopping there, and maybe we can cover that too.)

Even if you can't give out business cards at the Metro or a bus stop, please still put up fliers where and whenever you can. Another easy thing to do is to continue to forward her email, blog address, and fliers to anyone you can think of. Even if you have already sent it, maybe you could send an update to your list that says "Dog Still Lost" or Dog Still Missing."

Finally, I still need to check the shelter and stop by some vets and other businesses to talk to them and make sure that the poster is still up and prominent. If anyone has a car and can do some of these tasks or wouldn't mind driving me, that would be a big help.

Thank you all for continuing to help Olivia. We are doing so much and reaching so many people and I could never have done it alone!

Great News! We Found Her New Neighborhood!

2010-11-15T10:02:00.005-05:00

Today I have by far the best news I have had yet. First, a little background that I had not had time to post when it happened. I got a report of a sighting by a couple who has a mastiff (and said they always notice mastiffs) of a mastiff getting into a silver station wagon with a man at 2nd and e se (4 blocks from where she hid in the bushes by the dog park). they said they live in that neighborhood and didn't recognize the dog, so we thought maybe he had managed to catch olivia and was taking her to the humane society or one of the vets. well, he didn't.

much worse, i had gotten a report of a dog who had been hit by a car on the suitland parkway from a woman who works with the humane society in maryland, then a separate call from someone else saying he had seen her on the suitland parkway. (the latter called back a few minutes later to say someone told him that that dog had gotten hit.) i drove out there immediately, but couldn't even find the dog. i called the dc department of public works (which is responsible for picking up dead dogs) to see if they had already picked it up, but they knew nothing about it. i feared the worst, but wanted to be sure either way, so i went out yesterday with sam of pure gold pet trackers to look for olivia's scent. not only did we not find olivia's scent, we didn't even look because we found the dog itself and it was a black and white pit. i'm sad for that dog but soooo relieved it wasn't olivia!

next we went to the home of the man with the silver station wagon (i had gotten his name and address from a neighbor but, as the caller said, the car had pulled away so he wasn't home when i was there or when i checked back later). this time he was home, and we met his lovely brindle boxer. unfortunately, there was no mastiff to be found.

finally, we went back to the site where the hot dog vendor had seen her (where we had set up a feeding station the night before). this time, the report was accurate: it was indeed olivia. unlike the last tracking attempt, this one was not thwarted by an intervening rain storm, so sam's dog salsa found olivia's scent and we tracked her for three miles. we did not end up three miles away, however, for she had been going in circles (looking for food). sam is confident that she is still in that neighborhood, but it is west of where we had been looking before, so it barely has any fliers up and we had barely given out any business cards there.

enter my desperate plea for help: today i want to cover every inch of that area with fliers and hand out as many business cards as possible, but i really need help to get that done. unfortunately, i am not free all day (as i have been pretty much every day since she ran away) because i have a job application due today. also, i am absolutely exhausted from last night's nearly 5-hour search. can any of you help today, even just for a little while? please email me or call me and we can coordinate times and places and, hopefully, we'll get another sighting so we can find her and bring her home. i hope you are all as encouraged as i am. thanks again for your help!

Saturday Search and Flyer-ing

2010-11-13T09:30:00.004-05:00

Good morning,

Today is supposed to be a beautiful day and I plan to spend as much of it as possible out looking for beloved Olivia! Yesterday, I put posters up on much of Capitol Hill and north of the Hill toward our home where I had actually seen Olivia, and Shannon put up many posters around Navy Yard, but there are still many more places to cover, especially businesses near Eastern Market. I need to print more flyers and cut the tabs (and answer emails and check blogs to answer questions, etc.), but I aim to get started at noon at Eastern Market.

If someone is available to drive Leah and me from home to Eastern Market, that would save us some time. Also, the more people we can get to distribute business cards to people in that area (and others, for that matter), the better. Please either let me know if you can come help or just show up. I have made maps to divide up the places we need to cover and I don't think there could be such thing as too much help. Thank you and I hope to see you today!

By the way, maybe after we search we can go to Art and Soul, a restaurant north of the Hill that not only has a pet-friendly patio, it has a doggie-menu! That way, we could enjoy the weather and reward our dogs for their help with the search.

Good News: Possible Sighting!

2010-11-11T23:03:00.001-05:00

Hello all,

Quick Summary: We may have a new sighting near Navy Yard; and the flyer/search party tomorrow will begin at 5 pm at the exit of the Capitol South metro stop.

I have some really exciting news! On our search today, we found someone who may have seen beloved Olivia! A hot-dog vendor near the Eastern Market metro stop said that he saw her yesterday while he was riding his bike in the neighborhood. He said that she was headed toward Navy Yard, so I have a new focus for tomorrow's search. I am particularly encouraged because, when told there was a reward, he said that that wasn't what mattered to him, that he had lost his own dog once! (Maybe I am being too optimistic, and I admit I am incredibly eager for some good news, but I am not sure why someone would lie about having lost his dog, and I don't think that anyone who has been in that situation would lie about having seen a dog if he didn't want the reward. And I would think he, of all people, would know the harm false information can do.)

I have to remain cautious because, even if he truly thinks he saw her, it may still not have been she. Still, I am really, really excited because this is the first sighting since the day she went missing. I am not sure how to balance the caution and the hope, but I'll just let the hope energize my search. So tomorrow we will be out again but this time with renewed vigor. That extra energy will not be wasted: we still have lots and lots of places that need fliers, and the more we talk to people in the neighborhoods, the more likely people will watch out, the more likely someone will find her!

Tomorrow I, of course, plan to search the area between Eastern Market and Navy Yard. Still, there is a large part of Capitol South and the whole area from the hill itself back to our house that has no fliers at all yet. I figure we should meet at a place between the sightings and our home, then some people can go in one direction (away from home) and some in the other (back toward home). I will have looked and asked around Navy Yard earlier in the day, but we can still put up fliers and hand out business cards there. Let's meet at the exit of the Capitol South metro station, on the corner opposite Tortilla Coast. I will be there with Leah and lots of supplies. Please come, even if you come late or leave early or only have a little time to spare. I will have my phone with me, so you should be able to reach me any time.

I do have a request for a task before tomorrow's search: can someone help out by printing new fliers and business cards that include the web address of this blog? I still have fliers left without it and have been printing labels with the site on them and sticking them on the fliers and the back of the business cards, but as long as I will need more fliers anyway, it would be great if the blog site was already on there. Also, I want to put up some of the fliers that have the description as well. The ones with just the photo and number are better for places where people just pass by, but if businesses (like starbucks) let us post in there, people can get close enough (and stand still long enough) to see words as well. So can someone print both kinds of flyers (with and without the description as well as with and without tabs) with the blog site included? Ok - I'm off to put more labels on fliers and put them in sheet protectors so I will have plenty ready for tomorrow.

Thank you and have a good night.
p.s. If you have asked me a question or asked me for something and I haven't gotten back to you, would you mind sending me a quick reminder email? I think I have gotten to everyone, but I want to make sure.

Let's Look for Livvie! - Flyer Party

2010-11-11T09:23:00.002-05:00

Thank you to all of you who responded and offered to help. We have been able to contact lots and lots of people, which gives me hope! But unfortunately we still haven't gotten any word of new sightings. Especially in light of that, I want to look for her as much (as widely and as long) as possible today. I know many people still have work, but some have the day off for Veterans Day, so I am organizing our first real search party:

When - flexible - it's all-livvie-all-the-time for me! you are welcome to join whenever you can. I will be out, I hope, by about noon and probably won't come home until after dark. (Also, I will have more search parties in the days to come, but I really want to start today - obviously, the sooner we find her, the better.)

Where - everywhere from our house (Chinatown/Mt. Vernon Square) to Eastern Market and even a bit beyond. Whenever you can come, call me on my cell phone and I'll meet you somewhere to give you fliers and business cards and tell you where we need you to go. I will print maps based on the tracker's suggestions and divide up the search area.

What to bring -
-your dog (if you have one and can bring him/her)
-strong clear tape. someone suggested a staple gun, and that's fine, but every place I found to put up a poster was a lamppost or something else metal, so tape is probably best.
-a slip lead (if you have one; otherwise, a normal leash is fine)
-tasty dog treats with a strong smell and maybe some dog food. She's not very food-motivated, but it certainly can't hurt and she may be really hungry.
-a map. The map from tracker is available HERE If you can, please print this or some other reasonably detailed map of the area. I will bring maps, but I'd rather have too many (or leftovers for future searches) than not enough.
-your phone. This is the only means of communication I will have while we're out - I don't have a smart phone so email isn't an option for me. As you doubtless know by now, my number is (617) 947-5627. I have some of your phone numbers, but if you want to send me yours, I can put your name and number in my phone ahead of time.
-I am going to bring water or some other drink. Bring whatever you'll want.
-flyers and business cards. I spent much of last night getting fliers and business cards ready for posting/distribution. That said, I would love to have more, so please do email me if you can make some. I will send you updated fliers and business cards that include the blog address. Also, you all probably know this better than I do, but we also want to put them in sheet protectors to make them last longer and protect them from the rain. Several people have suggested putting them on a bright background so they will draw more attention. I don't want them to be too big because I think they will be torn down (and get no other attention), so I think I will opt for a second letter-sized sheet of paper, behind the actual flyer and outside the sheet protector, that's landscape-oriented (horizontal). This can serve as a bright background and can be taped up with the flyer itself. Again, I haven't done this before, so we'll see how it goes. I am also open to other suggestions.

I welcome the help of anyone who can come, so feel free to show up even if you only have a little bit of time. If you know ahead of time that you can come, I would appreciate an email so that I know about how many people we'll have (to divide up the area and bring enough posters). If you don't have time, though, don't worry - I'll bring as many posters as I can and there are plenty of places to search!

That's it for now. If you have other ideas, please post them, rather than emailing them to me, so other searchers will also see them as well. Thank you again for your help and I hope to see you soon!

My Foster Dog Olivia is Gone!!

2010-11-08T19:17:00.001-05:00

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!