Tags, More Tracks & a Little Bark

This evening, neighbors in the area around Ossian Hall Park heard what may have been the jingling of Griffy's dog tags, and one little dog bark, and they also saw tracks in the snow that they believe may be Griffy's. Thanks to this neighbor for emailing this "sighting+" to Gail!

Gail and Griffy are lucky to have people like these neighbors, who were willing to take time out of their evening to go out in the freezing cold, while the rest of us were enjoying the comfort of our warm homes, and look for Griffy despite the fact that they have never met him or Gail. That's one way sightings are generated - by going out to search for him, which Gail has been doing since Griffy vanished.

What's tricky is that dogs tend to get weird after they have been out on their own like Griffy has, when the only life they had ever known has been as a pampered housepet. If Griffy is like so many lost dogs before him, he is now seeing humans as something to avoid. Things like calling his name and making eye contact, which work fine when he's not lost and is out on a neighborhood stroll with his mom, tend to backfire while he's in this state. There are lots of things we tend to do when we see a "stray" dog that, unbeknown to us, will have the opposite effect from what we intend, and we unknowingly cause a dog in this mode to retreat. There's a lllloooottttt of proof of this - in the history of lost dogs.

So we've got a list of Do's & Don'ts for anyone in a position to see Griffy -- whether you encounter him by accident or if you go out looking for him. Gail would be forever indebted to you if you would go searching for him, so please don't let this discourage you, but do give a read to these guidelines.