Our beloved, sweet pit bull is missing

[Jenny Sheehan]

This is all new for me; my dog Emma always stays close to home. Our beautiful 6 year old black/white pit bull got scared this afternoon by the fireworks while she was outside. We live in a little cohousing community (Tres Placitas del Rio) on West Alameda (1710 W. Alameda) and although our property is fenced she could get through the fence if she wanted. She does like to go on walks in the river and I think she might have run down there. Unfortunately I was down in ABQ when all this happened; my husband and daughter were home and have been out looking for her all afternoon.

She has been missing since about noon on July 4th.

She is shy and nervous, but not aggressive to animals or to people. If you find her or have any info please contact me at 983-2808; I feel really helpless because I have a broken leg and cannot go out and look for her myself.

More details:

6 year old spayed female
Wearing red nylon collar w/ red quiet spot tag cover
Tags on include rabies, license and contact info
Black/dark brown and white
Medium, but stocky build - weighs 55 lbs.
Likely to be in/around the Santa Fe River between Camino Alire and Frenchy's field
Needs daily medication

[Julie L]

The fireworks in that area of town were very loud early this afternoon. The yellow lab I tried to catch at 1:30 this afternoon was right across the street from your house (I think?). I walked up that Ortiz road looking for her and there were spent fireworks in a bucket so seems that's a common practice in that area. I drove around for 45 mintues looking for her and the only other dog I saw was a small terrier mix running down Alameda in the same area, spooked by fireworks, but a woman driving by and the dog's owner were able to catch that one. This yellow lab was on a mission running down the middle of the Alameda, seeming to want to stay on a main road. I first saw her just west of the Solana shopping center and she kept a steady run west down Alameda with people honking at her but thankfully slowing down.

Last year a dog was running down Bishops Lodge Rd and I tried catching her and lost her. 30 minutes later I was at the dog park and there she was on a mission running down the middle of the road. A nice man stopped and happened to have meat in his car and we caught her. Turns out the owner from Galisteo was visiting friends in Tesuque for a 4th party and Lilly got spooked. I found her 3 days after she initially went missing.

I know how hard it is not to know where your dog is right now. My experience with my dogs and friends' dogs has so far always turned out positive. Either they end up at the Shelter, they return to the place they were last seen (trailhead), or return home on their own. A friend's dog escaped the yard 2 years ago and was spotted on Cerrillos. After all our searching the dog returned home on her own on the 4th day.

I'll keep my eyes peeled for Emma.

[Jenny Sheehan]

Hi Julie,

Thanks so much for your comments. We've lived in this area for 6 1/2 years and Emma has never bolted before - so we are really worried. At this point I am hoping she got picked up by Animal Control. I plan on getting there at 11a tomorrow, right when they open. I just hope she is not too scared tonight; we miss her so much.

[Julie L]

Hi Jenny,

I hope you'll find her at the Shelter tomorrow.

I have to admit I'm a bit confused about how the Shelter and Animal Services (Control) work. I think Animal Services is city but they share office space at the Shelter on Caja del Rio Rd. The Shelter was closed today for the holiday which is why I didn't call the Shelter to report the yellow lab I saw today. I assumed Animal Services was also closed so I didn't call them either, but now that I think about it it seems the busiest day of the year they should have officers working so I should have called. The only number they have is the city dispatch non-emergency number so I always think twice about calling it. A dedicated AS number would be nice. I know the Shelter takes lost dog reports but I don't think Animal Services does. I'm not sure what to do with "spotted" dogs. I assume they work together so if the Shelter gets a report about a stray dog running down Alameda they'd pass the info and location to AS to pick the dog up.

I saw that Ben posted info on who to call with a lost dog report on the main page. I suppose we assume both are closed on July 4th and then need to wait for them to reopen and in the meantime leave a voicemail at the Shelter and post info here, Craigslist, and our local newspapers.

Having lived in your home for 6+ years I'd expect Emma will find her way back to you once all this noise chaos stops. Please keep us posted!

[Julie L]

I wanted to add that Bill Hutchison explained the difference between SFAS & HS and Animal Services and who to call on weekends and holidays:
http://santafescoop.ning.com/profiles/blogs/abandoned-bampw-pointer-at-dog#comments

And also keep in mind tomorrow is a day to memorialize a staff member's son who passed away last week. There's a lot more going on there this weekend than lost and found pets, but still the Shelter is open Sunday and I'm hopeful for many happy reunions.