Corkey came from Oklahoma, where he had lived on the streets. When he got to Washington, transported by a rescue organization, he escaped from his foster. He got away on the East Hill of Kent on August 12th. 6 days later, he was seen 9 miles away at SeaTac Airport. That’s when I first started looking for him because he was reported as a stray dog hanging around an air cargo facility. I spent hours looking for him that day, but never saw him. He ran from Kent to SeaTac to Des Moines to Federal Way to South Seattle to Tukwila to Renton to downtown Kent and to Tukwila again. Because he has such distinctive markings on his face and body, we were sure the reported sightings were of him, and not some similar dog. Just based on the reported sightings, he would have traveled over 70 miles in that two-month period. Given that he probably spent most of his time going in overlapping circles, he probably traveled several hundred miles.
Lost Dogs of King County and UBS volunteers kept track of the sightings, recording and mapping them. Every time we would get a sighting, we would get there too late to catch up to him. Most of the sightings were reported hours or days after the sighting. Of course, many people tried to catch him, which kept him on the run. Useless Bay Sanctuary volunteers put up dozens of signs in areas where he had been sighted, but he was covering such a large territory that it would have been impossible to cover the whole area with effective signs. I went out looking for him after several of the sightings, and other UBS volunteers also looked for him many times.
Yesterday, I saw a reported sighting on Lost Dogs of King County. The post was only about 15 minutes old when I saw it, and he had been hanging around for an hour. I commented that I was on my way with a humane trap. Crucially important was the fact that the people who saw him did not try to grab him, and they reported the sighting right away. It took me about half an hour to get there. I talked to several witnesses. They said they fed him and gave him water, and they didn’t try to approach him too closely. I think it helped that he was up above a retaining wall near the parking lot, so the physical barrier may have helped him feel safe, and feel like he didn’t need to run off right away. I looked around for hours, but didn’t see him. I set a humane trap near the point he was last seen, and I set a wildlife camera to watch the trap, in case he showed up. Corkey had originally been captured in a humane trap in Oklahoma, so I had my doubts that he would go in the trap. My main hope was to see him on camera as he investigated the food in the trap, so at least we would know he was staying in the area.
This morning, as Tino and I were driving to a search for a lost dog, I received a notification from the wildlife camera. The picture showed a bit of a white animal at the edge of the field of view. I hoped it was Corkey. A few minutes later, the camera sent a picture showing Corkey’s whole body as he checked out the trap. I was relieved that he was still in the area. It was the most time he had spent in any location, as far as we knew. I wasn’t expecting him to go in the trap. A few minutes later, the camera showed that he was in the trap, safely captured! I couldn’t believe it. After two months and hundreds of miles.
I messaged the owner of the dog we were supposed to be searching for, and said I would need to postpone the search a few hours. The trap was secured to a nearby tree with a lock and cable, and I had the only key with me. They said they understood. I messaged a volunteer to see if she could get to the trap quickly, to make sure Corkey didn’t escape somehow. She ran out the door in her pajamas and drove to Tukwila City Hall right away, which wasn’t too far from her house. She kept an eye on him until I could get there with the key. When I finally got there, Corkey seemed pretty relaxed. He looked healthy, not underweight at all. He had managed to find plenty to eat, somehow. Corkey is street smart, and he knows how to avoid cars and people, and find food. Of course, there are rabbits and rodents everywhere, and I’m sure Corkey is capable of catching them. He appeared to be unharmed. I was so happy he finally let me catch him. I wonder if he went into the trap, even knowing it was a trap, because he was ready to be done with his adventures and get back to a more domestic life.
I messaged the owner of the rescue in Oklahoma. She was relieved and surprised that he was caught. She scrambled to find a foster situation for him. I needed to take Tino to search for the other lost dog, so we agreed to have Corkey at a UBS foster’s house until something could be arranged. Corkey will be staying with UBS volunteers for a while. He was immediately outfitted with a martingale collar and harness, and two leashes. He got a bath, and he is settling into his new situation. I’m sure he will have a great life, now that he is safe. He is safe thanks to UBS volunteers Lily, Terri, and Kari, and all of the people who reported sightings and watched out for him. Corkey has a similar build to my Viktor, and his wanderings and eventual capture are very similar to the story of Viktor.
Corkey is very cute, and I’m sure he will make a wonderful addition to someone’s family. If you are interested in adopting him, please comment on this post, or contact UselessBaySanctuary@gmail.com. We will put you in touch with the Oklahoma rescue. Anyone who adopts Corkey will need to take every precaution to make sure he never escapes in the future because he could be very hard to catch.
Thank you, Corkey, for letting me catch you today, finally.
I’ve been following Corkey’s great escape along with everyone else for the past 2 months and even posted a photo of a similar looking pup (it was not Corkey) at some point along the way. Thank you to everyone that helped recover this dog. It really does take a village and sometimes even several villages. Everyone can appreciate a happy ending these days. Wishing Corkey a most fabulous life ahead!
Love this! Thanks to everyone involved with helping Corkey 💜