Mu Finds Lolo

Hidden deep in a trash pile.

Mu Finds Lolo

(Pictured above is Mu as a puppy, before starting his work as a search dog for lost cats. This picture just happened to be taken on August 9th, 2011, 10 years before he found Lolo. Also pictured, left to right, are Porter, Karma the cat-detection dog, Tess, and Kelsy.)

One year ago today, Mu found a cat named Lolo, in Bothell.  Lolo had been dropped off at a boarding facility while the family went on vacation.  He escaped into the woods on August 3rd, 2021.  They saw him run towards a woodsy ravine and a church at the top of the ravine.  There was a large construction area near the woods where Lolo was last seen.  All the vegetation had been scraped away and it was just bare dirt for many acres to the east, with no place for a cat to hide, except possibly inside one of the excavators. The owner set several traps for Lolo in the woods, with no luck.  They called me on the 6th, and we were available to come out the morning of the 9th.

As I looked around the freshly bulldozed earth between the boarding facility and the church, I could see coyote footprints.  That sort of ravine was the habitat coyotes liked.  Even after half the woods had been torn out, they were still following their traditional trails.  Mu sniffed around and found coyote scat, but it did not seem to contain the fur of any domestic animals, just rabbits and rodents, the usual diet of coyotes. Mu checked out the heavy equipment, in case Lolo was up inside an engine compartment. We worked the accessible parts of the woods, avoiding the dense brush in order to not make too much noise, which could flush the cat out of a hiding place.  The dogs at the boarding facility were constantly barking, which would drown out our footsteps somewhat, but a cat would definitely hear us if we broke through the thick brambles.

We worked our way closer to the church.  The parking lot of the church came right to the edge of the ravine, and groundskeepers had been dumping woody debris and yard waste along the edge in an apparent attempt to keep kids or trespassers from passing in and out of the ravine very easily.  We had permission to search there, so we weren’t trespassers, but it was a challenge to get over the brush and debris barrier.  Mu was reluctant to go, so I lifted him up and pushed him uphill over the debris, which was easier than getting myself through the brush pile.  Once in the parking lot, I saw that Mu was walking with a slight limp.  Maybe he landed wrong when I shoved him up over the debris pile.  I kept an eye on it, and I was prepared to stop the search if he was suffering too much.  He didn’t seem bothered by it and he kept searching for cats, eagerly.  After about 20 minutes, the limp went away.

We searched around the church and into the neighborhood to the west, searching the yards of the houses there.  We found a path back into the ravine and searched an area that had been cleared out by homeowners, a kind of extension of their back yards, where the kids had been building forts and treehouses.  We came to a large debris pile, trash and appliances that had been dumped in the ravine years earlier.  Mu started whining, and his nose pointed out some fur on the edge of some old carpet in the debris pile.  As he sniffed around that opening more, he whined louder.  I used my phone to record video with the light on, and I reached into the debris pile, in the void under the old carpet.  In there with the hoses and wires and bike parts was Lolo!  He had his back to the opening, and he was deep inside, away from the opening, out of reach of any predators.

After we found Lolo, and I confirmed it was him by comparing the video to the pictures the owner had given me, I called the owner, who was at work about half an hour away.  He was very pleased that we found his cat, and he was going to leave work right away to come and get Lolo.  Mu and I just relaxed nearby.  I sat in the dirt with my back against a tree.  I told Mu what a good boy he was and gave him his reward, string cheese.  We kept an eye on the debris pile to make sure Lolo didn’t come out, but I thought he would just stay hidden.  It was a nice forest for Mu and I to relax in, if you didn’t look at the clearing for the construction or the various trash piles.  There were still lots of trees and shrubs left.  The whole time we had been searching, the dogs at the boarding facility barked and bayed as if they were quite unhappy.  The sound traveled up the ravine and the dogs sounded close.  I could see why Lolo would run away from there and stay away, hiding in the trash pile.

The owner arrived with a cat carrier after about 40 minutes.  I instructed him to take his time and just talk softly to Lolo, to get him to come out.  I told the owner to not try to reach in and grab Lolo because that could make him crawl deeper into the trash pile, or escape out the far side.  I kept Mu far away so we wouldn’t inhibit Lolo. It took about 15 minutes, but Lolo eventually came out to the sound of his owner’s voice.  Once Lolo was inside the carrier, with the door securely shut, Mu and I approached that trash pile again.  I let Mu smell the kitty in the carrier, and he whined to Lolo.  It was a bit of a challenge getting the carrier down the hill and through the brush.  I tied Mu to a tree for a bit while I helped the owner get the carrier down safely.  After the cat was in the car, Mu and I played fetch in the dirt lot.  It was the perfect play field for Mu, with lots of soft, fresh dirt and no one around.  Mu charged around, chasing his ball, apparently not bothered by whatever had made him limp earlier.  After we had played fetch for a while, I just sat in the dirt with him and enjoyed our victory.  Of course I’m always happy with Mu, and I tell him I love him all day long, but after we have a successful search mission, he seems to have a different sort of satisfied look on his face.  I think he really understands that we are rescuing these cats. Sure, finding cats is a game for him, a sport, and he gets his treats and plays fetch afterwards, but I think he also understands that the lost cats get to go home because of him.  Just as he senses that it’s a sad occasion when we find the remains of the lost cat that did not survive, he picks up on how happy people are when he finds the lost kitty safe and sound.  I told him how proud I was of him, again.