Mu Goes Out The Window

An unexpected adventure.

On the one hand, it is pretty impressive that my 13.5-year-old retired search dog could climb over an old TV and out through a window. So, way to go Mu! But it was very alarming and perplexing. I was 44 miles away, it was 4:45 in the morning, and we had just caught Finn, who had been on the run for six weeks. As we were taking down the big trap, I got a notification on my phone that a stray dog was walking up my driveway and had triggered my wildlife camera. I have three indoor cameras and three outdoor cameras. I started checking my outdoor cameras to see if I had any more images of this stray dog, and there was Mu outside the front door! What the hell!

I called and texted someone, and Mu was let back into the house after being outside only about 15 minutes. As I drove home, I wondered what had happened. Did someone break into the house and leave a door open? Did I accidentally leave a door open?

Because I have the six cameras, I was able to piece together a possible scenario for Mu’s escape. Also, when I got home, and looked for the escape route, I found a basement window pushed open and the box fan had been knocked to the floor. This window is more than 4 feet off the ground and behind an old TV and other furniture, with a box fan in front of it. From a dog’s-eye view, how would Mu even know the window was open an inch?

At 4:42, Mu is on camera, in the living room. At 4:49, a stray dog appears to walk up our driveway, towards the house. This dog never appears on any other camera. It might be a cocker spaniel, something bigger than Fozzie but smaller than Sky. At 4:55 AM, Mu comes up the stairs from the lower yard, and looks around near the front door. At 4:59, Mu is seen on the driveway camera walking casually towards the street. At 5:00, the camera sees him returning to the house. By 5:08, Mu has been let back into the house.

Why did Mu, and none of the other dogs, suddenly climb out a basement window? What motivated him, especially when he is perfectly happy to sleep on the couch all day? My only plausible theory is that Mu must have caught a glimpse of the stray dog going by the front door, even though the camera there didn’t capture any animal besides Mu. Suddenly curious about an intruder, did Mu go down to the basement window because he had happened to smell the fresh air coming in at some point in the past and thought it could be an escape route? It must have taken him considerable effort to get up and out the window. Then, he was seen on camera just casually strolling around. Had he already chased the stray dog away?

The reason I wanted to tell you about Mu climbing out the window is because I want people to be prepared for the unexpected, the unlikely fluke that you couldn’t foresee. I should have had a GPS tracker on Mu. I didn’t because I never thought he would be one to escape, out of all of the dogs, especially at his age. I have cameras as a redundant backup, and today I’m glad I have them and they work.

I was 44 miles from home at 4:45 AM because of another unexpected event. Finn was at his home in Monroe, where his family was aware of the usual fireworks at the Evergreen Speedway on Saturday nights after the races. On Memorial Day Weekend, the fireworks were on a Sunday instead, and Finn was in his yard when the fireworks scared him off. After Finn had been missing a week, his owners contacted me to see about having Tino search, but I explained that the odds of the search dog tracking successfully after a week were very low. Volunteers from Useless Bay Sanctuary were able to help Finn’s family with signs. After a month of no sightings, Finn started showing up at the gravel pit. UBS volunteer Dina Graham set up a trap and camera. Finn was cautious about going into that trap, and before he had a chance to acclimate to the trap, Fourth of July fireworks spooked him to a new area more than a mile away. He visited the regular trap at that new location, but still wasn’t going in. Yesterday we set up the kennel trap, which is ten feet long and six feet tall, and works for most dogs. We don’t always use the kennel trap because it is not convenient to transport or set up. Knowing that Finn was in the habit of being seen between 3 and 5 AM, Dina and I showed up at 2 AM to prepare the trap and arm the light beam release mechanism. Our cameras caught him checking out the kennel trap, and at 4:12 AM, we heard the door clang shut. Dina and I ran across the lawn to the trap, and there was Finn, slightly nervous and skinny, but healthy and safe after six weeks on his own. Finn’s family had already bought a GPS tracker for him and had it waiting for his return.

Even though I never imagined Mu would climb out a basement window, it looks like I should get him a GPS tracker for just in case. I’m very glad I had cameras and that I keep them charged and operating correctly. Because it’s my job to help lost cats and dogs who escape under unlikely circumstances, I like having cameras so I can see Mu sleeping on the couch when I am away. Today, the cameras repaid my investment many times over.

Another reason you ought to have cameras is so you can help dogs like Finn, and the stray dog who walked up our driveway before dawn. Quite often, stray cats and dogs are seen on home cameras during hours when the homeowners are asleep. Doorbell cameras and WiFi cameras have been crucial in solving many missing pet cases. Even if you aren’t too concerned about crime in your area, I think it would be a good idea for you to get cameras for peace of mind, in case your 13-year-old dog suddenly decides to climb out the basement window. You can use these cameras to keep your dogs and cats safe, and potentially help others find their stray pets. Of course, I just love Mu, and would do anything to keep him safe. If you are concerned about the cost of cameras, one way to look at it is that you will spend $10,000 to $45,000 on a cat or dog over his lifetime, so a $35 camera is very cheap if it keeps your baby safe. Also, you can watch your old dog sleeping on the couch, and listen to him snore from miles away, which is definitely worth the price.