Poppy

Lost in the middle of nowhere

Poppy

On April 10, 2024, I was asked by the Skykomish Fire Department to help a border collie on the Skykomish River in Baring. This dog was in the far north eastern corner of King County. You have to drive through Snohomish County to get there. It was 70 miles away. The dog had been seen across the river from a bed and breakfast where someone was staying.  On the far side of the river, there were no houses for at least a mile.  The dog seemed lost and distressed.  I told them I would be able to help her.

Tino came with me, not to track a scent trail, but just to keep me company on the long drive.  When we got to the location, I drove across a rustic bridge to the southwest side of the Skykomish River.  There did not appear to be any way to get to the area where the dog had been seen unless you walked in the river, and the current seemed a little too fast.  I drove to a derelict bridge on a dirt road leading to the area where I needed to be.  This little bridge crossed Index Creek, which was running fast, but I could have walked across it.  It was about 50 feet long, and not very high above the creek.  I figured if the bridge collapsed, which wouldn’t have surprised me, we would just be stuck.  It’s not like we would be hurt seriously.  As I drove across the rickety bridge, many of the boards clunked and rattled, apparently not even firmly attached to the girders.  The railing was mostly missing, having fallen off at some point.  About half way across, I thought about backing up, but a Jeep came up behind me on the narrow road, so I had to keep going.  Also, I wanted to hurry up and get across before the Jeep got on the bridge with my car.  On the other side, I asked the man how to get to the river, explaining that I was trying to help a lost dog.  He said there were no dogs in the area, and no access to the river.  Obviously, a dog could be in the area without him seeing it, and I was sure that local residents had access to the river.  His point seemed to be, “Go away.”  When you live in the middle of nowhere, across a dangerous bridge at the end of a dirt road, you prefer not to have people around, which I completely understand.

I went back to the main bridge, which was merely old and rustic, not obviously dangerous.  I looked around the area, trying to find a deer trail or some way of getting down river.  I was about to give up on that idea, and I was thinking about renting a boat of some sort.  As I was standing by the bridge, looking west, a police vehicle drove up and saw my jacket.  The deputy rolled down his window and said, “You might be just the person I am looking for.”  The Fire Department had told the Deputy that “The guy who helps stray dogs” was in the area looking for the border collie.  The Deputy said he had been wanting to help the dog, and he told me to follow him to an access point for the river bank.

I followed him back across the rickety bridge, and he drove to a property that was owned by King County.  Obviously, the man in the Jeep must have known about this public property, but just chose not to tell me.  The Deputy showed me this easy access to the river, and how it was easy to walk on the sand bars all the way to the area where the dog had been seen.  He said he didn’t have any calls, currently, and he really wanted to help this dog, so he came with me.  Tino stayed in the car because he would have been a distraction, possibly intimidating the dog.

As we walked along beside the river, the Deputy explained that he was the only officer for a very large region, and that he knew most of the people in the area.  He said there were plenty of drug dealers and addicts in the area, but the meth labs weren’t as much of a problem as they had been in the past.  We saw prints of a dog in the sand, which looked about the right size for a border collie.  There were no human footprints.  I explained Calming Signals to the Deputy, and that he should just ignore her if he saw her.

We walked for a mile down the river bank.  When we got to the area where she had been seen from across the river, the Deputy saw her before I did.  He called to her gently, “Come here, pup,” and she ran away.  He said, “Oops, I wasn’t supposed to do that.” I said it was a natural reaction, and everyone does it, but just to ignore her from now on.  We looked around for her while trying not to seem like we were looking for her.  We did see her again, not too far away, and we turned and walked away from her.  We sat on a log with our backs to where she had been, and I used my phone’s camera to look over my shoulder to see if she was coming to check us out.  I also tossed Vienna sausage on the ground, trying to lure her.  I didn’t see her.  After a while, I suggested that we walk back to our cars, and maybe she would follow us.

As we walked back, I noticed more and more prints from the dog, showing that she had been walking up and down that bank of the river repeatedly, for at least several days.  I had two cans of Vienna sausage, and I dropped bits as we walked, leaving a trail to lure her.  As we walked, the Deputy glanced back and said that he saw her a couple of times, following us.  I told him I would set the trap, and I was pretty sure she would go in.  He thanked me, and asked me to send him a text when she was caught.

I set the humane trap on the sand about 30 feet from the river.  I sat in my car with Tino, about 70 feet away, and behind some brush, out of sight of the dog if she should come around.  I could just barely see the trap by using my phone’s camera to zoom in.  As I sat in the car with my best friend, my search dog, I thought about how he had been caught in the same trap, seven and a half years earlier, when he was minus one day old.  His mom, Salma, had gone in the trap fairly easily, within ten minutes.  I hoped this dog would be as accommodating.

The trap was set at 6:39 PM, according to the picture I took of it.  I take pictures of everything. At 7:11, I used my phone’s camera to record a video of her coming around, checking out the trap.  She circled the trap a few times and checked out the area to make sure no one was around.  At 7:19, she went for the food and was trapped.  I approached the trap slowly and quietly, to make sure she really was trapped. Then I used Calming Signals to help her relax in the trap.  I sent the Deputy a picture of the dog in the trap, to let him know we had succeeded.  I was kind of hoping he was nearby, so he could help me carry the trap, but he was miles away.

I backed my car up as close as I could to the trap, and then I had to carry and drag the trap to my car.  It was about 30 feet and I took it slow, being careful of her toes.  She was about 35 pounds, I think, and the trap is about 47 pounds.  I got it into the car by tipping one end in and then lifting the other end, and rocking side to side until it was all the way in and I could close the back hatch.  She was quiet on the ride home.  I opened the end closest to us, and she stuck her nose out to check us out.  She was fine with Tino, but not trying to be his friend. .  I took her to the shelter and got her settled into a kennel.  I sat with her for a while.  She didn’t seem to mind my company, but she was a bit aloof.

Of course we posted online that we had found this dog, and the shelter listed her as found.  No one ever came to claim her.  She was taken out of the shelter to be fostered by someone experience with the breed.  Now, 4 months later, it seems that the foster is adopting her.  She has been named Poppy.  She is a very happy girl, living a wonderful life, where she is loved and cherished.  She has become a dock diving champion!  I don’t know how she came to be in the wilderness, in a roadless area by a fast river.  I had wondered if she might have fallen in the river and been swept away, washing up in that area where we found her.  She loves the water now, so if she did end up there because she fell in the river, it doesn’t seem to have had any negative impact.  I can’t imagine why no owner ever looked for her.  She is the sweetest dog in the world.  Her new owner feels lucky to have her, and they will have a great life together.Thank you for letting us help you, Poppy.