Viktoria, part two

Safe.

Victoria is safe. We were able to catch her in the large kennel trap.

On Friday afternoon, a UBS volunteer, Judy, messaged us that she saw Victoria lying down and taking a nap in the sun on someone’s front lawn. Judy had been looking in the area of the most recent sighting for a couple of hours, and she was just about to go home when she saw Viktoria. She let Viktoria sleep and she set up a 48 inch trap across the street without disturbing Viktoria. When she got up from her nap, she came to check out the trap, but she didn’t go in.

Judy used calming signals to keep Victoria in the area. Once we knew that she was staying in a particular spot we set things in motion to get the large kennel trap set up. Marylin was in the area and helped out with keeping track of Viktoria.  Lily helped coordinate the rescue from home, as she continued being the admin for the King County group, where she had documented over 100 sightings of Viktoria over a course of weeks. Dina left work to come and help out with calming signals. Kari brought the large kennel trap in the back of her truck. Susan came to help out with assembling the trap. By the time I was able to get there, the trap was mostly assembled and ready to go. Viktoria was milling around the area. She sniffed at the food in the regular trap and went in partway, but not far enough to trigger the door. We got the large kennel trap set up with the battery connected and the light beam switch holding the electromagnet and holding the door open. We tested it several times to make sure the door would close quickly and securely. Everything was ready to go.

Volunteers led Viktoria to the trap with a trail of sausage bits.  The large trap was baited with chicken, sausage and a ham and cheese croisant.  Viktoria came to check it out but didn’t go in right away.  Judy laid on the grass near the trap, to help Viktoria feel comfortable.  Within a couple of minutes, Viktoria went into the kennel trap to get the food.  I really wasn’t ready for her to go in so quickly.  I wanted to shoot a video, but just barely got my camera started in time.  When she tripped the light beam, the electromagnet switched off, releasing the door, which closed fast with a clang.  She was trapped.

Viktoria panicked and whined at being trapped.  She ran in little circles, looking for a way out.  Judy, Dina, Kari, and I ran up to the outside of the trap to thwart her if she would try to get out somehow.  Susan pulled up just about the time the door closed because she had left to go get some hot chicken for baiting the trap, but Viktoria went in before she got back.  Viktoria was very upset about being captured, and she nipped at our clothing through the wire mesh of the trap as she chewed on the metal, trying to escape. She tried to jump and climb out, but we blocked her with our hands up high.  Kari ran to get the folding trap, so we could get her into it to secure her.  She folded it down so that it was 48 inches long by 24 inches wide by 6 inches thick, so we could squeeze it in vertically through the door without making enough space for Viktoria to push through.

I went into the large kennel trap with the smaller folding trap, and I opened it up. I closed one end of it and left the other end open. Victoria ran into the trap, hoping it might be a way out. As soon as she was in, I tipped the trap on its end so that it was vertical, and closed the end door which was at the top. We used zip ties to secure the trap, so it wouldn’t accidentally pop open somehow with Viktoria’s struggling.  We lifted the trap into the back of Susan’s vehicle for transport.  Once the hatch was closed, we could relax a little.

Viktoria is not happy that we caught her, but we are very happy.  She is now with a foster, Terri.  She has been to the vet, and she seems fairly healthy.  We will get test results back soon. She was not too skinny, considering that she had been on the run for a month, traveling at least 100 miles.  She did not have a microchip.  She is a bit calmer now, and she is resting.  She still is not necessarily happy about being off the streets, and she gives every indication that she would try to escape again if she saw a window of opportunity.  We will have to build trust with her over time.  There will be a Part 3 of Viktoria’s story, as we work with her to learn how to be around people again, if she ever knew.

Of course, we are hoping she can be reunited with her original family, but considering that we haven’t heard of anyone looking for her in the month she has been on the run, and considering that she did not have a microchip, it doesn’’t appear likely that anyone is actively looking for her.  We are reporting to the shelters that Viktoria has been found, in case anyone goes looking there.  Of course, she is posted online in many places.  Whether she goes back to her original home, or finds a new one, UBS will do our best to make sure she is safe and gets started on a better life.

Thank you, everyone, who helped with the capture of Viktoria. Volunteers put in hundreds of hours trying to get her to safety. We hope that Part 3 of her story will be much less dramatic.