After almost two weeks on the run, a little dog was caught this weekend in west Flower Mound, about 10 miles away from where she first escaped.
Stacy Smith, executive director of Humane Tomorrow, an animal protection organization near Lantana, said last week that a large group of about 20 chihuahuas were recently surrendered by a resident of the Graham area. Many of the dogs are very scared and skittish, and all were recently placed in foster homes. On March 16, though, one of them was being brought from the facility to a foster’s car when she escaped from the carrier and ran away.
The dog is so scared of people that she ran from everyone who tried to catch her, and for about a week, Flower Mound residents would spot her and try to chase her, but to no avail. Humane Tomorrow asked the public to not chase the dog, but just call them so they can come set a trap in the area.
Smith said that last week, Humane Tomorrow hadn’t heard any sightings of the dog for about four days and they were growing concerned. Then finally someone saw her in a Canyon Falls neighborhood west of Hwy 377, near FM 1171, and rescuers put signs and posters up in the neighborhood, set a couple traps and watched them carefully. The traps were metal cages with food inside, and if an animal walks far enough inside, it’ll step on a plate that triggers the door to shut. Around midnight Saturday night, the missing 17-pound dog finally entered the trap and the door shut.
“She was in good physical shape, real hungry but not injured,” Smith said. “Still skittish, but not as bad as you might think after being on her own for 12 days.”
A resident, Kelly Tyler, helped Humane Tomorrow out by loaning some cages and a camera to monitor them, and Smith said the organization is going to invest is some of that equipment in case something like this happens again. This isn’t the first time that an animal has escaped from Humane Tomorrow, but it’s by far the longest one has been missing.
“They’re usually only on the run for a day or two, because usually they’re real friendly and run up to someone,” Smith said. “This was a special case.”
The dog was at a veterinarian clinic Tuesday for a checkup and much-needed rest before she will be taken to a foster home this week.
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