Page 9 - March 2021 TTI

Finding Aubrey

by Bonnie McCririe-Hale, Lost Pet Specialist

Most Americans love Independence Day. It is a I told Shane what I tell all my clients with lost dogs.
wonderful holiday – a celebration with family, friends, Yes, my search dog can certainly follow a three-day-old
and fireworks. For pet detectives however — scent trail, but the chances were low that we would be
investigators who track missing pets—it is not fun. Pets able to catch up to Aubrey, who at that point had a
and fireworks are a bad combination, with dogs longer head start. Most humans intuitively know an
suffering the most. Although the 4th is a single day in important lesson when lost in the woods; if you are
the calendar, the pet detective’s nightmare really begins lost, stop moving. Dogs, however, do not understand
when the first overzealous kid sets off one illegal that idea and they never sit in a sunny meadow waiting
firework around July 1 and continues until the middle for their rescue. They have either been picked up by a
of July. My phone rings incessantly with pleas of help good Samaritan (who may or may not be interested in
for pets who are missing due to the cacophony of hisses, returning the dog) or they are still running scared from
cracks, and explosions. anyone who tries to help them. I cannot stay in
business by talking every client out of hiring me, but I
The 2020 fireworks season was not even halfway over want them to have all the facts before they pay my fee,
when I picked up Shane Nichol’s frantic voicemail on which can be substantial, especially if travel is required.
July 7th. His golden retriever Aubrey had panicked I explained to Shane what would happen if we did not
during the Gainesville fireworks show. Aubrey in a find Aubrey after following her scent for two-and-a-half
panic pushed through a weak spot in the fence. Shane hours. Using the direction of travel established by my
said he was not too worried at first because Aubrey is a search dog, I would then apply a better search strategy
friendly dog who was wearing her collar and ID tags. than he had been using and I would continue to coach
Gainesville is a small town without a lot of traffic, so he him by phone until he found Aubrey or gave up the
figured he would get a call when his dog approached a search. I told him that although we had less than a 5%
person for help. Shane did all the normal things people chance of walking up on Aubrey during the search, he
do when they lose a pet: he posted flyers in the would have a 60% chance of getting her home once he
neighborhood and online; he checked all the vets and was correctly using all the tools that I advise and
shelters. But the magic had not happened by the third provide. I offered the less expensive option of teaching
day and his wife was starting to panic. Could my him all my search methods by phone, but Shane
tracking dog help? wanted the search dog on the case.

We met just after first light the following day, and
Shane showed me where Aubrey had pushed through
the fence. My search dog, Idabel, took a good sniff of
Aubrey’s bed and easily picked up the trail which led
through a community college campus and approached
some private land. That is where it started to get a little
messy with fences, livestock, creeks, and heavy brambles
impeding our progress. Somehow Idabel was able to
connect the dots without having to pass through private
land and we found ourselves in a suburban
neighborhood. We had been tracking Aubrey’s scent for

THE TEXAS INVESTIGATOR MARCH 2021 | 7