HELP US FIND TROUT!

trout vs. lola, round 8

2006-03-26T20:46:00.000-08:00

they fight like little bear cubs!

taking care of trout... again

2006-03-22T08:04:00.000-08:00

i think these accurately show the movement and excitement of our morning walks...

and here are some shots of trout and lola chillin in the hood of couch park. note that we are on the shady section of the park where the meth heads hang out.

and a happy trout in bed.

miss you mommy karena!

Thank you Portland...

2006-03-01T19:51:00.000-08:00

It overwhelms me how incredible our community is. Now that it has sunk in that Trout is back, that he's not out wandering the forest and streets of Portland, I've had time to digest and truly appreciate the help and support we received in the 3 weeks he was gone. From the beginning, in the first few hours, people in FP were offering to keep an eye out and pass the word out along the trail. Bikers who were riding up LE made a point to let me know they hadn't seen anything while they were on their way down. Every other person we encountered had a success story about the time that they or their friend had lost a dog.

You never plan on losing a dog (or any pet), so when it happens you don't quite know what to do. I kept thinking that I'd turn the corner and Trout would be right there. Even after 8 hours of endless hiking... But when he didn't show up I had no idea what to do. I didn't know to check Multnomah County Animal Services, or that the Humane Society on Columbia doesn't take in dogs. I didn't know that there were multiple kinds of microchips and that scanners might pick up one but not another. We were just lost.

I sent out an email to the small group of friends and aquaintances that I have here in Portland. From that list, friends sent it to friends who sent it to other friends. I still can't believe how far the network reached. We had people calling and emailing with tips and offers to help. Even after Trout had been gone for weeks and we had started to lose hope, people kept contacting us and renewing our hope.

Thank you Portland... for the emotional support, for hitting the trails and looking for a skittish dog, for forwarding the email to your friends, family and coworkers, for the inspiring stories, for new ideas on where to look, for the offer of financial support, for paying attention to our fliers, for all that and more. We finally have Trout home.

This weekend will consist of traveling through FP with Lola and removing all of the fliers I can find. Karena is settling in to life in France and Trout is shacking up with his girlfriend Emmy (supervised by Teresa and Seth.) He's really skinny but Seth had grand plans for fattening him up. When Karena comes home she might not even recognize him!

Again, thank you. I guess we're done here. :)

And two more pics...

2006-02-24T18:53:00.000-08:00

So, the story...

2006-02-24T18:29:00.000-08:00

I hate to say it, but I think we had kind of given up on Trout after the Search and Rescue team told us they thought that Trout had been taken. So imagine my surprise when I received a call on Wednesday while on my way home. It was a man in the NW who thought he had seen Trout. It sounded like him, so I drove straight there to check it out. He wasn't in their yard but was in the yard below them, where they were in the middle of constructing a new house. Trout was right in the driveway when we pulled up! But he wouldn't come to me! I brought a squeaky toy and a bag of chips but he wasn't interested. After a few minutes I decided I would have to come back with Karena.

We came back a little while later in the dark, armed with headlamps and flashlights. We called for Trout, and after a few minutes he showed up on the hill! He wouldn't come to Karena right away; she had to call and call him until finally he went to her! It was awesome. After that he didn't even need to be on a leash. And he was a totally different dog- really confident. I guess that will happen after almost a month in the wild. He was pretty skinny too, but alive and well, which is what counts.

Enjoy the pics of the happy reunion!

Thank you SO much Portland! Words cannot even express how much everyone's help and support has meant.

And a very special thanks to Lucy and Charlie- for finding Trout, for taking the time to hunt down one of our posters and call us, for offering us wine to celebrate Trout's return. Enjoy the wonderful karma that is sure to find its way to you soon!

That's Karena, Trout and I with Lucy and her 2 dogs, Mya and Abby. Our saviors!

A HAPPY ENDING!

2006-02-22T22:04:00.000-08:00

We found Trout! Thank you Lucy and Charlie! Details coming tomorrow...

Sunday, February 19th

2006-02-19T10:06:00.000-08:00

Last Thursday I checked Multnomah and Washington County Animal Services to no avail. I have an insider on top of things at the Oregon Humane Society in case something turns up there. Right now, my gut tells me that some asshole has decided to keep my dog for her/his own. I'm going to make new flyers that speak to such a situation and post them in the neighborhood where the SARS dog tracked him. I will be leaving for Europe this Thursday, the 23rd and Karen, Seth and Teresa will be on top of the Trout situation while I'm away. Seth and Teresa will have my cell phone but please keep referencing this site for their contact information.
Karen 503.459.1573
Seth + Teresa 503.984.4916

Let's hope and, dare I say, pray for the best.

SAR

2006-02-15T19:53:00.000-08:00

Karena went out to FP with a Search and Rescue guy and his dog, trying to track Trout's scent. She (the dog) was able to follow him down LE and also picked up his scent on NW 28th and Upshur. The trail ended abruptly at Upshur in front of an apartment building. It was the SAR guys opinion that one of 2 things had occurred: A. Trout was hit by a car right there or B. Trout was picked up and removed from that area. So we're back to checking all the animal shelters and area vets... Not sure what we're going to find. But it seems that someone must have him if there haven't been any more sightings. Poor Trout. I wonder where he is?

No news is good news?

2006-02-12T09:11:00.000-08:00

It's been over a week... We haven't had any new Trout spottings since Monday, when he was seen at NW 28th and Thurman. Karena decided to remove his bed from LE last night, since he obviously isn't hanging around. I wonder when and how we will finally find him...

Another shot of Trout and Emmy:

Still no news about Trout...

2006-02-09T19:30:00.000-08:00

We're coming up on a full week here... This has not been a good week for NW dogs! Lola is now out of commission after a tangle with a rusty pipe on Lower Macleay. She got a few stitches and is doped up wearing her Elizabethan collar. Not a happy camper.

Before:

After:

So Karena and Teresa sat by Trout's bed last night, but he didn't show. And there haven't been any new sightings of him. What the heck is he doing out there?

Confirmation!

2006-02-08T12:23:00.000-08:00

It was Trout who was seen on Sunday! Thanks Janelle!

Karena is going out right now to place the pee soaked rag near Trout's bed. I just had a dream that I found Trout and fed him a piece of beef jerky. We're so close!

A full body shot...

2006-02-08T09:44:00.000-08:00

Here's a full body shot of Trout. He is the one on the right, next to Seth and Emmy. He is wearing booties.

We got an email from someone who may have seen Trout on Sunday, between mile 2 and 3 on LE. Waiting to hear back if it's a definite Trout spotting or not.

Pee

2006-02-07T20:00:00.000-08:00

Also, someone shared with me that when they lost their dog she was advised to pee in a jar and leave it at the site where he was lost. Believe or not, the dog was found sitting by the jar o' pee. I will peeing in jar tomorrow at the Wild Cherry trailhead with a "do not touch unless you are Trout!" poster haging above the jar when I am finished. Then, will all efforts be exhausted.

Day 5-February 7

2006-02-07T19:45:00.000-08:00

By the way, in the picture below Trout is the one on the left and he is spooning Emmy who has been working hard with her nose to help us find him. Trout's bed has been left near the scene of the crime in the hopes it will draw him back to that area. Today Karen and I posted more flyers in the Montgomery Park area since he was heading that way when he was sighted yesterday. We also drove out to Multnomah County Animal Shelter to see if he had been turned in but alas, nothing. I also posted an ad in the Oregonian but, unfortunately, it will not run until Thursday. Pending anymore clues, it seems that we have all nearly exhausted what we can do to find him. Now it's a waiting game and a very anxious one at that seeing as how I leave for France in two weeks. So many people (amazing friends, clients, and strangers!) have donated their time on foot, in their vehicles and on the keyboard to help look and post and flyers. I am eternally grateful. In the meantime I need beer and sleep, but I won't solicit you all to sit at the bar with me while I cry and repeat "where the fuck is Trout?" nor will I ask you to sing me a lullaby :)

Feb. 6 post-spotting-closing in on day 4

2006-02-06T22:27:00.000-08:00

This is a posting from his exhausted and heartsick owner :( After the woman who spotted him this morning in town called me I and many friends drove around for 2 + hours looking and no luck. I posted a flyer at Couch park and at my apartment building and am heading out in the morning to post more in the NW/Nob Hill neighborhood. This has definitely been a lesson learned regarding community and humanity. I cannot believe how wonderful my friends and complete strangers in the community have been. Thank you thank you thank you. This is pretty much the worst thing ever and I'll always remember how much amazing help I've received.

Trout spotting!

2006-02-06T21:02:00.000-08:00

Trout was spotted at NW 28th and Thurman around 9am this morning. A woman called Karena this evening- she had seen Trout this morning but hadn't seen one of our fliers until later. She said he was trotting along, looking like he knew where he was going. She thought about grabbing him but didn't. IF YOU SEE TROUT, PLEASE GRAB HIM!

I made new fliers, with a bigger photo of Trout and our blog address on it. I know people like to be interactive, so hopefully the blog will facilitate that. I refreshed the fliers at LE and WCT and Lower Macleay. Lola took a swim in the creek, so she's about as clean as she's gonna get, which is still gross. Look at this photo:

I posted a bunch of new fliers along Aspen St., and tomorrow I think I'm going to do more of the neighborhood, especially since the Trout spotting. I also stopped by Fit Right NW, the running store, and updated the flier at Fat Tire Farm. Tonight I brought Trout's bed to LE and placed it along the trail. Hopefully Trout will find it and decide to stay in the area. Tomorrow I will head back to Troutdale to MCAS, but I do really think that we will find him because someone ran across him in the neighborhood.

Karena and Teresa hit LE a bit today, and brought fliers to the doggie daycare places and some dog stores. Karena posted some at Couch Park and near her building. She also spent a lot of time this evening driving around NW 28th, calling for Trout after she got the phone call. It sounds like she had a couple of people out looking.

Karena is going to email more pictures of Trout so I'll post those soon.

Next up...

2006-02-05T23:28:00.000-08:00

- Check the dirty laundry situation.
- Make more fliers.
- Call Animal Services in other counties.
- Check MCAS on Tuesday (closed Monday.)
- Get info out to more local businesses.
- Hopefully follow leads.

It has been really heartening to see how willing people, complete strangers, are to help us. Everyone has a story about how they lost their dog, and he/she came back 2 days/weeks/months later. Everyone is really hopeful and helpful and caring. Thank you Portland. You make this city and this world a better place.

Again, the missing Trout dog...

And his accomplice, Lola.

Part 3- Sunday

2006-02-05T23:14:00.000-08:00

I finally showered, and shortly after getting clean Karena called and said that a guy had called her that morning, saying that he had seen a grey dog off of Wildwood Trail, near mile marker 11. It was off of Fire Lane 1. He had seen one of our fliers and called to the dog, but obviously Trout did not go to him. We went out to that trailhead after grabbing breakfast. I walked down Nature Trail and Karena walked down WT, and we met up. We both needed to use the restroom so we decided to head back to town and come back. On the way back up, we ran into a nice, eccentric man who has been hiking in FP for 20 years.

He told us a few places to look and some tricks to try. He sounded like he knew what he was talking about. He drew us a map and pointed out some houses to bring fliers to; at one house he knew the people and knew that they were dog lovers, at another he said the golden retriever was dumber than a box of nails, and another house he said was "weird." He also suggested that Karena bring some dirty laundry up to WCT and stuff it under rocks and logs so Trout would get her scent. He said that in his experience dogs did not travel all that far from where they were lost and what they are familiar with, so she should get her scent in that area. He said to NOT put food out (oops, we already did that morning under someone else's advice) and asked us to remember to remove our signs when we found Trout. I am going to make sure that we do.

After meeting him we decided that our time would be better spent stuffing Karena's socks on WCT. So we drove back down to Leif Erikson. On the way we stopped at each trailhead and updated our posters, letting people know that Trout had been spotted that morning on WT. We got a call shortly after from a woman who said someone had wrote a note on one of our posters about Trout. Unfortunately, that someone was us. I told her so and thanked her for her effort.

On the way we stopped for lunch, and also spoke to some volunteers at Potluck in the Park. We left some fliers with them. After the Trout spotting that morning, we were pretty sure he was still running wild, not hunkering down with a stranger in FP. We also posted a flier at the community bulletin board at REI in the Pearl. And gave Roger (from Trader Joe's StreetRoots) some fliers.

We planted 4 articles of Karena's dirty laundry on WCT- she took it off right there, what a trooper!- hoping that Trout would come back to that area and decide to stick around after he smelled her scent. Smell is a dog's strongest sense, so hopefully it will be enough. On our way back down, Lola stopped to sniff one of the socks, which was pretty far off the trail. So that gave us hope. I really thought that we would have him by now.

Part 2- Saturday

2006-02-04T23:00:00.000-08:00

Loretta from Animal Rescue had been forwarded my email from Piotr, and she had a lot of suggestions for me. Instead of wandering aimlessly through FP, she said I should go immediately to Multnomah County Animal Services. So I drove out to Troutdale and looked through the kennel, the DOA and Found binders, and finally put out a Lost report for Trout.

The kennel was unbelievably sad. All those scared dogs in there, not knowing what was going on or who I was or why they were there. Maybe some belonged to someone, others probably strays. It was just pitiful. Lola was in the car, and was incredibly stressed out from the moment we pulled in the parking lot. I won't bring her next time.

After that I went to the Humane Society on Columbia Blvd, and found out that they don't really accept dogs: whatever dogs are turned into them they have MCAS pick up. We have to check MCAS at least every 3rd day, since that is how long they will hold a dog for. And we have to go in person, not just call on the phone.

After I got back, I copied some fliers at Kinko's and posted them at a few trailheads: LE, Aspen Trail, Tunnel Trail, Upper and Lowe Macleay, Audubon Society and at the trailheads off of 53rd. Karena was off work by then and she went to FP and handed out fliers on the trail and in the neighborhood. To be honest, I already can't remember what else I did or where else I looked during this time. It's all turning into a blur.

I do remember that I called Dove Lewis and filed a Lost report on their website. I also checked the Found ads online for Willamette Week, The Oregonian, Portland Tribune and Mercury. I posted Lost ads to Willamette Week and Petfinder.com. Loretta called again and told me that a lot of homeless people and transients live in FP, so one of them may have possibly taken Trout in. She told us about Potluck in the Park, and suggested that we should show up and see if someone has Trout. She said that almost all of the people who would be dining there were animal lovers, and would be sure to keep an eye out for Trout.

Later that night (11:30) Karena and I went out to LE and walked up about 1/4 mile, calling Trout's name. I put my old bike lights on Lola's collar, which was a good idea because it was pitch black. We both got a little freaked out (not a good idea to be wandering around FP in the dark, or so I've heard) and turned back. We stopped at the Blue Moon and each had a shot (her tequila, me a lemon drop) and then headed to bed.

Part 1- Friday

2006-02-03T22:36:00.000-08:00

Friday morning I (Karen) took my dog, Lola, and Karena's dog, Trout, for a hike in Forest Park. I was dogsitting and since Karena and Trout were our regular hiking partners, I thought it would be a treat to take them up there. We drove up NW Thurman to Leif Erikson Trail, where I let the dogs off leash and we started our hike.

There were 2 well dressed young men starting out at the same time as us, and they remarked that Trout seemed to be on the prowl for something. I told them that he always looked like that; he was a bit skittish. I stopped to pick up poop and they walked ahead of me. About 1/4 mile up the dogs ran up Wild Cherry Trail. The two city slickers went up the trail after them. I decided that I didn't want to walk behind them, so I called the dogs down and continued on Leif Erikson. Lola came running down, taking a shortcut through the brush. I called Trout, but he did not come. I was looking up the hill at the picnic table on Wild Cherry Trail, and one of the guys called out to me: "He's right up here."

So I decided to take Wild Cherry Trail after all, and Lola and I walked up. Trout was nowhere to be seen. The two guys were taking photos of each other not too far up the trail. It got muddy, and they turned back. We kept going, thinking that Trout was just up the trail a ways.

I walked up Wild Cherry Trail until it met with Wildwood, and still no Trout. I started to get worried. I called his name again and again and told Lola to "find Trout!" I walked back down WCT to LE and back down to the trailhead. I waited there a bit, asking people walking down the trail if they had seen a dog. No one had. I walked back to WCT, then back down to the car. I then thought that maybe Trout had went to the Dogwood Trail, since that was the last place we had been with Karena. As I walked up LE again I asked a woman if she had seen Trout, and she said she had. She said he was walking up LE. I started running up LE, hoping I could catch him. I ran up to the 2 mile marker but no sign. So I walked back down, detouring up DT on my way. As I left DT, I knew it was time to call Karena.

She cancelled her appointments for the rest of the day borrowed a car to drive to FP. I figured as soon as Trout heard her voice he would come running out of the woods. We walked up LE while she shouted his name. We walked all over the place: WCT, DT, LE... She called her friend Seth and he came out to FP and rode his bike around. His wife Teresa brought her dog, Emmy, to assist in the search. No luck. We all went home and I loaned my car to Karena so she could run errands and make fliers.

Before I went to bed on Friday I wrote an email to everyone I knew in Portland letting them know about Trout's disappearance, and asked them to keep an eye out. I included a photo and a description.

Welcome...

2006-02-03T11:00:00.000-08:00

... to the quest for TROUT.

Trout is a 2 year old Australian Shepherd/Blue Heeler/Catahoula Hound mix who belongs to Karena. He was lost in Forest Park on February 3rd, 2006, at approximately 11am. Please help us spread the word and find him.

Meet Trout

2006-02-02T22:59:00.000-08:00

The basics:

Australian Shepherd/Blue Heeler/Catahoula Hound mix
2 years old
Right iris is light blue
Neglected as a pup- as a result, is VERY timid
Tail will stick between legs
Non aggressive
Runs fast

Olive fabric collar with stars
Nice silver name plate with contact info listed
License/Vaccination tags on collar; current on shots