Phew! This has been an EXHAUSTING week! And it ain't over! But, I'm happy to announce that Pearl is safe after a 7 day camping trip in the woods! Before I go any further, I suggest that you grab a couple of tissues. Go ahead...I'll wait.
Ready? Ok. Pearl is a 7 month old pit bull puppy. She and her 2 siblings were rescued (at the age of 10 weeks) by people who came across their owner trying to drown them in a creek! They confronted him and said that if he gave them the puppies, they would not call the authorities (I really, really hope that they lied and called them anyway!!!). A rescue group took them in. In the 4 1/2 months since then, the 2 siblings have been adopted, but Pearl is still looking for her forever home. But, as she gets older, she's getting more and more scared of things. So, she was going to a new foster home (one with other dogs, cats and kids) to see how she would do. Well, she never got a chance to find out because she slipped her collar as the new foster opened the car door (don't worry -- we gave her a martingale collar to wear now, so that should never happen again!). The new foster left food, water, her crate, and her blankets on the front porch, hoping she would come back. Well, she did (a couple of times between midnight and 2:00 a.m.) but she grabbed her blankets and headed back into the woods! The previous foster mom came out the next day and sat in the woods for a bit, but Pearl was too scared to go to her. She even tried later in the afternoon, but never even saw Pearl. We came out and set a trap and a couple of cameras. We caught her on camera in the woods, but never on the camera where the trap was (in the side yard). It's now been 5 days. So, we brought in another trap and put it in the woods. . Well, she went in and the door shut, but she spun so fast that she was able to get out! Dang it! So, we set the Missy trap yesterday afternoon (day 6). To our surprise, within 30 minutes of setting it, she was going in it to eat! The problem was that the laser was too high, so she was not triggering it. *sigh*. So, the laser was lowered. But, by that time, Pearl had eaten 2 cans of Vienna sausages, about 1/4 of a rotisserie chicken, 1 or 2 slices of pepperoni pizza, and a can of dog food. She was full. We waited until 10:00 p.m. but she never came back. Her tummy was full and she was sleeping it off. So, the next morning, I headed out and bought a couple of Royal Farms chicken breasts for her. While I was at ROFO, she was showing up on camera around the trap! I saw her when I arrived, and she hid in the woods. I set the trap, and put out the hot chicken (off of the bone, of course!) and 2 cans of Vienna sausages (we buy them by the case!). She came back and investigated, but did not go in. She came back about 30 minutes later, and it was the same. Come on, Pearl! Go in the darn trap! I have things to do today!!! Finally, after a 1 hour and 50 minute stake out, we had her! She's now in her foster home, decompressing. Let's hope she never gets loose again!
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