Posted on 01/07/2017 12:04:27 AM PST by nickcarraway
After two months on the run and countless attempts by adults to capture her, it took the charms of a 6-year-old dog whisperer named Meghan Topping to finally bring "Daisy" in from the cold.
"I used all my experience with dogs" said the Morgan Hill girl.
The tale of "Daisy" began in late October when the shepherd-mix, rescued from a Northern California animal shelter, was adopted by a "forever" family in Hollister.
She escaped their back yard just two days later.
For close to two months, members of the Hollister Animal Lost and Found Facebook group chronicled "Daisy" sightings all over town. Repeated attempts to capture her, though, failed.
"She was in fight or flight mode," said Deanna Barth, and expert in animal rescue with decades of experience. Barth likened "Daisy's" skill at eluding capture with that of a coyote. But even coyotes can be captured eventually.
"All the typical things like cage traps and baiting with smelly foods was not working," Barth said. "Our only way to earn her trust was to get someone she might remember."
Barth had heard that before being adopted, "Daisy" has spent time with a foster family and had become attached to a little girl there. They set out to find her. That girl turned out to be Meghan.
Meghan, and her mother Karen Topping, are prolific at fostering and training rescued and even feral dogs. Seventy-five dogs have passed through their home in the past year along. "Daisy," though, was special.
"Her bond with Meghan was uncanny," Karen Topping said.
This all explains why, in late December, Meghan and her mom drove from Morgan Hill to Hollister to see if they would have any luck at capturing the dog.
They found her in one of her usual haunts, an empty field.
Karen Topping began taking pictures and video to document the sighting, but it was Meghan who decided on her own to take action. Well, not completely on her own. Meghan says "Daisy" told her what to do.
"She told me. Because you can talk to dogs in your brain," Meghan said. "She told me if Mom stayed in the truck she would come to me and I believed it." So Meghan got out of the truck, walked to the middle of the field, sat down, and waited.
"Daisy" was cautious at first eventually crept closer and closer to the little girl, seeming to recognize her as an old friend.
The last few moments were captured on video by Karen Topping.
Tail-wagging, "Daisy" comes up to Meghan and allows the girl to pet her. Meghan eventually walks back to the truck, gets a leash, returns to the dog and puts it on her. "I was just amazed," Karen Topping said.
"It's hard to watch that video and not cry," Barth said.
"I was just thinking whatever was meant to be was meant to be," Meghan said. "And that was meant to be."
"Daisy" and Meghan have spent plenty of time together since the rescue, but the dog won't be coming to live with the Toppings. They say there are focused on the thousands of other dogs out there in need of fostering and training. They have already found a great family to be her new "forever" one.
Though, if she ever goes on the lam again, they'll know just who to call.
I didn't mention that I carefully held onto the dog's (new) collar to hold her from running away again.
Like Meagan, I think it's a big help to "get down to the dog's level", though I'm not advocating that a bicycle helps in such rescues. ;)
A lost, injured or frightened dog is going to be instinctively wary of larger, more perceived powerful humans who it will regard as a threat. Dogs know that a small child is weak, not very powerful and for the most part does not pose a threat. Size matters. To dogs anyway. Good on the little girl.
Indeed. Imagine if Dr. Dolittle had been evil!!
...”a very old soul” Interesting post as I feel souls go through a development process. I’ll leave it there.
“But I think the mother should be arrested for child abuse for using her 6-year old daughter as bait to capture a dog that was described by an experienced animal rescue ‘expert’ as being in “fight or flight mode”.”
Forget the sarcasm note at the end of this little rant?
Later
My grandmother was like that child, she had a special way with dogs. She did rescues and fostering into her 70’s. Her gravestone says “Dogs Best Friend” under her name and dates. I loved that woman so very much, she was amazing!
you don’t know dogs. the animal was scared yes but the little girl was a part of her pack and the girl allowed the animal to approach she did not chase. if this was an unknown dog and there was know relationship between the girl and the dog that would of been scary and wrong but this dog need something familiar to latch onto and the girl was that.
Kids, certain autistic people and people who have had and loved dogs all their lives have a sense for them. I’m the neighborhood “dog whisperer” myself, if one gets out and they can’t find it, the neighbors come to me. I’m just a big kid, have been accused of being an Aspie (why I have no idea) and have never known a day without at least one dog as far back as I can remember and even before that. A house is not a home without a dog in it, in my opinion.
It’s amazing how often there happens to be someone present with a camera taking video when this kind of stuff happens. (Yes, I am a cynic.)
However, my then two year old twin girls would walk up to him and pet him. However, if someone older went outside, he'd ske-daddle.
Sad end to the story- the dog finally got caught in a garage and taken to Animal Control to be destroyed (couldn't let a wild dog, who might have rabies, running the neighborhood).
That’s OK. Some people are befuddled by fear others by lack of knowledge.
If you have the gift you know it and know when to use it. The little girl has the gift.
listen to what the girl says about the dog talking to her. it is hard to explain to people that don’t have that connection to dogs but that girl has it. most of the communications with dogs are nonverbal and emotional in nature. when we talk to a dog it might have 20 words it knows but the big thing is that it reads the emotion in our voices and the body language. it will know if we are tense and nervous. a dog that has not been abused just wants to please and be a part of a pack. I myself have this affinity to dogs. and its because I understand what the dog is saying to me. I can read there body language and like the dog with words I have just about 20 non verbal signals I understand though I suspect that the dog has hundreds of non verbal signals I don’t understand.
It’s not that hard, their facial expressions and body language aren’t that different from our own. We don’t even have a tail and manage to read one another reasonably well for the most part. If we did, we wouldn’t miss the significance of a tucked tail (fear) or one standing straight up (alerted, could be interest, could be defensive).
you would be surprised how many times I am at the dog park and two dogs start to go at it having fun mock fighting and one of the owners gets scared that it is a real fight and I have to explain to them the non verbal ques that the animals are just playing. the bigger the dog the less likely the owner will realize the dog is playing. I always tell them to watch the ears and the tail for signs that it is a real fight. I also tell them that if one of the dogs is not having fun the bark will get higher in pitch.
I see overprotection by dog owners frequently at our dog park also. One owner I see frequently always takes his dog out of the park whenever my rescue dog and I enter. It makes me mad because his dog is one of the few my little dog wants to play with.
I have two small dogs and am extremely cautious with one of the dogs because some times you will get an extremely large dog that just wants to play but does not no how to play with smaller dogs generally this happens with pups that only 3-6 month earlier would of been playing hard with the smaller dog and there would of been no problem because there would of not been a big size difference. give that dog a few more months and some time around smaller dogs and it realizes it cant play the same with the smaller dog.
One of my grand daughters seems to have it also.
When she was just a toddler, she introduced herself to a fawn while her dad and mom watched.
A bit older, she’d go down to the barn and within an hour would have the most ferocious feral kittens climbing all over her.
Later, we’d take her camping with us and she’d soon have the resident chipmunks and squirrels climbing all over her.
However, when she became old enough to go deer hunting, I said, “I thought you liked deer.”
To which she replied, “O gramma, I like deer, but I LOVE venison!”
She’s got a huge head-mount on the living-room wall to prove it too.
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