Simmie: Warrior Princess!

This account of an Italian Greyhound that was lost & found after 9 days of roaming loose in the countryside is being written with the hope that some of the steps we took will help others if they ever find themselves in a similarly horrible predicament.

We especially want to give hope to the people who think that their Italian Greyhounds are too hopelessly delicate and fragile to survive such an ordeal.

IGs are a very intelligent breed of dog having excellent natural instincts, especially for survival.

• • •

In November of 2003 I got a desperate call from my friend Kathy Holmes of Littleluv Italian Greyhounds: She had placed a pretty little bitch named Simmie with a couple named Vickie and Terry only the previous week. Simmie had panicked, clawed her way out of a screened window and was lost in the countryside in Cottonwood, between Redding and Red Bluff, CA.

Kathy was stuck at home in Los Angeles with new puppies and couldn't join the search party.

We made numerous calls to the area where she was lost; shelters, vet hospitals, local dog clubs, etc. We tried desperately, but to no avail, to find anyone with a dog that might be able to track her. We posted lost dog notices on various IG email lists and on the California IG Rescue website.

The weather was very wet and cold and the area was known for it's predatory wildlife; coyotes, feral pigs and dogs, hawks etc. A mountain lion had even been seen in the area. Because the area was rural many people had large dogs loose on their property. This would certainly discourage a shy little IG from seeking food or shelter at someone's home or farm!

As the days passed and sightings became fewer we realized that we had to get up there to help search for Simmie. She just didn't know her new family well enough to go to them and they couldn't get any more days off from work.

I lived the closest, but don't know how to drive. Our dear friend Victoria von Holder came to the rescue; she finagled time off from work and drove up from San Diego to pick me up in San Francisco and then we continued on together 4 hours north to where Simmie was on the loose.

Now, my only relationship with Simmie was that I had done two standing dentals on her. That doesn't necessarily make me the most attractive person to a dog! Simmie knew Victoria too but their relationship was fairly casual. At the time, Simmie was a very aloof IG, so we had little going for us besides our determination, but she's related to our IGs and that makes her family.

What we did have in our favour was that Sim knew our IGs. Victoria's Nan and my Tilde had both lived with Simmie at Kathy's house. Tilde came to live with me about 6 weeks earlier so it had only been a couple of months since they had been with each other. Most IGs know their own kind and are far more likely to come up to a stranger with an IG, especially one that they know.

While I was waiting for Victoria to arrive I made up a lost dog poster in colour and got online and used Internet yellow pages to locate all the vets, shelters and pet & livestock feed stores within 25 miles of where she had gone missing. I broke up this list into 2 sections; within 10 miles and beyond. I printed up a couple of extra copies to have on hand and gathered postering supplies.

Four days had already passed by the time we managed to get up there. Simmie was lost on Sunday Nov 9th, was last spotted on Tues the 11th and we were unable to get to Cottonwood until Thursday the 13th.

Vickie was clearly tired and demoralized by her lack of success. The rain had already ruined the posters she had put up; trying to hunt for a lost dog without adequate resources is very frustrating! Coming up with an effective game plan with inadequate help is close to impossible. Do you spend your time looking in the area or postering vets & feed stores? Victoria and I tried to do both in the limited time we had.

We first talked to Vickie and Terry about what had already been covered, got maps and walked and drove around to get the lay of the land. We then printed up the posters and hit the road. During the days we would talk to people and put out flyers. At night we drove slowly up and down the main roads of the area, postering and calling.

We were careful to keep our tone upbeat when calling Simmie. A spooked or mistrustful IG is way too smart to be suckered into being caught with sweet talk or bribery. We kept our tone casual and matter of fact and were most inclined to call out, "All right Simmie! Let's go!" as an invitation rather than appearing desperate to lay hands on her.

Before we would go to bed we would brainstorm for other places to look and poster. It was difficult to keep spirits high as more time passed without a Simmie sighting. It was so cold, wet and muddy and thinking about her out there all alone nearly broke our hearts.

However, we did have a really strong feeling that she was still alive. We knew that she was clever and fast. She could out smart and out run any coyote or feral pig... just so long as she wasn't terribly injured! We had complete faith in her intelligence and instincts.

It was with heavy hearts that we left on Sunday so Victoria could get back to work. We dropped off our list of where we had postered and where we thought would be good places to try more posters. Vickie told us that if they could find her they wanted to send her back to Kathy. This was just too much emotional strain to go through with a dog that hasn't bonded to you.

As we headed for the highway we put up even more posters and made a final slow scan of the area. It had been a week and Simmie hadn't been spotted for 5 days.

We felt terrible and could barely converse on the drive home. It made us sick to leave the area without finding Sim. Victoria had a 14-hour drive ahead of her and had to get up early the next morning for work.

The following evening I got a call from Kathy that Simmie had been spotted again! A couple that was new to the area saw her across a stream behind their home! They had seen the posters and called in the sighting. She was spotted a few times near the stream that day but wouldn't go to anyone. If they called to her she would accelerate in the opposite direction. That evening they put Simmie's crate out for her so she could at least get a bit of shelter and rest.

There was no way I was going to lose this chance. I planned to catch the first Greyhound bus in the morning to Sacramento with Tilde. Fellow Littleluv fancier Brandi Ashmore would pick us up and take us back to Cottonwood.

Brandi could only stay for the day but I was preparing to stay several more days. Brandi lent me camping supplies.

There is something you should know about Tilde: she had puppies due in a week and was massively pregnant. Greyhounds aren't allowed on Greyhound buses no matter how portable. Tilde is a big girl anyway but with pups due she could barely squeeze into the Sherpa carry bag.

Because Tilde was fidgety and we were trying to be sneaky I had to stand and jiggle with the bag on my shoulder to make it look like I needed to pee the whole time I was waiting for the Greyhound bus to take off. It didn't help that since it was so early in the morning (around 4am) the station was fairly empty and I stuck out like a sore thumb. My back was screaming but I wasn't going to give up.

None of this would have been possible if Tilde were not a very calm and steady IG. Once we were safely ensconced at the back of the bus I let her stretch out in my lap for a nap.

Vickie was at work when we arrived but her husband Terry stuck around to show us where she had been seen. I told him I was going to stay there all night if necessary, he said it was a bad idea because the feral pigs are very aggressive and dangerous. I decided to sleep in their 2nd car next to the stream; there was no way I was going to budge from what had clearly become her territory. While it was still very chilly, at least the sun was out that day.

Terry got us water and folding chairs to set up camp. Their house was maybe a 1/2-mile away at most. While Brandi and I were putting out chicken for Sim, Brandi caught sight of her but she trotted off.

About this same time the people who had spotted her the day before showed up. They didn't even know we were there - they just couldn't stand the thought of not looking for that dainty little creature.

We now had five humans and Tilde right near where Simmie was hanging out. I explained to everyone not to be too aggressive in trying to get her, best to be quiet and casual, she was spooked.

Everyone fanned out and worked their way through the fields and brush to drive her towards the stream where Tilde and I were waiting. The area was very spread out but the stream offered a bit of a natural barrier.

As our circle got smaller Simmie was spotted again. She ran into a thicket in a depression in the ground and hunkered down next to a fallen log in the brambles.

Everyone stood back at a respectful distance but close enough to discourage her from running again.

I moved up with Tilde. We could only get about 3-4 feet from Sim before being stopped by brambles. Simmie showed no sign of recognising Tilde. She was painfully bony and was very scraped up and bruised.

Tilde recognised her but was reticent about entering the thicket. Since Tilde was wearing a jacket I had no hesitation in shoving her butt into the brambles. As soon as Sim could smell Tilde up close she went wild with ecstatic wiggles!

I let go of Tilde's lead and moved around to a spot where I could crawl through the brambles on my hands and knees to reach them. I held my hand out to Sim for a sniff and as soon as she finished this and turned back to greeting Tilde I caught her by the neck in an iron grip. She let out a squeal but recovered quickly once I had her in my arms. I carried her back to our chairs and sat quietly giving her small bits of chicken.

I was shaking with relief! I don't cry easily but there were tears running down my cheeks. We drove back to Vickie's house to give Sim a going over to check for injury and a rest before leaving. There was no way I was going to do this unless we had 4 walls around us!

As soon as we were within sight of Vickie's house Simmie started to tremble violently. Vickie and her family are very sweet and gentle people and I can only imagine that Simmie had tried to go back there but was scared by Vickie's big, exuberant dogs.

I held her firmly and confidently to let her know that she was safe and she eventually calmed down. I cleaned her up with warm water with a splash of white vinegar (she was really stinky), picked off a lot ticks and confirmed that her injuries were only superficial scrapes and bruises.

We gave her a small amount of kibble and chicken and a bowl of water. Once she was done she settled into my lap for a nap. Vicki's husband broke open an old bottle of Chartreuse and we toasted Sim's successful recovery.

On the drive back to San Francisco (Thank you! Thank you! Brandi!) Simmie spent a long time making these funny groans. They seemed to be from pleasurable relief but it also seemed that she wanted us to understand the full extent of the horrible time she had had. These groans went on for a very long time!

• • •

The next 2 months were spent getting Simmie back into optimum condition.

Simmie had previously had recession on her incisors. These teeth were still firmly set into the bone and required not only the usual daily brushing, but extra careful daily flushing and picking as well.

If she was going to go into another new home it would probably be best to have these incisors pulled, as few people can deal with doggy dental care that requires exceptional focus and delicacy.

Her nails were Dremeled every other day until the overgrown quicks receded to a healthy and safe length.

Simmie had lost about 40% of her body weight and was a bag of bones. I fed her four small meals a day, supplemented with goat's milk and Nutri-Cal.

It' is tempting to give starved dogs massive quantities of food but you have to be careful, they are likely to overeat, thinking every meal might be the last meal. People feel so sorry for the dog that it's not uncommon for them to end up obese. We call this "Killing Them with Kindness". It's best to start with 3-4 daily feedings, working down to the standard (for small breeds) two meals a day.

The final agenda for Sim's rehabilitation was to work on her confidence with people other than her breeders, Kathy & Norm Holmes.

Kathy and Norm are amongst the few people I know that give just the right amount of individual attention to dogs, but are still aware of the importance of maintaining a bit of emotional distance so the dogs will transition smoothly into new homes.

Their dogs are not attention-starved, but are happily surprised when they get full attention (and bed privileges!) from their new owners.

Not Simmie. She was perfectly happy on her own if Kathy or Norm were not available. Sim loves her crate and was content to stay there. Vicki had made the mistake of taking Sim's crate away from her. She assumed, as many would, that Sim would warm up to her quicker if she didn't have her crate to hide out in.

I have found a tough-love approach to be extremely effective when dealing with shy, fearful or standoffish dogs, but this does not include taking the dog's crate away.

Sim would not willing come out of her crate and if you tried to reach in for her she would growl and snap. Rather than subjecting her to the indignity and trauma of being "poured" out of her crate I left a lead on her. I knew that she didn't romp in her crate and I was near her at all times so I felt there was little risk of her becoming entangled. She quickly learned to come out of her crate with a simple and cheerful "let's go!" It was only a matter of days before she would do this without the lead attached.

Snugs and cuddles were given before grooming chores so she learned that coming out of the crate was actually quite pleasurable. The grooming chores themselves were performed with confidence, a steady hand and a firm attitude. This showed Sim that her "pack leader" was qualified and competent and allowed her to just relax.

Once she made this progress is was actually very easy to get her comfortable with strangers. Rather than letting Sim do this on her own schedule and in her own sweet time we were methodical about exposing her new people.

No one was allowed to try to bribe her or tell her "it's okaaay" when she was behaving the least bit shy or standoffish. People are responsive to coddling but to a dog coddling gives them positive reinforcement for undesirable behaviour. Dogs are not "just like people": they are better for their natural dog-ness! Treating them "just like people" tends to project a lot of human-grade neurosis and negative attitude on to them, not to mention how insulting and disrespectful it is to them as a unique species.

I would place Sim in a visitors' lap and have them just ignore her until she calmed down. Then they could give her a yummy treat. We let Sim know that making new friends was great fun!

Without a lot of thoughtful care it would be all too easy to turn a dog into a needy, emotional cripple, especially if the dog had been through an ordeal like hers. Instead, we celebrate her instincts, cleverness and bravery.

She is not a pitiful pearl but a Warrior Princess and a survivor!

A special thanks to Kathy Holmes & Annette McCarthy for allowing Simmie to spend the rest of her life with us!