Happy Holidays from Ekko's Vet!

Ekko's Welcome Home Party at Dogma Bakery

Dogma Bakery (2445 N. Harrison Street) is holding a special Welcome Home party for Ekko at 11:00 AM on Saturday, Sept. 26, 2009. So come by and say hello and meet Ekko. Ekko is still a little skitterish around strange people. So please approach him carefully from the side.

We wanted to thank the many many volunteers who helped look for Ekko through the month of August. Some people posted flyers, distributed business cards, staked out a feeding station at night, provided a web space, called the shelters, or just kept looking for him in the the neighborhood.
Most people came from Arlington, but some from Falls Church, Fairfax, and Vienna.
A special thanks to PureGoldPettrackers (and Salsa) who helped track Ekko's scent and limit our search (check out the map). Also a special thanks to Nancy (provided the web space and tech support), Donna, Sonia, and Charlie who all offered support, advice, and feet on the ground. And of course, thanks to Mary Burnett who found Ekko under a bush in her back yard.

Ekko Recovering

The sounds of squeaky toys fills our house. He does like to work on them.
Ekko is feeling better now that he has the snitches removed and the collar of shame (collar cone) off his head. He still limps around, but is moving faster. Recovery should take about 8-12 weeks. So his walks are very limited. We still need to help him up and down the stairs.
Ekko is still afraid of the outside and cars. If he hears any unusual sounds (loud car engines, car alarms, trucks), he wants to go inside.

Ekko Home at Last!

Last night we brought Ekko home from Suburban Animal Hospital. I was not sure whether he would recognize home, but as soon as I lifted him out of the car he started walking up the sidewalk to our house. He seemed relieved to be in the house.

This first night, Ekko looked worn and tired. He has 12 snitches in his left leg and has lost a lot of weight. I can see his ribs. So he is limping and needs a lot of help climbing the stairs.

He is managing well with his large dog cone collar, only bumping into a few things (keeps him from licking his stitches). Despite all that, he ate all of his dinner and then some. So he is no longer a picky eater, for now.
He seemed happy just to lay down in the same room with us.
But Ekko did wag his tail when I showed him his squeaky toy.

Ekko Improving

We went to visit Ekko on Saturday and Sunday for a few minutes. On Saturday he was the most active and walking around a little at the hospital. He recognized us and wanted to go with us home.
His leg is still swollen from the surgery so it looks like Monday or Tuesday when he will come home. However, he will need to take it very easy the next few weeks. His recovery should be from 8-12 weeks.
We are planning on having a party to celebrate Ekko's return after he gains his strength back.

Ekko's Condition

From Maureen,

We went to visit Ekko this morning. As expected he is groggy from pain medication but considering everything he looked amazingly well and I'm sure he recognized us. The staff love him and the vet said he is doing very well. He showed us the x-rays taken right after surgery and we are sure we did the right thing by doing the surgery. Without it he would have eventually been disabled. The doctor thinks he should make a full recovery though it will take some time. They want to watch him over the weekend for any signs of infection so we should be able to bring him home on Monday. In the meantime we plan to visit him a couple of times a day.

Ekko's Condition After Surgery

After 3 hours of surgery, Ekko is doing fine. Yes, it took longer than expected.

The objective of the surgery was to install a bone plate (8 pin) under the skin. The doctor at Suburban Animal Hospital (Arlington) said that is took longer than expected because there was some dead bone in the center of the leg. He estimates that Ekko broke the leg on or soon after he got away on 8/03/09. He may have been hit by a car and hid while he tried to heal. That is probably why it was difficult to locate him. (It is amazing that he tracked as far as he did with a broken leg.) Unfortunately, the bone started healing, over those four weeks, in the wrong way creating a deformity, or almost an extra joint in the bone. It was not a strong mend. Doing nothing and putting on a cast would have handicapped Ekko for the rest of his life.

The doctor removed about one inch of the bad bone and replaced with a synthetic bone that is better than actual bone. Also a 12-pin bone plate was installed because of the loss of the extra bone. Ekko is resting comfortably with ice on his leg with the help of pain killers at the hospital. He might be home on Monday. The doctor expects him to fully recover in 8-12 weeks.

Many thanks to the many volunteers who put up fliers, distributed business cards, checked feeding stations, helped with the blog, or participated in overnight stakeouts. Many thanks to the people who just kept an eye out for him in the neighborhood. (Special thanks to PureGoldPetTrackers and Dogma Bakery.)

And thanks to the dog rescue volunteers who always carry a leash and snack with them in the car in case they come upon a wandering lost dog to help him find his way home.

Afternoon Update from Ekko's Dad

Ekko was found about 5 blocks from our house under a bush in the back of a house. The house is near John Marshall and Lee Hwy. Many thanks to the little 7-year old girl who spotted Ekko and called a neighbor to bring a leash. The neighbor recognized Ekko right away from the flier nearby.

***We did not think he would recognize us when we saw him at the vet on a blanket. But he sat right up when sat in front of him and pushed his nose near us looking for a pat. In fact, he lifted up front legs onto the chair to get close to Maureen (even with a broken leg).

**** Ekko will stay at the vets today and overnight for observation, checked out, fed, and rehydrated. The x-rays indicate he has two bones broken in his front leg. So he will probably have surgery tomorrow.

Found!

BREAKING NEWS!!! Ekko has been found! No details yet, but it sounds like he has been contained and is being held for his family to come pick him up. I held up the process of them being able to get out the door just by calling to get news!

So watch this space for more information!

More from our volunteer that reached the home before Ekko's family . . . He was accross Lee Hwy from his house but maybe four blocks away. He's very skinning and undernourished, and he seems to have a broken leg. A little girl found him under the bush in her front yard. He was probably hiding in bushes the whole time he was gone he was so scared. He's very docile though, and even let our volunteer pick him up. She is just pulling in to Suburban Animal Hospital as we speak, and the family is meeting them there. More later!!!

Update 9am - Ekko let our volunteer pick him up and carry him to the car and inside the animal hospital, and then they laid down in the vet's office on a blanket while they waited for to the doctor to arrive, and he was fine but not showing a lot of emotion. When his family walked in, it did take him a few seconds to focus, but when he did, he got SOOOOO excited! I would love to have seen that!

The little girl that found Ekko was helped by a neighbor -- the girl is so smart that she knew to ask a neighbor that has a dog for a leash -- and the girl and the neighbor also came to the animal hospital to see how he was doing. Instant friends! (Many of you are probably reminded of Rocky, who was lost in January from about the same area, and found by a little girl -- in Annandale!)

He will be at the vet's for a while, but we are hoping that he will be able to spend his first night at home tonight. The break or fracture in his leg is several weeks old and he's done some adapting to it. It definitely needs care, and we'll find out what's prescribed, but perhaps the surgery will be scheduled to take place after he gets to come home, gain some weight, some confidence, and just be in a better place to weather that surgery. We'll pass the word on as soon as we get it.

He's very dehydrated and undernourished, but he'd just had has flea prevention and heartworm right before he bolted -- 4 weeks and 1 day ago! -- so he's flea free (and flee free too as he's securely confined) and fine in that regard. He's also not smelly and dirty. But from his appearnce and how he acted, in general, he was most certainly laying low the whole time. THAT'S why no one wasn't seeing him and calling!

Come back for more updates as we find out what the vet has to say and how his first day goes. And thanks to everyone for all of your support! We're so glad to have you all to share this wonderful news with!

Nancy Despeaux

Surveillance Results & Upcoming Need for Volunteers

Not for lack of trying, volunteers were not able to generate any Ekko sightings despite another five straight hours of watching for him in four locations, overnight from midnight to 5am Sunday morning, August 30th.

There are still a lot of fliers up, and also a lot have come down. Local papers have carried and article and an ad about Ekko. A good number of Ekko business fliers have been distributed. I certainly can't say it's impossible for someone who's seen him to miss the clues about who to call, but it really does seem peculiar that there would be NO sightings calls if Ekko is traipsing through the area each day for nearly four weeks now.

So we need to return to the idea that Ekko has shifted his travels out, at least a little if not a lot. He may still be doing a loop, but if so, the new loop may be east, or west, or north or south of the Washington Blvd/George Mason Drive/Wilson Blvd/W&OD trail/Sycamore loop he was doing. He may be traveling too far out for sighters to see the stationary fliers, or reading the papers carrying his picture and information. If only we knew for sure, and if so, just which way he went.

We still believe that business card distribution is one of the keys to pushing the word out to people glimpsing the black dog with the white chest, sox speckled with white, and the floppy ears. So we have a new push to get them distributed. We're now looking for a good handful of people that are willing to give -- an hour or so? -- of time one (or more!) evenings this week to hit up one of the commerce area parking lots in the list below. Dogma Bakery has a supply of the cards and we will get it replenished as the week progresses. We hope to have a supply ready for pick-up at a place such as a Staples, Office Depot or FedEx Kinkos by Monday, if possible.

If you can help out this week, please email me to let me know (1) which day/evening this week and (2) which shopping area you can cover. If we can get these areas covered each day this week, we are hopeful that by the end of the week, we'll have sightings that we can go on to figure out where to go next with the search for Ekko.

Business Card Distribution Areas - August 31 - September 4th

Market Common @ Clarendon
2700 & 2800 Clarendon Blvd, Arlington VA 22201
Major Stores: Pottery Barn, Container Store

Falls Plaza West
Location: Haycock Road & W Broad St
Address: 1220 W Broad St, Falls Church VA
Major Store: Giant

Baileys Crossroads Shopping Center
5847 Leesburg Pike, Falls Church VA 22041
Major Stores: Trader Joe's, Best Buy, Petsmart

Chesterbrook, before Kirby Road
Address: 6244 Old Dominion Dr, McLean, VA
Major Store: Safeway

Willston Center at Seven Corners
Location: Arlington Blvd & Patrick Henry Dr
Address: 6118 Arlington Blvd, Falls Church, VA
Major Stores: Safeway, Petsmart, Target

Nancy Despeaux

Looking for Ekko Overnight

So we put together a pretty good plan to place ourselves in Ekko's regular path, which we know about from having Sam & Salsa with Pure Gold Pet Trackers out to trail his scent -- a couple of times, showing that Ekko is doing pretty much the same loop.

We had 1-2 volunteers out at 4 sites from 12 midnight to 5am, each of which could support a feeding station and eventually a trap. Each team recieved a briefing at their site by a volunteer that had been along for both of the tracks with PGPT, describing anything specific to know about the site -- such as where Ekko should be coming from and where he should go from there -- as well as the whole plan for the night. A dish of McDonalds cheeseburgers was placed at each site. A couple of rovers checked in at each site periodically, and eventually relieved a team that needed to retire before 5am.

All volunteers had everyone's cell phone, ready to call the next site when he passed their site, to alert them that he should be coming upon their site. One site was situated such that it would have been helpful to have more eyes on him once he showed up, so the plan was to call the rovers when he showed up (as was the plan for everyone), and have the volunteers from the furthest site leave it, and come to that site, to have more people observing him. The weather cooperated, no rain, and in fact it was beautiful. There were no suspicious characters at any site, no cops suspicious of our volunteers, no trouble at all.

And no Ekko.

There was one site where a lot of the food was eaten by the end of the night -- it little bit by each hourly check of the food, and it doesn't seem that it was Ekko. There was another site where one of the volunteers did see an animal -- larger than say a raccoon -- dark and with legs and it could have been Ekko, that appeared briefly from what seemed like nowhere, take some of the food from one of the two dishes at that site, then hurry away. "Nowhere" was actually the W&OD trail, cutting through some woods, so in that regard it could have been Ekko. But in that setting, there was no one around (the volunteers were a good distance from it but still had a clear visual shot of it) so we wouldn't expect him to be hurrying as the animal was, and to leave so much of the food behind. So we're very unsure that it was Ekko. And there was a couple of hours left of the operation at that point -- 3am -- and he was not observed anywhere else at all.

So, it was a good plan which we will repeat tonight, and hopefully this time he'll be out when we are. It seems that he should be since he is using routes that are heavily traveled during the day, making it less likely that he could travel safely and freely and without resulting in sightings. And of course the heat of the day is so much harder for a black dog to do.

We have a few openings for tonight's operation if we're going to have the full coverage we had last night, so please contact me ASAP if you can participate for any time between midnight and 5am.

Nancy Despeaux

Map From Tuesday Night Track

I got the map of Tuesday night's track, and it's here for anyone wanting a big picture look at it. It's hard to read, and I will add it on to Ekko's map that we already have going so it is easier to read. However, as I was preparing to do just that, what I saw is that it is almost EXACTLY the same as the last track from a few weeks ago!

So I spoke with Sam, and asked her if she accidentally sent me the wrong map, as in the one from the last track. And she assured me that no, this was the track from Tuesday. And no, Salsa didn't just pick up an old scent and follow it around again. She said, for example, that there were spots where they followed the same streets, but on the opposite side of them as the last time! So, Ekko is still out there, hasn't wandered away, and he didn’t turn into fairy dust. But he is doing what black dogs are smart to do – he’s staying out of the heat during his travels by traveling at night. Of course he’s harder to see at night, being dark. The night time travel is safer, traffic wise, but it’s keeping the sightings at zero.

Given that the sightings aren’t materializing on their own, we’ve decided to generate sightings by putting ourselves in Ekko’s path. Yep, it’s time for overnight surveillance, at strategic spots along the track. I’m not a fan of surveillance in a lot of cases, but where there are no sightings at all, I’m interested generating them in this way. So with the weekend coming up, we’re hoping there’s a chance that a few folks will be interested in participating. Any night owls out there? Email me if you’re available overnight on Friday night and/or Saturday night to join the fun.

Trailing Ekko's Scent

I just got a call from the volunteer that's out with Sam & Salsa and Ekko's mom, Maureen. Clearly, Ekko is still tracking in the same overall area that we've known he's been in practically the whole time he's been missing. It does not seem that he has migrated out of the area, as we'd been wondering since there have been no sightings. It seems that he's wandering along, looping around, and using major arteries (Washington, Wilson and George Mason Blvds), meaning almost certainly he's doing it at night.

At first, the scent that Salsa picked up was weak, possibly owing to the rain. Eventually, they picked up a strong scent, and when we hung up, they were still tracking the strong scent. I wonder if Ekko has done multiple loops, and perhaps they shifted from one loop to the next. It's just a guess!

We still have to make sense of the track after it's finished tonight, so we get some direction from it. One preliminary thought is that it's possible that Ekko is being seen, but people are just not calling. If that's the case, we have some work to do in order to figure that out.

Stay tuned. We'll post the tracking map as soon as it's ready.

Still Looking for Ekko

Thanks to volunteers that have been out yesterday and today, business-carding the cars at some of the shopping centers, and for checking the shelters.

We also had a volunteer spend some time tracking down at least five different mail carriers in the area to see if they've been perhaps seeing Ekko and not calling. (This is how we got the last sighting we got.) No such luck.

While we know it's possible that Ekko is still circling within the large loop that we discovered when we first had Sam and Salsa out to trail his scent, he may also have migrated out of the area, and he could be doing some other loop now. This is why the Ekko map shows shopping centers well outside of his original loop as those we are targeting to cover with business cards (over and over again). If you can pitch in and help in that effort, by all means speak up!

And hopefully you have other ways to spread the word -- download a flier and put it up at bulletin boards you have access to, email it to friends, post it on your Facebook wall, Twitter it to your followers. (Did I use the correct terminology on that last suggestion???)

Nancy Despeaux

Please Keep Spreading the Word

We're getting increasingly nervous about how long it's been since the last sighting of Ekko as we continue to push the word out however we know how to do so. The flier was emailed out to hundreds of pet related businesses around Northern Virginia today, encouraging them to spread the word among their pet loving clientele.

Business cards were distributed at different shopping centers in Arlington Saturday -- some of them several times throughout the day. Thanks to everyone that helped! We are looking for more of the same help on Sunday -- if you can give some time to the cause, you can pick up a supply of Ekko's business cards at Dogma Bakery, in the Lee Harrison Shopping Center (where Lee Hwy meets Harrison St). Thanks to Dogma Bakery for serving as the pickup point for business card supplies.

The Ekko map has now been updated with symbols to show the distribution areas we are trying to cover to push the word out about Ekko.

There's still so much outreach to do. If you can help, please contact me, Nancy Despeaux.

Weekend Efforts Planned

With a lot of the area fliered and no sightings in nearly a full week, our concern now is that Ekko may have snuck past us right out of the area where the fliers are. Given that, we are pushing the word out further, and the plan requires a lot of volunteers putting in only a little time each. Can you help this weekend?

It's volunteering you can do independently or with a partner -- your choice. It will get you out moving around a little. It will have a start and a finish, and if once isn't enough, you can go away and come back another time to do it more.

Of course we're talking about distributing Ekko business cards -- placing them on cars at shopping centers (tucked in the drivers side window if possible, otherwise conspicuously in the windshield). We've got a big supply of the cards, and a list of the shopping centers to hit is below. Now we just need the man hours to get the job done. An hour spent distributing some cards at a location of your choosing, and you're on your way.

Remember that the cars parked in these lots will turn over many times over the course of the weekend, so a hundred people out distributing them would not be too many! Email me if you can participate, and I'll give you the information about where to pick up the cards.

Willston Center at Seven Corners
Location: Arlington Blvd & Patrick Henry Dr
Address: 6118 Arlington Blvd, Falls Church, VA
Major Stores: Safeway, Petsmart, Target

Location: Wilson and George Mason Drive
Address: 5101 Wilson Blvd #A, Arlington, VA
Major Store: Safeway

Falls Plaza West
Location: Haycock Road & W Broad St
Address: 1220 W Broad St, Falls Church VA
Major Store: Giant

Location: George Mason and Columbia Pike
Address: 950 George Mason Drive, Arlington, VA
Major Store: Food Star SuperMarket

Ballston Commons
Address: 4238 Wilson Blvd, Arlington VA 22203

Lee Harrison Shopping Cntr
Location: Lee Hwy and Harrison
St Address: 2425 N Harrison St, Arlington VA 22207
Major Stores: Safeway and Harris Teeter; also Dogma and Dominion Pet Center


Cherry Dale
Location: Lee Hwy & N Monroe St, near Quincy Street
Address: 3713 Lee Hwy, Arlington, VA
Major Store: Safeway

Chesterbrook, before Kirby Road
Address: 6244 Old Dominion Dr, McLean, VA
Major Store: Safeway

Big Thanks to Dogma Bakery - 08/20/2009

We would like to send out a huge thanks to Dogma Bakery, located at Harrison Shopping Center, Arlington. Dogma sent out our Lost Dog notification to their mailing list of 825 subscribers. So we hope with all these dog lovers looking for Ekko, we will have more sightings.

There was no activity overnight. We did have a false sighting at our feeding station during the day. The food was gone. The water was undisturbed. The photos revealed a dog on a leash getting a mid-day snack. The dog walker was in the background.

Request for Volunteers - 08/20/2009

We did set up the camera and the bait last night. Unfortunately, there was no actvitiy. The water or food was not disturbed. So the search for Ekko continues.
We do need more volunteers to place flyers and business cards in shopping centers and pet related businesses. The number of volunteers is important. If we have a lot of volunteers doing a small task, that would help get the word out.
We are asking that if you know of a pet related business (pet store, vet, dog walkers, dog grooming), that you contact them and give them a flyer and business card.

Please contact Nancy Despeaux if you can help. She is our volunteer coodinator.

As always, keep on the lookout for Ekko.

Activity 08/19/09 - Different dog

We had some activity last night at the feeding station outside the trap. (Humane trap was closed.) The food was almost gone and the dish turned over again. The motion camera picked up another dog, not Ekko. Either someone is letting their dog off the leash or letting them walk far up into the yard. Or it could be another lost dog. I might need to put up a sign warning dog walkers that we have a trap with a motion sensitive camera. It looks like a beige or tan dog.

We did have a good number of photos where the camera went off, but there was nothing captured on the photos. We think the activity was outside the camera angle. There might have been 2 or 3 other animals or Ekko who visited the spot. We will adjust the camera.
Also, it looks like the camera shifted overnight. Once we know if Ekko is visiting, we will use the Humane Trap.

Good news about another dog: Mallory was found yesterday. Her search has been going on since the same week that Ekko went missing -- findmallory.blogspot.com

Please continue to look for Ekko, spread the word, and volunteer to flyer. We only had him three weeks, so he is unfamiliar with this area. He will not find his way home without some help. We are concerned about Ekko surviving in this heat.

Some Activity - 08/18/09

Some animal ate almost all the food left out last night. Dog food dish was flipped over. We thought it might be a racoon, cat, a dog, or Ekko. We had a motion detector camera pointed at the food dish. When we checked the photos we found that it was not Ekko. We thought, at first, it was a possum. The animal was greyish white with a long tail. However, it turned out to be a neighbor's small white dog.
And the other day, another dog was caught on camera during the day drinking some water. So our bait is attacting dogs.

Weekend Activity - 08/16/09

Still waiting for Ekko.
We baited the trap with hot dogs, cat food, and Ekko's favorite treats. Unfortunately, there was no activity around the trap over the weekend. We did grill Friday evening and Saturday afternoon hoping to attract him.
The thinking from the pet tracker it is was too hot over the weekend with a lot activity going on in the neighborhoods. Ekko is probably hiding and and trying to stay cool. He may even be nearby. We don't know. Sometimes it takes weeks to find a dog.
Thanks to all the volunteers (Charlie, Sonia, Donna) who continue to put up fliers and took time off to ask people in the neighbor hood about Ekko. A question to a postman turned into a sighting on Thursday. So Ekko is still traveling in loops. It may be days or weeks.
And thanks to PureGoldPetTrackers for the humane trap and advice.
I visited the Arlington Animal Welfare League talked to them and gave them another copy of the flier. They were very helpful and encouraging.

A little bit about Ekko:
I don't know why he likes tee shirts, but he does. And not the clean ones. The first time I found out was when I caught him in our bedroom. He was taking a ripped tee shirt out of the closet, like he really found something. At first I gave him the no command. He dropped it. But then I realized, he really wanted it. I tossed the tee shirt on his head. And he loved getting it off his head. Then I would toss it again over his head. Then when he got it off, Ekko just rolled around on the tee shirt. I then realized that he didn't want any tee shirt, he wanted my tee shirt. It still sits next to his bed, waiting for him.

Saturday Activity - 08/15/09

Friday night, we grilled some hot dogs in the front yard over charcoal hoping to attract Ekko to our neighborhood. (Thanks to our neighbors for lending the grill.) Nancy and Sam stated that the smell might draw him out. We looked up and down the darkened streets hoping to see Ekko's tall lanky silohuette in the glare of blue-white street lamps.

After staying up late Friday night and getting up every few hours to check the humane trap, there is still no Ekko. Motion camera did not detect any activity.

Saturday, Maureen went out to put out some more flyers on the bike path. In the evning, we drove slowly around the neighborhood near the bike path to see if we could spot him.

I think he is wandering around somewhere in the neighborhood or in the parks. Someone should be seeing him.

I wish I had a photo of Ekko playing with his squeaky toys at home. Sometimes I would be reading downstairs and I would hear this repeated squeaking upstairs. I knew Ekko would be laying up in the second floor hallway chewing on his squeaky rag doll. Then he would trot downstairs with his toy in his mouth, drop it, and put his head on my knee. I guess we all need a scratch behind the ear.

Recap of Friday

Big day yesterday!

It started with a lead in Vienna that, for a time, seemed very credible. It would explain the lack of sightings, and the location was a couple of blocks off the W&OD. So it was no stretch to figure it could be Ekko . . . but after enough canvassing of the neighbors by volunteers that responded, we had to write it off. Recounts of the dog that neighbors had been seeing in their neighborhood seemed to change until the lead just dried up.

The we got the call that put Ekko right back in his own neighborhood just moments before the call. Volunteers on hand that responded to that call by going to the and canvassing passersby led to another sighting by one of numerous mail carriers that put him practically at his home the day before, Thursday. Both sightings were in the afternoon, so we are discarding the thought that he's hunkered down during the day and only coming out at night.

Ekko's family has been putting food out in front of their house at night, and sure enough, it had been eaten overnight, by Friday morning, so that's given us hope that it was Ekko.

We secured a large humane trap -- thanks for the offers we got, and we'll remember them in the future! -- from Sam and she delivered it late Friday evening to Ekko's home. When I left the house last night, it was all set up, baited, and our motion sensored camera trained on it. If the camera shows Ekko approaching but not entering the trap, we come up with plan B.

But for now, we give the trap a chance to do its work. We're all hoping for a good word -- something simple like that the family looked out the window and saw Ekko resting in the trap, and then wagged his tail when they walked up to it. But if he wasn't trapped overnight, no worries. We know it can -- and typically does -- take longer for a humane trap's work to be done.

So check back here and see what happens.

Ekko Sightings - 8/14 - Local area

Someone called (from a restricted number) to indicate they saw Ekko at 19th and N. Quantico Sts. at about 2:00 pm today (8/14). They called twice. The call was dropped.

The US Mailman stated that he saw Ekko (pretty sure) on 22nd St. near Quantico St. on Thursday (8/13) at about 2:00-2:30 pm.
So it appears that Ekko is hanging around in our neighborhood.
Please keep on the lookout in this area.

Please call immediately if you see Ekko!!

Fliering Thursday Evening (8/13)

Can you help flier on Thursday evening?

Thanks in advance for helping to spread the word about Ekko by participating in this evening's fliering session! Here are the details:

Meeting Place: Westover Library, at 1800 N Lexington St in Arlington
Meeting Time: by 7:30pm, a supply of (300) fliers, with weatherproofing, will be at the site. If you can't be there by 7:30 but do need to be supplied with fliers, come when you can get there and pick up fliers. There will also be maps at the site.
What to bring: Wear walking shoes! You'll need clear packing tape (available at CVS stores, grocery stores, office supply stores). Also useful for hanging the flier on telephone poles are push pins and a heavy duty stapler or a staple gun, if you have one.

Those wishing to flier on their own or with their own partners and can supply the fliers, you're welcome too! The flier is downloadable from the blog (or email me) and black & white is fine since Ekko is black & white only. For information on where ro flier, please see the Lost Ekko Map, where the areas shaded in yellow are those that currently need fliering. Get started whenever you can, and email me after you flier so I can mark the online map with your covered area.

No time to make copies? Don’t forget you can email the flier to Office Depot, FedEx Kinkos or Staples for printing and then pick your supply up. Also critical is sheet protectors, large ziploc bags, or clear contact paper for weather-proofing.

Thanks to all for helping us finish the large loop that Ekko is traveling, which we are targeting to get done by the weekend when residents are out and about more so than during the week.

Nancy Despeaux

Shelter Checks Needed

Reports have been filed with numerous area shelters, and up to this point, Ekko's family members have been performing the shelter checks. We’re now looking to spread this out among a team of volunteers that can each take on a part of this job. Can you perform any of the checks?

If Ekko is turned in to one of the area shelters, hopefully he’ll still have his tags, or hopefully shelter workers or volunteers will match him to the report. And we know that some shelters display online photos of their stray pets. But there are so many ways for things to go wrong with the process, so we don’t want to take chances. If at all possible, we want in-person checks at each shelter, several times a week. This can be one volunteer per shelter, or a different volunteer for each of several checks in a week. You just need proximity to a shelter during its operating hours, and the ability to identify Ekko if he’s there. Here are the shelters we'd like covered:

Arlington
Fairfax
Alexandria
Loudon
Falls Church
Vienna Animal Warden
Washington Humane
Prince William
City of Fairfax

Can you perform any of these shelter checks? If so, please contact me in advance. This is one of many efforts that we do not want duplicated -- for the sake of the overall effort, as well as that of the shelter workers & volunteers, and the valuable time of the volunteers involved.

Nancy Despeaux

Feeding Stations/Other Efforts- 8/11/09

We are putting out feeding stations in Bluemont Park near the stream, near Montegue Street, and in the neighbohood. A feeding station was also placed at Tuckahoe Park.
Flyers have also been posted in Bluemont Park.

Lost Dog reports have been formally filed with all regional animal shelters. We do need some volunteers to visit the shelters physically.

Results from Monday Ekko Tracking - 8/10/09

Pure Gold Pet Trackers led the tracking of Ekko Monday Night.
Preliminary Draft Report from Maureen:
I'm sure Sam will be providing a report of the track, but the Sunday sighting (Bluemont Park) wasn't where we were last night. I don't have the specific streets (Sam will), but we were in the Tuckahoe/Bishop O'Connell School area, then went to Westmoreland, which we followed to N. West and Broad in Falls Church. We turned east on Broad, went a few blocks, and turned back to N. West, at which point we ended the track because it started to rain. Our assumption was he was working his way back over to Arlington and probably the bike path. There is a bike path on N. West near Broad so it's quite possible he got on right there and found his way back over to the Bluemont area where he was sighted on Sunday. I believe Sam thinks he might have spent one (Friday?) night at Tuckahoe and another night (Saturday?) behind some bushes off Broad St in Falls Church. But Sam can confirm all of this.

One thing we learned from the track last night is that although Ekko frequently stays on sidewalks and bike trails, he also likes to take occasional side trips around office and school buildings, problably looking for food.

Just to let you know, I did spend some time putting signs up around Ashlawn Elementary this morning but probably more need to be put up in that area. There are lots of little winding streets. Also if we want to flier or contact the elementary schools that are generally in that area, I would suggest also Arlington Traditional on George Mason and McKinley on Ohio. We also need to put signs up in the Falls Church area where we were last night. My son put some up along the track but eventually ran out.

Ekko Sighting, Bluemont - Sunday - 08/09/09

Bluemont Park Area -

Someone called to state that she and her daughter sighted Ekko on Sunday, 8/09/09, at about 6:00 pm in the evening around Bluemont Park.

A woman & her daughter sighted Ekko while on a walk with their golden retriever, in a building parking lot. He was meandering up Montague in the direction of Ashlawn Elem School. The mother quickly went home to get her car hoping to catch up with the dog, but didn't see him any more. She left food out at her home, near the building, in case he returns to the area.


Bluemont Park is just off Wilson Blvd. It appears that he returns there.

Ekko - Tracking tonight

FYI - Pure Gold Pet Trackers is coming back tonight to continue the track of Ekko to see if he has continued up to McClean and Potomac, looped back, or another direction.

Note - Some of the flyers were torn down between Lee Hwy and CVS on Williamsburg.

Animal Shelters were contacted with negative reports on Ekko.

Flyers are needed beyond the current known areas. In particular, up Williamsburg Blvd., Sycamore St. on other side of 66.

Ekko Sighting - Thursday 08/06/2009 - Tuckahoe Park

Someone called to tell me she saw Ekko on Thursday (08/06/2009) at about 5:30 pm crossing Sycamore St. into Tuckahoe Park. Once in the park, she approached and called after him and tried to coax him, but he ran away. He appeared to have a leash still attached.

At the time, she did not realize it was Ekko.
She went away for the weekend and did not realize it was Ekko until she saw the flyer today.

Ekko Most Visited areas

From the results obtained from the Pure Gold Pet Trackers it appears that Ekko is tracking in a looping pattern around the park areas. Please check the Lost Ekko Map to see where Ekko has been. Dogs tend to loop back to familiar areas.

It appears that he has visited Tuckahoe Park, Lacey Woods, Bluemont Park, Bon Air Park, Westover Baptist Church, and the W&O Bike Trail. He also seems to be staying on the roads with some tracks off to the parks. It appears that he slept behind the sign at the Westover Baptist Church. The track indicates that Ekko did find water at 4-Mile Run. He also was sighted at the Safeway on Wilson Blvd. The last scent was picked up in Tuckahoe Park heading up Sycamore and Williamsburg Street. The tracker thinks he will be searching and heading to water. Ekko will most likely visit these areas in the early morning or late evening before dusk.

We have sprayed some water with the family's scent at Tuckahoe and Westover areas to try to lead Ekko back to home. I have also left some food on the ground at Tuckahoe and Lacey Woods.
The tracker thinks we should put fliers further out from the detected areas.

Thanks much for everyone's help in printing and putting out fliers in this humid weather.

Terry

Ekko is Lost!

Ekko is a German Shorthair Pointer mix, about 1 year old, adopted from HART to Maureen & Terry, in Arlington VA, on 7/18/2009.

17 days after settling in with his new family, on 8/4/09 at about 7:30pm, there was a loud noise just as they were returning to the house from a walk, and Ekko bolted and ran to the end of his leash. That freaked him out too and he bolted, again, and got away. He did have his collar with all his tags on; we believe his leash has been cut and is no longer dragging behind him.

Here are some details about Ekko:

Breed: German Shorthair Pointer Mix
Color: Black with black and white speckled chest and paws. White tip on tail.
Age: 1 Year Name: Ekko (aka Big Boy)
Size: Large (55 lbs.), tall with long legs
Description: Ekko is a shy gentle (former shelter) dog who can be easily spooked by loud noises and can run very fast. He may not come to people.
Lost from: the 2200 block of N Quantico St; near Quantico St & 22nd Street in Arlington, VA, between Westover and the East Falls Church Metro
Tags: ID, Rabies, HART 8975

If you have seen Ekko, please call his owners, Terry and Maureen at 703-403-5069 or 703-533-9104, or Linda (HART) at 703-470-7981.

Efforts so far:

Ekko's scent has been trailed by a dog & handler trained in finding missing pets -- Sam with Pure Gold Pet Trackers. The track shows that he has moved around a lot in his days on the run. More details will be posted as soon as they are available.

Some fliering has taken place, but much more of this and other types of outreach are needed to spread the word so that people who have seen him know who to call. There are many ways to help spread the word, and if you want to know how to do so, email Nancy Despeaux.