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.
5 comments:
Ah, well ... it is hardly surprising that some creature would indeed come back for seconds! Do post the pictures, if you can access them from the camera storage. Check with Animal Welfare to see if there _is_ a stray by that description, and of course, then trap it if you can. Isn't the trap supposed to close if an animal eats the bait? If it is, this creature is doing you a big favor by showing you that if it _were_ Ekko, you would be sadly looking at pictures of a missed opportunity to bring him in. Have you no way of being alerted, the moment the trap is entered? Don't you want to get to the trap, the moment there is activity?
Great questions, Anonymous! Yes, as soon as possible (after the work day), the picture will be posted. Terry says it's of poor quality with the angle being high, but it should still be displayed in case someone else is missing their dog. The good news is that we got to see that the angle is too high.
Right now, the trap is not set to spring, on the advice of Sam (PGPT). It's being used as a feeding station, and if we can determine that Ekko is eating from it, then we set it to spring.
When the trap is set to spring, the noise is so loud and the trap is so close to the house that the family would hear it if they were home. And if they were not home, it would not be set to spring other than if it could be monitored at intervals of no more than a couple of hours at the most. And that's in ideal conditions; right now it's too hot for that.
So many details to attend to.
"We are concerned about Ekko surviving in this heat." Okay, then: if at midnight some other animal eats the food and overturns the water, then if Ekko comes by at 2 a.m. he is not going to stop or come close. You have got to put the Humane Trap into operation, and go out there each and every time (if ever) it should happen to go off. If it's a stray, then you know what to do. If it's a neighbor's dog, then you know who to talk to -- and jolly well take that dog to your fine thoughtful neighbor right then and there. If it's a animal, release it. You seem to be on one hand worrying that you aren't going to get many more chances and on the other hand perfectly willing to throw away your first contact. Sorry to be so blunt, but is there a life at stake here or not?
Thanks for your comment.
We are listening to professionals from PureGoldPetTrackers and other professionals as to when to set the trap. The trap was set for the entire weekend (3 days) with no activity or sightings. We have not had any other sightings of Ekko since before the weekend. The water has not been disturbed. We need a sighting before we take action.
I'm finding that I'm not sure of the point or question from Anonymous at 8:02 this morning. I can see that Anonymous is a bit troubled by something he is seeing or not seeing in the blog updates, but am not sure what it is.
If there is a concern that the family is not monitoring the trap overnight, I can say that this isn't true. The family is not sleeping through the night because they are getting up and checking the trap -- which is also required by law.
Is there a belief that the trap should be set, and that it's not enough for the trap to be used as a feeding station until there is reason to believe that it's Ekko eating from it?
Does it appear that Ekko's family doesn't want the trap set because they don't want to deal with another dog that's not Ekko in the trap, should that happen?
I'd like to see Anonymous' concerns addressed, but I'm not clear enough on what the concerns are.
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