Recovering the lost Chihuahua, Pretzel, took some twists and turns before an all-out effort by the dog’s caretaker to find the pooch finally got results when a local surfer, who’d seen the stray at Tourmaline Surf Park, saw a flyer posted in a veterinarian’s office that led to his recovery.
Nearly every day, a dog or cat is lost somewhere in Pacific Beach, with pet owners posting messages on social media like Next Door – even offering monetary rewards – for their safe return.
Such was the case recently when Realtor Diane M. Sampson was reunited with Pretzel after he got spooked and ran away. Following an exhaustive two-week search, with Samson unsuccessfully trying every conceivable means to find Pretzel – she’d almost lost hope.
“We’d adopted Pretzel as a second pet so the dog we already had would have a buddy and playmate, and he slipped out,” said Sampson, noting her family searched tirelessly on foot for a couple of days afterwards, then distributed 250 flyers around Pacific Beach “on every stop sign, telephone pole, animal hospital, etc.,” as well as multiple postings on social media site Next Door.
“We even paid for a Pet Amber alert (an online lost/stolen pet recovery service), as well as advertising on Craigslist and going to local animal shelters almost every day,” said Sampson, noting the search, after two weeks, had been fruitless.
Then fate intervened to lend a helping hand.
Enter PB surfer Tommy Campbell, a frequent boarder at Tourmaline Surf Park.
“I was actually taking my dog to a new vet, Grand Animal Hospital, and I saw one of Diane’s flyers,” said Campbell who’d repeatedly spied Pretzel on Tourmaline’s hillsides. “Instantly, I knew it was that dog.”
Campbell said Pretzel “was really scared and wanted to socialize, but was (too) scared to. I’d just seen him again, and he looked a little worse than he had three or four days prior.”
Campbell was more than happy to share the information he had about Pretzel, adding, “I’m really glad it all worked out for the little dog. I’m glad I was where I was (vets) at that time.” 
Next came the biggest contribution of all to recovering Pretzel, Second Chance Dog Rescue, a nonprofit dedicated to saving homeless dogs, housing them in private foster homes until they’re adopted.
Sampson said Second Chance deserves a big assist for helping “save” Pretzel, as one its volunteers, Babs Fry, went out and set a humane trap that ultimately snared the scared stray.
Fry, who volunteers trapping dogs without pay, does so because “I’m very passionate about animals, and about sharing resources (networking, trapping) people may not be aware of.”
Fry counseled that people looking for lost canines, especially those in foster homes, make two all-too-common mistakes: giving up too soon, and not exploring every possible recovery alternative.
“After more than a day, a dog goes into ‘survival mode,’” noted Fry. “They get scared and try to get away from everything thinking it’s a predator.”
The best way to recover a lost dog is to be patient – and persistent, Fry said.
“Lots of times people go all-out looking for about 24 hours, then they give it up as not being worth it,” she said. “The truth is it can take a week, sometimes even two or three weeks, depending on the circumstances.”
Fry pointed out the key in rescuing a stray dog is to “focus on the location where they’ve been sighted. You set up food and water stations to lure them into a humane trap, where they’ll be drawn eventually by hunger or thirst.”
Samson agreed the “grapeshot” approach is best to finding a lost dog.
“Everything, all the (flyer) postings, using Craigslist, getting the community involved, is all super important,” she said. “And the community in PB were absolutely phenomenal. People were so caring. The outpouring was just very heartfelt.” Dog is lost or stolen?
• Start by making and putting up flyers, neon signs, and banners.
• In searching, try to cover two miles in every direction. Hit places like Shopping plazas, coffee shops, dog parks, 7-Eleven, telephone poles where cars stop near major intersections or freeway on ramps or off ramps.
Post on a big bright neon poster board with the pet’s photo in the center – write only: Lost dog, phone number, and possibly a website that is easy to remember. Stick to only what is needed to get in touch with you.
• Check your neighborhood, talk to everyone about your missing pet, your mail carrier, trash collectors, neighborhood children, people at dog parks, etc.
• Post information free at:
craigslist.org Post in both the Pets and Lost and Found sections. Repost every day or every other day to keep fresh; also use secondchancedogrescue.org, petfinder.com; oliveralert.com; lostdogsandiego.com; petharbor.com; akekee.com, thecenterforlostpets.com; lostandpound.com; k9alert.com; helplostpet.com; swiftreport.net; lostpetusa.net.
• Make sure you check animal control. Ask to please see all dogs not just the ones up for adoption. Often strays, collar or no collar can be in isolation areas. If you do not ask they will not tell.
• Check your local shelters every three days. (On days where you do not personally visit, you can check their websites).
• If your pet is micro chipped, all the microchip company. Let them know the dog is missing and make sure your contact info is up-to-date.
• Consider contacting a pet detective – k9pi.com.