10/02/2026
We have a story to tell. A story 8 years in the making. Warning this story may make you sad, make you mad, but hopefully will warm your heart in the end.
A dog, affectionately named Shep, showed up outside of a dog rescue in an unincorporated part of town. This dog was predictable but elusive. He would roam and follow neighbors and their dogs, but he wouldn't allow anyone very close.
The rescue reached out for Dog Days Sar help. She wanted the dog to be safe. Many attempts were made by our team to secure him. He was leary of the traps. He jumped over a large kennel enclosure we put up and darting attempts by Animal Control were not successful. He was smart and nothing could bring him to safety.
During this time, we were not giving up, but his rescuer now believed he wanted to be free and said we should just let him roam the neighborhood. She would leave food on the front porch where he would sometimes take cover during inclement weather when not in the hills or laying in the street. She also convinced all the neighbors that he wanted to be free and was a wild animal. This thought process by a rescuer made no sense to us.
Now, with every attempt at capturing him, neighbors and even the rescuer would interfere. Even when animal control made darting attempts there were neighborhood challenges that foiled those plans. Meanwhile, Shep was not touchable and at this rate may end up feral roaming and running wild. We were eventually forced to retreat and leave him there, since we could not get control of the situation.
Fast forward to a few years ago. His rescuer moves away and leaves Shep alone there to fend off the mountain lions and coyotes. No one alerted us to come help him as he was still living outside on the street. The neighbors just kept him out there and provided food. & water. Occasionally he would take food from someone's hand but he had no other physical touch.
Then someone bought the house where Shep lived on the hillside where he dug tunnels and made caves to sleep in. They accepted that the "wild dog" came with the house. And Shep lived there, "watching over the neighborhood". We offered to help catch him again but were told to just leave him be.
Dog Days Sar volunteers were frustrated with this thought process. Every once in a while, Shep would end up in another neighborhood. He would stay for a week then head back to the neighborhood he knew. We would get reports of him running down major streets and always worried about him. But by the time we went out he had gone back to the old neighborhood, where we could not rescue him due to the resistance and interference we knew would happen.
Now Shep isn't a big dog, about 40 lbs but he was given the job (whether he wanted it or not) to protect the neighborhood.
A few weeks ago, we had thunder here in CA like we've never had before. It was loud and shook the houses. After a very loud crack, posts started popping up on social media of a black and tan dog running scared. Our hearts sunk as we had the feeling that it could be Shep. We tried to get to all the sightings but just like the flashes of lightening, he was gone.
A few days after the storm, someone posted a picture of Shep, sitting upon a hill, over 2 miles from his safe area. We recognized him immediately and began to formulate a plan to get him safe. That plan had to include the what ifs... what if he is feral and wild? What would we do with him? After 8 years alone and without much human touch or interaction, we had to expect the worst.
Our goal was to always get him safe. Our goal never included sticking him in a shelter or a kennel for the rest of his life if he was feral or even semi feral. We expected that would be torture for a dog that has only known freedom. But we were gonna get him this time.
So we worked on trapping him. We hung signs asking people not to feed him. But unfortunately, once again, some people thought he should still be left to be free. They left random food all over, which made trapping him harder and a longer process.
He didn't even know this new area, he didn't have a regular feeder or protection from the weather here. Attempting to get back to his safe area, would require him to cross many busy streets and even the freeway. Leaving him was NOT an option, no matter who got mad at us.
Multiple team members were on site for days on end in the new area, trying to pull the random food that people were leaving and also trying to make sure he stayed safe. They made neighbors in the community aware we were trying to rescue him. Some of the new area neighbors were amazingly helpful, including allowing us to drop traps on their property and alerting us to his whereabouts on their cameras.
We worked the trap, conditioning him for 3 stressful days. Filling it with the most delicious treats. On the final day, he went close but not in. We left him a bowl of water outside of the trap. He came up, grabbed the bowl and ran! 💡He won't go in for food but what about more bowls? So we made a trail of paper bowls into the trap. Our team recalled he used to steal shoes back in the day. If he was gonna steal one bowl he might steal more!
We watched on camera as he grabbed the bowl nearest the door and ran, then came back for the next one, and the next one! By the time he got to the further ones, he was all the way in and triggered the trap! 8 years and Shep was finally safe! We were relieved and so grateful.
Then the worry set in. Now we were concerned about how he would react. We had prepared for the worst and hoped for the best.
Shockingly, he was calm in the trap, even took some nibbles of the pepperoni pizza we had baited with while our team was there. This was a good sign.
We took him home for the night. Now came the hard part. Was he going to let us handle him? Would he be aggressive? Would he try to break out? How stressed would he be?
Much to our surprise, NONE of that happened. Instead, he was calm and slept quietly. Another good sign!
The next morning we knew he hadn't had a rabies shot (or a vet visit) in 8 years so we loaded him up and took him to the vet.
At the vet, we got a leash on him and though he was confused about it, he cooperated. He let us touch him all over. He made eye contact and he even took treats. We had him vaccinated and he got a general check up. Dr. gave us a thumbs up. He said Shep was in pretty decent shape. We treated him for parasites and worms and brought him back home to his foster, where he has been since he was trapped 2 weeks ago.
We all breathed a small sigh of relief...Shep wasn't feral. Was he still in shock? Would his true behavior come out? Only time would tell.
We have personally fostered him during his stray hold. Sending him into the shelter would have been a set back so our approved shelter foster held onto him and we made the shelter aware.
He was brought into a house for the first time in over 8 years and walked in and jumped on the couch!! We were really blown away. He has accepted affection. He has started to learn about soft dog beds and crates. He is also dog friendly.
We keep thinking this is a dream! We expected the worst and he is proving that he isn't some wild animal that should be outside. To say our team has cried over this dog over the years would be an understatement! We are also very angry.
What the rescuer did was wrong and illegal! What the neighborhood did was wrong. You cannot have an off leash dog roaming a suburban neighborhood a stones throw from a major freeway. But beyond wrong and illegal, look at what this boy has had to endure. At just a year or so old, he was made to live like a wild animal. He didn't need to go thru this. His life robbed from him. He could have had dog beds, a roof over his head and been a social dog many years ago. He could have had a much fuller, loving life.
He has completed his legal stray hold thru the shelter and he is officially a Dog Days Search & Rescue dog now. So what does that mean? It means that we will do whatever we need to do to get this boy to a great place to spend his golden years.
What he has shown to us in the time that we've had him, proves that a safe home where he can lounge on dog beds, inside, is achievable!
He is going on walks and runs daily, he is living inside a house, even jumping on a couch or two to take a snooze. Can you even imagine what it feels like to him? To really sleep hard, not with one eye open, to know that he always has food, to know that he will always be dry and warm. We imagine he thinks this is heaven!
We are working with him, he does have a bit of flight risk to him. He assesses the fence height, he sometimes scratches on the door, but we are hoping the more he spends in the house, the less that instinct will be.
We'd like to send him to board and train to work on some basics that he hadn't been exposed to. We'd also like to send him to Mulligans trainer but need to raise some funds.
Do you believe in Dog Days? Do you believe in Shep? If so, donate today. We will keep everyone updated and will be taking applications for this boy in a few weeks!
We are a 100% volunteer organization. We never charge for our time or for our services. We are 100% supported by our donors. To help us continue our mission to help lost and stray dogs, please consider making a donation to our cause. Dog Days Search & Rescue is a 501c3 Non Profit Organization. ALL donations are tax deductible!!
PayPal:
https://dogdayssar.com/donate
Or Venmo -SAR
Or Zelle @ [email protected]
Donations can be mailed and we also can receive corporate donation matching gifts. Contact us for more details on donations.
