After a tedious two-week search, a dog rescued from the streets of Guam has finally reached his new home after he got loose at the airport.
On March 13th, Toby was flown from Guam to Indianapolis on a 14-hour flight. The dog was found in the streets of Guam in bad condition. He was nearly dying, but luckily, he was nursed back to health.
Once Toby landed, his adoptive family was taking him out of his crate when he suddenly bolted. After three hours of his family, airport authorities, fire and rescue groups, and the police trying to contain him, he disappeared into the night.
Even Indianapolis Colts owner Jim Irsay rallied his Twitter followers to “Help find Toby.”
Toby’s family lived in Evansville, so they wouldn’t be able to assist with Toby’s search. The following day, they called up the local rescue group “Peaceful Souls Animal Rescue and Recovery” and asked for help.
As per the group’s advice, the family got signs and flyers up.
The rescue then started getting sightings of Toby. They learned he was still on airport property, which led to many challenges because of restricted areas and limited access.
The team tracked the dog’s patterns and followed up sightings so they can narrow down his movements to a general location. They found that he was following all the culverts so he could appear and disappear quickly.
Toby had also become nocturnal and only got out at night, giving the rescue group a very short window to find his safe spot.
It was time for a new plan of action. The group set up a camera and a feeding station to confirm if Toby hadn’t left the property yet.
And like clockwork, they caught the elusive pup on camera as soon as night hit. Without anyone feeding him, Toby ate all the food they left and disappeared again once he was done.
The team set up a trap just to the side of the interstate and settled in for the long haul, waiting for Toby to come back. After a couple of hours, he appeared and walked almost all the way into the trap before disappearing again.
The group was forced to stay out until daylight.
The next day, at 8:45 p.m., there was Toby once again. He returned and circled the trap, going in and out for 35 minutes before taking one step too far. He was finally safe!
Toby has lost a lot of weight and was covered in ticks, but he’s still in pretty good shape. The dog was also very sweet and gentle toward his rescuers, even though he had been in a state of panic for two weeks.
The group delivered Toby to his new parents in Indianapolis. They had only met him for a few minutes before he escaped, so it was like meeting him again for the first time.
Peaceful Souls Animal Rescue and Recovery shared Toby’s story on their Facebook page. They wrote:
“Thank you to our team for being relentless and never giving up. Thank you to his family for loving a dog they didn’t even know and trusting the process for recovery.
Thank you to the Good Samaritans that called in the sightings that ultimately led to us being able to get him safe.
Toby, your short life has been filled with pain and fear. Today, your life is changed forever. Stay put now, you hit the jackpot.
Rest, sweet boy, you are safe and warm now!!!”
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