1/31/10

Hello

Well I have been contacted by a few people letting me know River has come very close to them, and the key to that seems to be their dogs, this is wonderful news, we even have some great Pictures coming soon!

River also it seemed like she had a little friend running with her one morning!

River seems to choose who she will play with or be around, it is on her terms. I did get to meet one of the dogs she played with yesterday, and this dog is very calm. I have also heard that some people have let their dogs go to River and she just runs away. The people having the contact aren't even letting their dogs off leash, they have very calm dogs, that let River approach them without getting all excited. It is very promising!

So to help the people out who are having luck, please spread the word to people you may see out there, that if their dogs is not very calm and submissive, its best not to even try to approach her. Cant wait to get the pictures and share them ........it will be nice to have some new pictures...And they are CUTE!

1/20/10

Well as we come to the end of the month, month 4 begins! Happily we all all hanging on to hope, and a few new people offering help! Thank you! There is really not alot to update on except she was spotted this morning and twice this evening! She seems to be doing okay!

1/26

All is well, we didn't see her for day, one day she didn't eat, but we have had two spottings yesterday and then today too, she is loving the toys, has a special place she plays with them. She really is a pretty dog! Have a possible plan for this coming weekend, Stay tuned!

1/23/10

Ever see a dog go in a trap and eat the goodies inside and not set it off????
I did today! What a smart girl! Maybe a little bratty lol ....
We got a new plan...I believe plan....12,754,378
Stay tuned!

1/22/10 Whew!

Thank you to all of you who have asked about River! Just to let you know, she is okay and was spotted at Dinner Time! It was a nerve wracking night and day, to wake up and see the wash flowing, but hey we should have known, she would be okay! One more night of bad weather, but a little less worry!

Still working on trapping her, and we really feel, we are going succeed soon!

1/19/10

I was told about another legendary dog Richmond's Legendary Black Dog, who lived decades, on the street, cared for by the town, and he even had his own bank account! Sadly, he passed away this past year, but is a legend! Below is link to other dogs, including River and Black Dog!

http://fortheloveofthedogblog.com/news-updates/river-a-vagabond-dog-and-some-stories-of-others

Read more about "Richmond's Legendary Black Dog" what a character!

http://www2.timesdispatch.com/rtd/site_elements/tags/tag/black+dog/

1/18/10

Hello..
I have received a lot of great emails from people, with a lot of great questions, so I thought I would answer a few! It seems crazy that after almost 3 months, we haven't been able to catch a dog! I know I am surprised myself! Seems easy, but boy we were wrong! The first problem we have is the area. when you think about a wash you think its a clear open area full of sand, well nope, its like a regular desert down there, its been so long since we had a good rain, nothing has been cleaned out. There is so many place to hide, she has been known to be 20 feet away and you don't see her, besides the fact her coloring matches most of the vegetation in the wash. She has been known to be miles away from her feeding tree, the wash goes on forever, and she knows her way around it well! Or we get something all set up and people walk by or a dog runs up, and she is gone!
As for the things we have tried, well lets see, two different traps, a snare, homemade snares, nets underground, and above ground, and numerous other things brought in by a professional. We have had people out there from dawn to dusk. Waiting for her to step into one of these things. We have been there in the dark with flash lights! We have had someone even dug down in hole a covered in trees! We have had a catch pole, and even animal control came out, and pretty much wished us luck!
This girl is so smart, I am now thinking we need to really look closer on how smart dogs really are! I have seen her investigate every little new thing in the area, or anything moved, I have seen her go back and check places we were at weeks ago to make sure we aren't there! She knows some of our voices and our smells.
Tranquilizer guns and pills prescribed by a vet are a option, but if we loose her after she is under the influence of these, we risk the chance of her going down, in the cold or amongst the coyotes, its a dangerous option, but one we will look at it again.
I have also had people say well just leave her alone, she obviously does not want to be caught, well maybe, but when we first started this she was in bad shape, she has gotten healthier. We really don't think she would be alive today if we hadn't stepped in.
When we do something big, and try something to catch her and it fails, we step back, we don't want to be in catch mode everyday, we risk her just leaving the area altogether. I am sure we have made some mistakes along the way, but hey we are trying! There has been a lot of people come and go, but there is a handful of us still left. We always got a new plan up our sleeve!
We really would like to see her out of there, before it heats up and the rest of the dangerous critters come out!
Again, thank you all for all your support and continuing to ask about her!
We will continue to update!

1/17/09

Hello

River is alive and well, she seems okay! She waits patiently in the area, for dinner, and the dinner server to leave before she eats. We have left her a stuffed toy for the past few days, the first one was found chewed all up, stuffing everywhere. We weren't sure if it was her who played with it, but tonight she was spotted taking the toy before the dinner! This little girl, loves her toys and has obviously had them in her past, hope someday soon she is laying in a home chewing up a stuffed toy!

Keep her in your thoughts, during this next week of yucky weather!

11-15-10

Thanks Jennifer for the new water bucket
Love, River

"Through Lost Eyes"

Come see the world through the "Eyes of the Lost",Come feel the pain, come pay the cost.You see them in alleyways, hiding in doors,They shiver in winter, they're soaked when it pours.Some may have once known a better life.Then abandoned alone to this world of strife.
Their food's from the dumpsters, or off of the street,Their throats grow parched in the summer heat.In their fear and confusion, they quietly cry.While still others must watch their little ones die.Coats filled with fleas, mats and tatters.They soon find out how little things matter.
Their bellies are empty, their spirits are torn,Still they search on till their paws are worn,My friend, I challenge you If you dare.I ask, if you say you truly care.Don't close your ears to the little ones cries,See life...just this once.."Through Lost Eyes".

1-14-10

Hello!

Well no sighting calls today...but most of our fliers are down, so we will be putting more up this weekend, and attempt to try to set the dog trap as well. We are having some weird things happening....one...someone keeps taking her bucket, moving it a few feet and emptying it out? Not sure why? Its a job carrying a bucket of water down there, so we will try to post a sign on the bucket to stop it! So if your ever in the area and want to pick up some water duty, feel free to fill it up, there is a spicket under the sink by the bathroom! Thanks everyone!

Anyone needing directions to the area, let me know, still looking for people to hang out in the area, throw a few treats, to get her used to people! Who knows you might be the person she feels most comfortable with! She does seem to like some better than others! Maybe we can use you in a future attempt!

Well wish her well hope someone sees her soon!

11/13/10

Hello! Well we left the dog trap set last night with yummy food, and low and behold, the trap was closed, food was gone, but no animal of any kind! Not sure how that happened, but that's been our luck!
I received a call from a very nice man who has become a fan of River, he just wanted to check to see how she was doing, because he hadn't seen her, I let him know she is still out there and was seen this morning, he was relieved. It is nice to know she has people on her side. Again, we cant thank the people enough who still call daily, either to check on her,see how she is or know where she is!

I also talked with Jamie from Seize the Leash today, what a great lady, I encourage anyone who is having behavior problems with their babies to call her she really knows her stuff! She will see if she can make contact with River, and maybe give us some more ideas on how to approach a dog like her.

We encourage people, if they want to or see River, not to try and "catch" her but kind of be in her area, befriend her if you will, or at least get her used to people being around her, not approaching her, or looking at her, just sitting in her area, toss a few treats or something. There are some people and dogs that she seems okay with ,being around her, as long as they keep their distance, this might seem silly, but it maybe helpful ,if we had a few people she isn't bothered to much by for future attempts. If you feel like you get somewhere with her and she doesn't mind you so much let me know!

Update 1/11/10

The months have flown by and here we are with still no happy ending but still with hope! This site is dedicated to everyone who has helped from all the spotters who call daily, to theones out there every day! Special thanks to Lisa, Mark, Eric, Senja, Jen, and Nancy!

As of yesterday we had a call that she was laying in one of her spots, enjoying the sunshine! She is still getting her evening dinner, but it sure is hard to know sometimes if she gets to it first, there is lots of off leash dogs out there!

We plan to get together to make a plan for another attempt! We have had Eric out there almost daily trying different things but that girl sure does know how to have fun with us! Right now he weather is beautiful for a dog, but we need to think ahead to the hotter months, bottom line we need to get her out of there, its really no place for a dog!

Thank you for all your support!

Saga of dog named River by Ryn Gargulinski

No one is sure how long the dog has been living in the Rillito riverbed.

Nor does anyone know where she came from or how she’s surviving the coyotes and cold.
What a bunch of folks do know is they want to help her.
The dog, dubbed River, has been the focus of a group of animal-loving volunteers for some time now.
The folks have posted signs asking people to immediately report sightings of the dog. They have also been in and around the riverbed, constructing a little dog shelter and leaving water and foodstuff like Vienna sausages.
Sawyer and Phoebe tried to eat the sausages.
We saw the signs a couple months back. We see the volunteers pretty much daily. And we finally saw the dog this week.
Unlike what you would expect from a dog that’s been living her life in a dusty riverbed, River appeared hearty and healthy. Must be all those Vienna sausages.
As you would expect, however, River also appeared very wary.
That’s probably why it’s taking so long to catch her. Traps have been set that intend to catch her alive and bring her to a cozy home. She’s apparently not biting.


Volunteers are also regularly on the scene to monitor her movement and progress – but none have gotten close enough for capture.
River does have a collar, indicating she may have once had a happy home. We can only speculate on what happened to that home or why no owner has come forward looking for the lost dog.
Regular updates on River the river dog appear on Craigslist.com, with the most recent entry dated Jan. 5. It thanks everyone who has been helping and lets folks know River is A-OK. An earlier entry also noted that some other dogs who frequent the riverbed have been trying to eat River’s food. Shame on them.
Of course the post also mentions that River is still living out in the riverbed.
Anyone who wants to help with the quest for River can search “River” in the Tucson pet section of Craigslist.com for info on how they can volunteer.
Even if you cannot help rescue River, another post notes there are many ways to help Tucson’s homeless pets.
“Let us all send out good happy thoughts for all these dumped, abused and abandoned pets out there…. Please, in honor of all the ones lost and all the ones saved and all the ones still out there, do something today…. Foster, adopt, join a patch group (that helps animals), donate, walk a dog at PACC! There is so much you can do, to make a difference in their lives! And for those who already do, THANK YOU!!!!!!!!!!!!!”

http://tucsoncitizen.com/sawyer/2010/01/07/the-saga-of-a-dog-named-river/

Rivers News Story!

Volunteers try to rescue a dog named River
Posted - 12/11/2009 at 6:03PM
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Tucson - In this Holiday season, even our 4-legged friends need a hand. River the dog was first spotted along the Rillito River in early November. Now, well into December, animal rescue volunteers are trying to bring River to safety."It's a God given gift inside, you just get attached to this animal," says Marc Hammond a Wildlife Rescue Expert."At night time you think about it. Before you go to bed you think, does this animal have shelter? Is it going to be warm?"Hammond was called in by animal rescue groups to help find River, a medium sized female Shepard Huskey mix."I got a new one I was just showing." At his van, he demonstrates to some concerned volunteers a new humane trap he hopes will catch River."Once she pulls on that, it's going to activate the trap. And then it's going to shoot a cable over her neck."Hammond thinks River chose this river because it gives her shelter. "There's a lot of different places right in the river bank there where the dog can get into," he explains.Lisa Judge first saw River back in November."It appeared to me she may have been dumped by someone. She has a collar on. She seems to want to be near people but she's very un-trusting and afraid of people right now."Lisa has been putting up flyers, bringing out food each day, and organizing other volunteers on Craig'slist. She worries because River is injured. A rear leg and front right paw are causing her to limp a lot.Marc is worried about coyotes getting her. It's a harsh environment for any domesticated animal."There's hundreds if not thousands of stray animals out there. Why River?" News 4 asks Hammond. He laughs and says,"I knew you were gonna say that. And you know, I promised myself I wasn't gonna get attached to this dog but it happens."So Lisa's hope this season for River is, "getting her in somewhere out of the elements into a safe and good environment for a dog would be the end game we're looking for."Go to Tucson Craigslist -- in the Pets section -- type "River the Dog" for volunteer information