An email from search coordinator Bonnie Folz:
<<Seems as hard as we try to find Vivi, she's always just two minutes ahead of us.
The last two confirmed sightings, volunteers had passed that same spot only minutes before. With this said and the areas we've received the most sightings, it's time to hunker down, stay put and see where Vivi shows herself next.
Vivi has only been sighted during the daylight hours. Jil confirmed that this is consistent with Vivi's day-to-day routine at home. She's out at 6:30 a.m. at work with Jil all day and by 4 p.m. Vivi is napping and sound asleep.
On Saturday starting at 6 a.m., we will be conducting a Stake-Out, where volunteer "Watchers" will be assigned specific corners/blocks to watch.
I will set up a specific protocol to use once Vivi is sighted by one of our group to keep everyone on the same page and proceeding in the same way when Vivi is seen. This protocol information will be given to all volunteers prior to Saturday. There will also be a few "Floaters" out to assist the "Watchers" and help with food and potty breaks where needed throughout the team of volunteers.
I need to know by Friday afternoon who will be able to volunteer for the Vivi Stake-Out and what hours you will be available. This will be an all day (dawn till dusk, so to speak) task. I'm sure not everyone can be available for the full day but ANY time you can be there to help out would be so very appreciated.
Once I know how many volunteers will be on hand, I will give out assignments of the corner/block to watch so you can immediately go there first thing Saturday morning.
I will need to know who will be volunteering, what time you will be at your post and what time you need to leave for the day so I can coordinate who will be where and all areas are covered at all times.
Please email me this information at pawsativebf@aol.com, using "Watcher" in the subject line of your email.
We will leave putting up posters and flyers till the evening hours.
We've had a sighting every day for the past few days and this is a good thing. In speaking with Laura Totis when she was here with her dogs, she told me it will not be her dogs that find Vivi, they can only tell where she has been. It will take many more sightings, establish where to get ahead of her and then a plan to actually trap her. This may take some time.
Lord knows I'd love nothing more than to see Jil and Rick leave New York with Vivi in their arms.
Once again, I cannot thank EVRYONE enough. You have all been doing a GREAT job. Hope to see everyone on Saturday.
Keep the faith!>>
Comments (10)
I hope someone on the search team reads this
I know this message is long but, this individual raises some very good questions that I believe need to be read by those who are incharge, I know it is easy for someone out of state who is not directly involved with the search to make suggestions and difficult for those who are out there day and night being pulled in all different directions to do all that is being asked. Since Vivi has made the decision to be on the move and not stay put, I think getting someone who has tracking experience to at least identify locations where see may be or has been would be a good idea. The individual who sent the message below, indicates that she has knowledge of someone closer than Laura who is able to do this. Would it be so bad to give him a try and see what he is able to come up with??????????
Mary Hudson asked:
>>>>I am wondering WHY there are not searchers at all exits to the cemetery, including the holes in the fence?
Good question Mary, I'd like to know the exact same thing? I went from Staten Island Monday morning at 4: 00AM to the cemetery, I thought I'd finally get to meet many of the searchers, and yet nobody was there! I continued to patrol the cemetery area and the golf course until 9:00AM and all I ever met was one searcher (nice lady named Darlene or Arlene) who arrived at the cemetary somewhere between 6:00-7:00......IMO if there weren't enough searchers to be stationed all around the perimeters of the cemetery throughout the night, it should have been announced! And that announcement should have come in time to bring in more people. Dissemination of information is critical in a situation such as this!
Back to Monday morning.....in the daylight I could see that there were numerous places along the fence where Vivi could have squeezed through during the night, as well as points where she could have jumped onto to medium sized head stones and over the fence...that's an easy feat for a whippet. At 7:30 the cemetary opened, so not only was the front gate opened all day with no one watching it, but a back fence gate door was opened on Auburndale.....
This is not to be negative, but it is strong constructive criticism......the search organizers have to "get" that there's a lot more than must be done in addition to putting up posters, setting out traps & food where she's been and relying on someone local getting her.....and on the subject of some local person getting her: IT'S NOT GOING TO HAPPEN IF THEY KEEP GRABBING AT HER!!.......one MUST EDUCATE the public if you're going to count on them for a successful result!
Vivi's appearance at the cemetery this weekend was a GOLDEN opportunity to contain her, but apparently once again it was assumed that she'll stay in an area where she's safe......nothing could be further from the reality of lost dog behavior. A feral animal roams at night in it's search for food and anything that frightens that animal....such as someone GRABBING at it....will make it flee that area....which is what Vivi has now obviously done! Yesterday I made a plea to one of the volunteers to amend the flyers/posters to also read: DO NOT ATTEMPT TO GRAB HER OR MAKE SUDDEN MOVES TOWARDS HER! Twice in 2 days she's bolted from sudden attempts to grab her.....HOW MANY MORE TIMES CAN THIS HAPPEN BEFORE SHE IS DRIVEN INTO TRAFFIC?
Is my sound advice being listened to? NO!
And it's not the first time........
The mindset this weekend that "she'll stay put where she's safe" is the same thinking that prevailed back when searches were being done at the airport, despite a reliable sighting of her at a construction site off the airport near the Belt Parkway and Guy Brewer Blvd. a few days after she first got loose!! I learned about this the second week she was missing (this was right after the first night that I had gone searching at NIGHT outside the airport as I knew from experience that searching in the day at such a high activity location was ludicrous!) I also saw many openings in the airport fencing so I knew there was no way she was "safe & contained" there! I also seriously doubted that she'd stay at the place where she had suffered so much trauma......
So, I reached out at that point and had one of the head organizers contact me so I could share my impressions, concerns and offer advice.......I ended up being blown off and ridiculed....meanwhile since then EVERYTHING I said has proven to be right......I had suggested that posters go up at the race tracks as she could go there from the construction site on Guy Brewer Blvd. and I was told "She'll never get across the Belt Parkway without getting killed"........I explained that late at night she could easily cross the Belt Parkway via any of the roadways that cross over it and that I have a good understanding of such things based on my 40+ years in dogs and rescuing strays in Bklyn where I grew up......to this I was told: "This is Queens, not Bklyn"......sheesh as if Bklyn consists of a farmlands or something totally unlike Queens?? To me both boroughs have all the same elements of a largely populated inner city and thus they present the same challenges, risks and opportunities to successfully rescuing a lost dog.....and anyone who has experience in rescuing strays in the city should be treated with a little more respect.....or at least have an open mind to the valuable information they can share with you....
I was bringing to the table experiences of successfully rescuing stray canines & felines on the streets of Bklyn. that date back to my childhood, 40 years of multi dog & cat ownership of various breeds of both species and 16 years as a breeder/exhibitor of boxers, hence in my lifetime I've had my share of some dogs that were "master escape artists", as well as mishaps where a dog or cat has gotten accidently loose due to stupid things like a deliveryman not fully closing a fence door behind him, etc. Yes, I know all too well the agony that Bo, Paul and Jill have gone through....with one exception. I've never had one go missing more than 5 days.....Why? Because I never assumed they were safe and contained anywhere until they were back in my arms! It's human nature to imagine one's beloved pet is safe somewhere when it has gotten loose, but that's not reality and the danger is that it affords one a false peace of mind which prevents one from taking the extra steps neccessary to find that pet.
I can tell from reading many of the posts here that there are many other good folks here with the same experiences and knowledge that they are freely offering as I have been and I am seeing that your sound advice and helpful questions don't seem to be responded to.....I guess the mindset is that the only advice deemed credible is from a hired professional from out of the area.........what a shame for Vivi......
I wonder if the "pros" watched the streaming video of Vivi at the Westminster site? I did and I knew instantly that she was going to be a "tough customer" to find & entice to come.....go look at it and you'll see for yourself....she's so bonded to Paul she's rather stare into his eyes than free-bait for him.....look at how he has to keep redirecting her focus to the bait...and notice on the down & back how she snatches at a piece of bait off the floor and how she also glances at something to the side.....nothing gets past this savvy little girl....I know this type of bitch well. Note: Some of my observances wouldn't be so significant if she was new to the ring......but she's not...she's a special and a BIS winner, so she knows damn well what's expected of her in the ring and yet she's still determined to "do her own thing"....that says a lot about her character and why she's been so hard to find, but it's also why she has managed to stay alive this long...she is indeed a tough little cookie. However, lately I have grave concerns regarding her health due to the recent reports that her eyes have pus in them.....that pus will impact one if not possibly three of her of her most valuable senses (sight, hearing and scent) which have been the key to her survival. I believe this may be why she's showed herself in daylight to a few folks this weekend......if her most important scenses are no longer servicing her to full capacity, her instincts are telling her she needs help. As feral as she had become, she was once highly domesticated, more so than the average housepet due to her show career, as well as having once had a litter and all the pampering that came with that, so I think this girl is truly seeking help before it's too late....she just needs to meet the right person she can trust...
Yesterday, I also offered the name & phone # of someone within 2 to 3 hours of Queens who does tracking/scent work, so that future sightings of Vivi could be positively confirmed as soon as they occurred.......I also mentioned that this name came to me though a reknown AKC judge who knows Bo and is also with the NJ Federation of Dog Clubs.......yet this offer was rejected.....go figure??
I know of ways to get many more people who are understanding of canine behavior to help search for her and there's other advice I can offer, but frankly I'm tired of my words falling on deaf ears.....I think my energies are better spent just looking for her myself....hopefully me or someone like me will get to her before some idiot who only sees $5000(instead of the poor frightened soul that she is)goes and rashly grabs at her and gets her killed by a car......I'm off to go look for her now.....praying tonight will be the night that God brings our paths together....please send postive vibes....thank you.....
PS: Sorry for the length this post, but I've been biting my tongue for 5 weeks....obviously this had to be said.....once again it's not negativity, it's constructive criticism....and I implore the "powers that be" to please learn from it....for Vivi's sake.
So Mary If you've read this far, I guess you have the answers to your questions.
Posted by: Diane Kowalchyk-Morris | March 22, 2006 at 02:41 AM
Posted by: Meri-Lou | March 22, 2006 at 10:25 AM
I share and appreciate your frustration with this search. Being out of state, we are helplessly praying and hoping for the safety of this little dog. I had made suggestions over the weekend that they needed more searchers over near the cemetery, and that local organizations could be contacted to get more people involved. We know from whippet behavior, that it would only take one run into the traffic for something bad to happen. From reading the threads from yesterday there was realization that this is going to have to be a community effort.
Oh my God you guys, new post from Denise. Is the botanical gardens near the cemetary! Oh my God this is great news. Terrie
why is this good news? geez I agree with Diane. if i was up there i'd be sitting at the entrance to this cemetery all nite. I wish I could get on a plane and be there. thats where she is at night! why chase her around the streets during the day. I just don't get it.
to the above long post...
i found your post to be more hostile than constructive... even though you have good points. this blog is not the most efficient way to gather, collect, and distribute information, and many good ideas and posts gets lost in the chatter.
i think if you are unsatisfied with the response you have gotten from the coordinators you have dealt with, you should start to head your own search group. there are many people out there willing to help and search. your comments will get lost on the blog... there are many other message forums out there that you can get a call for volunteers with. you can design your own posters with the contact numbers. you can contact the person that has collected private funds and see if they would like to use the extra monies to hire another tracker that you know of (you can contact me via email and i will supply you with her email address). you could start your own fund raiser to collect monies for this.
i think you also have to remember a lot of these volunteers work during the day, and have families to take care of during the evening. i know of only a few that are actually up in the wee hours that CAN make it to these areas to search. there are a handful that have been on foot all day, every day, or every chance they can get to post flyers and search.
imho, if you are so addament about things being done so wrong, it's time to start doing something about it instead of criticizing those who have been trying. if i felt the way have for so long, i certainly wouldn't have bit my tongue for 5 weeks, and i would have made my presence to the search organizers every chance i got, and been relentless with them.
It won't do anyone any good to begin a bickering in the energy field supporting Vivi and her safe capture and return (even the blogs are part of that energy). When the issues of how an animal will behave---the problem may have been that Vivi is a special case and the tracker should have been aware of that and when "hot on her trail" should have kept the momentum going. That is why when I phoned Paul before the weekend and also Rosa I stressed that this was the weekend to get her---it was very important to capture her this weekend---and When we got the extra boost from the many people meditating and visualizing and lighting candles and imaging Vivi's sighting and capture the forces were there---but not enough people to do the job of getting things covered as suggested in teh previous segment byDiane KM & Mari-Lou. But let's take all comments into consideration and see what can be done from now---and beginning a separate search group would be bringing more chaos in to the picture---and we are working on removing chaos.
when strays begin to search for familiar scents they also begin to travel the ground for the scent, so hopefully Vivi will follow something to someone and successful contact will be made.
Maria. AMEN!
SWITCH TO THE "PLAYING TELEPHONE THREAD"
Meri-Lou or Diane, if you see this post would you contact me ... I have a couple questions.
My email is pmarrache@msbx.net
My phone is 920-729-6437
Thanks!
Most people are going to keep grabbing at her...I could barely sleep last night thinking of the cars and that disgusting College Point Blvd ( I lived in Coll Pt for several years)..We have to pray and visulaize that Vivi and the right person for her get brought together at the right time.