Rattlesnake Islanders - Lost Dog Alert!
 

A couple lost their Corgi-Terrier mix on the Rattlesnake Island today. Her name is Kaylee. If you see her, please try to get her to come to you and hold onto her. PM or e-mail me through the Forum.
Please spread the word and let me know if Kaylee gets found.
Thank you very much!
Celia

At least she's lost on an island, I'm sure she will show up.

Found!
 

Cessnaair and his dog Andy found Kaylee on the northern end of the island. Her Dad is on the way.

IG

Rg
 

A shoutout to Rattlesnake Gal for emailing other Islanders and posting on this forum that a dog was missing. Had we not known there was a missing dog and the description, the dog would not have been noticed when cessnaair went for a walk.

We also got an alert from other friends on that part of the island who met the owners on the trail looking for the dog. We love this caring and sharing of our fellow islanders.

IG

Its good to know that if I get lost on Rattlesnake that you guys will find me.:laugh:Nice job RG.

What an Experience!
 

Thanks IG!

Jim and Liz initially did not have cell phones and after making a quick round to cottages, they went to their cottage in Wolfeboro to grab their stuff to come back and look. (Members of LRCT) When they stopped at our place she gave me her home number, which I thought was strange, then she gave her cell. I asked her to message a picture, but I never got one to include. I got to work and sent alert messages, e-mails, posted the on Winnipesaukee.com and FaceBook (I Boat on Winnipesaukee) asking everyone to spread the alert. I am so impressed at how fast the info got out and how well it was shared and how islanders tagged other islanders to let them know. Thanks so much everyone! I ate dinner and grabbed my gear, along with a squeaker, leash etc. The number that I was given wasn't working (battery died), so I called the home number and spoke to the daughter to figure out where Kaylee was last seen. Her description was there were a lot of blueberry bushes. I had to laugh at that. Rattlesnake is covered with them!!! She thought more and described that there were a lot of dead trees at the spot. Amazingly, I had already gone to the top and was heading back to camp and just happened to be in the exact spot she described. She was unable to tell me which direction tho. At about 7:30 pm, I was getting pretty tired, but heard a guy yelling for the dog. He was from the other side of the island. Jim was only wearing flip flops and wasn't carrying a phone, but he was determined to fine this 12 year old little girl's dog. At this point, this youngster (late 20's?) reinvigorated me to keep going. It was nearing dusk, but I thought we could make it to the northern end by then and get picked up by boat. I wasn't afraid because I now had a buddy. At this point, I was able to get through to Liz and found out Kaylee headed north. After we descended he was walking off the trail calling for her. He kept going down, but I stuck to the trail. He kept getting further and further away from me. By this time, the sun had set and the woods were getting pretty dark. The trail isn't well marked on the northern end and the path not well traveled. I was getting a little nervous that I was going to need rescuing!!! I spoke to Paul and he wanted me to head to east to The Broads side, but that meant scrambling down rocks. By this point, my legs were a bit rubbery and couldn't risk tripping and falling. Thank heaven, I spotted water and finally came out on the road. Went out to a cottage and asked where he could pick me up. Two houses up. To say I was exhausted is an understatement. The lady called me about five minutes later with the great news. We had passed them as they were getting to Island Girl's place. Thank goodness that Ralph had gone out for a walk with his Andy and found Kaylee. Hooray!!! I did hear him calling her when I was in the woods, but not for long. Thankfully, when Jim and I were at the top of the island, he pointed out where his uncle lived. We went over to see if he was back yet and thankfully he was. Whew. He and his buddy tried looking for me, but didn't know what to do. The last thing that I yelled to him was that I was keeping going north without him. He didn't hear. All's well that ends well. He was exhausted and completely thrilled.

The family came by yesterday afternoon and dropped off cookies and brownies and thanked me profusely for all of my efforts. Kaylee was still pretty tired from her adventure.

As it was getting darker and darker, I was formulating a plan. I just got an app that has gps of the lake map. (Stupidly, no markers etc!) I was going to turn it on, take a screen shot of where I was and then stay put for someone to come find me. I probably have GPS on my phone too. I also should not have left my whistle at the camp. Live and learn. I am the wiser for this experience. A cell charger for the boat will be added too.

These non islanders had the dog off leash and no dog tag with tele number. I think they have learned a very valuable lesson and are completely relieved that their fur baby is home. Rattlesnake Island is very large and there are many hazards for a small dog. I just love happy endings!

Cookies and Brownies
 

We got cookies and brownies too! It is hard to drop something off on our side of the island with the wind and waves, but they persisted!! Good thing you emailed, RG, as I might not have seen the forum post until much later. ;)

New to island
 

It is nice hearing about the successful search and rescue mission for the lost dog. We are new to island this year and we have 2 dogs, one of which is both a knucklehead and a flight risk (never a good combination!). It is comforting to know there's a network to get the word out if something happens.

Is there an email distribution list we can get on for updates like this? If so, please PM me so I can add our addresses to the list. My husband and I would be happy to pitch in to help next time :)

Thanks!
Beth

For me, there's not many things in life more rewarding than hearing a happy ending to a lost/missing dog story. Maybe it was lucky it happened on Rattlesnake but it's a big island and Kaylee is a small dog, so great news and BIG relief for the owners. It sounds like Rattlesnake Gal's experience was as harrowing as Kaylee's!

Don't be too nice
 

So happy to hear the lost dog was reunited with family.

Many years ago my sister lost a cat on our island. We found her after three weeks. It turns out she wasn't far away, but neighbors had been feeding her lobster. Why would she go home?