Teddy the Dog is Missing

[John S]

From Sapblatt’s Three Bonds in a Day trip report:

“We met a rather large group of hikers, one of whom was an old friend of Julie’s. One hiker from Gorham seemed to have hiked every list and trail there is, including the AT. He was bringing his young dog Teddy through the Bonds”

Picture of Teddy provided by HikerBob and confirmed by Sapblatt.



Sunday morning I dropped off a friend at the Zealand trailhead. While there, I met a gentleman who was looking for his lost dog named Teddy. The man was wearing an ADK 46er hat and had a red pick-up with NH plates ‘NE111er’ (or something close to it) and likely was the gentleman mentioned in Sapblatt’s report. As the conversation progressed, the man stated that he believed that the dog might not be just lost but possibly was stolen at the West Bond summit on Saturday. The man was waiting at the Zealand trailhead because a dog-less person he met on West Bond, who mentioned he would be camping somewhere for the night and heading out toward Zealand on Sunday, seemed to match the description that some other hikers later recalled having seen leading a similar dog on a rope leash. The owner spent the night waiting at the Zealand trailhead.

The owner seemed like a decent guy and was understandably upset. He mentioned that West Bond was the dog’s 47th peak and hoped to finish soon on Washington.

If you saw this dog in the area on Saturday, wandering alone or led on a rope leash by someone not wearing a 46er hat, please contact the rangers at Lincoln Woods.

 

[sapblatt]

Further confirmation

The gentleman who owned the dog was indeed wearing a ADK 46 hat.
This post really bummed me out ...he was a real nice guy who shared a lot of hiking stories with us and his dog was/is real nice.
If you are out there please keep your eyes opened!

 

[kmac]

hiking buddy

Recently, I was volunteering at Lakes and I met this wonderful man, who as he put it, was accompanying his dog "Teddy" in finishing his 48!! He sat with me at the desk for quite awhile and shared some of his stories with me. Let's hope he finds his hiking buddy real soon!

 

[poison ivy]

I've met Ron and Teddy on a couple of different hikes in the Whites... I hope it's just a case of Teddy being lost and the dog was not actually stolen.

- Ivy

 

[kmac]

puppy

I do remember Teddy's owner telling me that he was 2 years old, so he's just a puppy, with lots of energy. He probably just lost his way, and for sure someone will find him and will return him safely. Let's hope for that.

 

[HikerBob]

When Karen and I met Teddy and his hiking companion, Ron, last winter we walked out the 19 Mile Brook Trail together for much of the way. Teddy is a bit of a roamer and it is my hope that he was perhaps mistaken as lost and was brought out by other hikers and they reported it to some authority.

I do have Ron's address, and I think phone number, at home and will gladly pass on any information.

Bob

 

[MichaelJ]

Teddy was definitely not a well-trained listener, based on his theft of MEB's glove last year, so finding and getting him back is going to be difficult. I wish Ron the best of luck.

 

[Dugan]

Regardless of Teddy's regrettable circumstances - keep in mind that microchipping and/or tattooing your pet (and registering those chips and tattoos with the appropriate organization), increases the chance of your pet being returned to you in the event it is lost or stolen. These services are open to all animals, not just purebred dogs. Shelters, veterinarians, animal control officers, and animal research labs typically look for these identifications.

Dugan four-legs is both chipped (registered with Avid) and tattooed (registered with National Dog Registry).

 

[Rivet]

If your dog is lost in woods, a microchip won't help him much as much as a collar that has a tag with owner name, address and phone. It should also have proof of rabies vaccine.

 

[carole]

If your dog is lost in woods, a microchip won't help him much as much as a collar that has a tag with owner name, address and phone. It should also have proof of rabies vaccine.

True. We had two dogs once follow us to a summit with no one around anywhere. My husband had a cell phone, got a signal on the summit, called the phone# on the tags and the owner was waiting for us at the trailhead.

I hope Teddy has a happy reunion.

 

[dug]

Carol...just a guess...were these two dogs at the North Kinsman Trail in Easton?

Reason I'm asking is one winter two friends and I (one two-legged and one four-legged) started off and two dogs showed up from across the street and followed us. The FIVE of us summitted Noon Peak and North Kinsman. The three dogs played in the snow all day. I tossed them a few scraps once it became obvious they were with us for the day. One was older, and he was the bright one. He stayed with us and didn't wander. Mine and the younger one spent the afternoon running all over the place.

Once we got back to the trailhead, the two "guests" calmly walked across the street, up to the porch, and waited to be let in. I thought it was hilarious!

A year later I met some of the locals, and eventually to the person who owns the house. They said that they do this all the time. While it seemed strange at first for a 'flatlander' like me that they didn't know where their dogs were, this isn't unusual as with that much country, dogs can roam for hours (or days). Ahhh...what a life.

On a more serious note, I hope that Teddy is OK. Having lost a dog for a few hours in the woods, I will say it was as down as I've ever been. I wouldn't wish that on anyone. The hardest part is not knowing what happened....

 

[carole]

Carol...jsut a guess...were these two dogs at the North Kinsman Trail in Easton?

No, different area. But I have heard about the Easton dogs a few times

 

[David Metsky]

I've hiked with them (actually only one of them) as well. Extremely well behaved dog who clearly knew where he was going.

-dave-

 

[una_dogger]

Lost dog

Sad sad sad.

Boggles my mind how many people hike off leash in the Northeast, out west a roaming dog mayvery well indeed become mountain lion food.

Hope he makes his way home. He's such a cutie.

 

[Gris]

The White sheppard that loves to hike the Mt. Kinsman trail is named "Simone." She's a gem, belongs to Joe McKenzie who lives in the red house just south of the Kinsman Inn (which is run by Joe's sister Sue Thompson). Both of Joe's dogs live outside, wander about and can take care of themselves.

 

[beverly]

Six Feet Under

Boggles my mind how many people hike off leash in the Northeast, out west a roaming dog mayvery well indeed become mountain lion food.

Did anyone see the HBO show last night? It always starts with someone dying. On last night's show a hiker was hiking along on a mountain trail in California and stops for the view and to catch his breath. Just then a mountain lion jumps him. The next camera shot shows the mountain lion feeding on him. Quite effective promotion for not hiking alone in mountian lion country.

 

[dundare]

I feel bad for the dog and his owner. As someone who owns a wonderfully old and (non hiking) couch preferring labrador, I cant even imagine what it would be like to have the dog missing and, possibly, stolen like that. Hopefully, it all works out ok...

 

[Maddy]

I have read that if you lose your dog you should stay put in the area and the chances of your dog finding his way back are much greater. One of the examples I recall was a hiker whose dog turned up missing. He went back to a junction and left his bandana there. When he returned the dog was sitting by the rock with the bandana waiting for the owner.
This is a very sad story. My heart goes out to him. I cannot even imagine the anguish of losing one of my dogs. I hope he turns up.

 

[blueridge]

Sorry to hear about the lost puppy, our prayers are with Teddy.

We lost our dog in June, we were taking her to a new vet 10 miles from our house, she got spooked and ran off. After a week of putting up hundreds of posters and spending days in the woods we found her in a cow field having a great time with the calfs (stupid dog ). It was the WORST week of my life.

 

[Dugan]

Apologies, for me it goes without saying that a dog should wear a collar and tags, including at least, license, rabies, and id. The collar, of course, should be adjusted such that the dog cannot be choked if it gets hung up on something. Otherwise, a harness is better still. Be aware too, that not all states accept a rabies tag as proof of vaccination. Some require a copy of the rabies certificate.

Still hoping Teddy is warm, well-fed, safe, and finds his way home.