This narrative is part of the Wondercide March series called The Lucky Ones, stories of rescued animals. But we've discovered that it's us, the humans, who are the lucky ones, indeed.
Things were looking grim for sweet, young Peggy, the nine-month-old Cane Corso on the run from her owners for the third and final time. The terrified Italian Mastiff escaped from her home in New York in the month of June. Peggy charged into the woods where she’d be pitted against more than 100 acres of untempered wilderness and coyotes on the hunt for a fresh meal. It was speculated that Peggy also ventured out of the woods to roam, making it even more difficult to track her down.
Learning about Peggy’s departure from her home, the communities of Briarcliff Manor and Ossining rushed to assist in her rescue with missing posters, regular Facebook updates, and security camera footage of any sightings they suspected could be Peggy. Meanwhile, her original pet parent made the decision that they weren’t interested in the search or in keeping Peggy if and when she was found.
Thankfully, there was one especially concerned citizen who was more determined than ever to bring Peggy home safely. It was almost as if Briarcliff resident Jon had been visited by a ghost each night. Something would whist across his yard for only a moment, his trash cans would rustle, and then everything would be still again. For Jon and many of his neighbors, you could find traces of Peggy in the garbage that had mysteriously traveled out of the trash cans and laid askew on their lawns the next morning.
A heroic duo
Months into these strange and brief visits, Jon began to notice a truck parked outside his home. He came to learn that this truck belonged to dedicated dog rescuer, Teddy Henn from Lost Dog Search and Rescue in Sayville, Long Island. Teddy seemed like the perfect man for the job with a resume of over five hundred rescued dogs over the span of seven years. Teddy had been on a mission to find Peggy for some time now and he was convinced that she was making these nightly visits to Jon's house. His mission was guided by his love of animals and he was volunteering his time to find runaway Peggy.
A plan is devised
Together, Teddy and Jon hatched a plan to catch Peggy and bring her to safety. They began by setting up cameras on Jon’s property. Teddy dedicated all of his time to monitoring the surveillance cameras and waiting patiently for their trap to work. Their first attempt at capturing Peggy was a failed one. Jon set out a bowl of kibble and hot dogs for Peggy to scrounge on, which she was seen on camera doing on several different occasions. But Peggy was alert and aware of her surroundings, and would eat quickly to avoid ever making contact with anyone. She even ignored Jon’s propped open door, which he left hoping she would come in and take shelter from the cold winter weather.
Teddy had surveyed the lost pup for a long time and surmised that she must cover about six miles a night, which was a lot of ground for a dog with a very limited diet. Jon and Teddy worked together to condition Peggy to make about three to four nightly visits to Jon’s place. Teddy would watch the cameras and tell Jon when she had been there so he could refill the bowl and Peggy could return. They had set up tripwires and box traps to capture Peggy but to no avail. The dog was elusive.
The final attempt to bring Peggy home
Finally, Teddy switched to the Collarum trap, a set up underneath the ground that would be triggered by movement and spring up with a cable loop to wrap around the animal’s head. They set up the trap and waited anxiously for Peggy’s arrival. Peggy’s survival intuition often kicked in which allowed her to evade the traps that Teddy set for her. But this time, to her ultimate good luck, she was unable to detect the Collarum trap. It only took Jon and Teddy a minute to arrive on the scene and release Peggy from the cable loop and bring her in safely. To their surprise, she was docile and calm, different from what you might expect from a stray animal that had been fending for its own the last six months.
“It almost seemed she was relieved,” said Jon. “So, I felt in that moment that we bonded and I had a new dog to welcome into my life.”
Welcoming a new family member
Jon used his friend Peter’s Facebook page to reassure followers of Peggy’s journey. Jon wrote, “As I type this, she's blissfully sleeping in a super-comfy Orvis orthopedic dog bed at my feet, warmed by the sunshine streaming in through the south windows.”
As of the time of her rescue, Peggy weighed roughly 79 pounds, about 30 pounds under what the veterinarians estimate of what she should normally weigh. Jon is working hard now to ensure Peggy reaches her weight goal and grows into the strong pup she’s meant to be. She’s still recovering from her intense journey through the rough New York woods, but with the love of the Briarcliff community, Peggy will make a solid recovery.
“In a way, she's your dog too,” Jon wrote to his neighborhood. “Everyone had a hand in this happy rescue.”
Thanks to the alert observations and tenacious surveillance, the residents of Briarcliff Manor, and the tireless efforts of Teddy, Peggy gets to live out the rest of her days in a loving home with a man who feels lucky to call her his own. Jon estimated that Teddy drove well over 100 miles back and forth from Sayville to Briarcliff during those six months, putting 10,000 miles on his truck to help ensure this story ended well. Jon extended his gratitude towards the community for their efforts in bringing Peggy home and encouraged all to donate to Teddy’s Lost Dog Search and Rescue operation so other stray animals could find love, comfort, and happiness like Peggy.
