Tuesday, February 9, 2010

Phil is Holding Brandon in his Arms!

No details yet -- Terri is on her way but Phil called her to say that he has him right now!! Check back for the story!


Update -- here's the story from Terri's perspective:

Thank goodness for a volunteer by the name of Lynda! Mai had met her in a West Springfield shopping center while handing out flyers early in the weekend, and Lynda jumped right in and started looking for Brandon. She is truly awesome and came to the rescue today when we needed someone to get to the area where the new and very hot sighting had been called in.

When Lynda arrived at the station (Company #23, Guinea and 236), she met up with Billy, one of the firefighters there. As they were talking about Brandon and how he had been hanging around their firehouse for the past 24 hours, who went running by them but Brandon himself! But he was gone in a flash.

Lynda started flyering around the immediate streets, taking flyers to places such as the Jewish Community Center and the 7-11, and she talked to people who were out and about throughout the next several hours. In this canvassing, she heard many reports of Brandon running around this area over the last day!

After a few hours, and after she was soaking wet from hanging fliers and walking through the deep snow, Lynda was about to call it a day, and go home and get some dry clothes on. She decided to make one last drive through the church parking lot where she originally saw Brandon. Again, she saw Brandon running toward the fire house! By now, it was about 3:15 - 3:30, and Phil had left work (near Dulles Airport) and was to be arrivingt at any time. She called him, and he confirmed that he was on his way and would be there soon.

So Lynda waited until Phil arrived so that she could show him the three primary spots Brandon seem to be hanging around. She stayed in her van while Phil started walking around the three areas. I had shared with him that he could try softly talking to Brandon (not calling out his name!) but just talking to him like he normally would at home, before going on a walk, or going to bed, or giving him treats... something that Brandon seemed to understand when they talked to him.

For a few minutes, Phil did just this; he walked around talking out load to Brandon just as though he was right there. As Lynda watched Phil heading back towards the fire house, and her van, she saw that Brandon was walking right behind Phil -- practically on his heels. Lynda thought to herself, What the heck, now that Phil has his dog, why is he making him walk rather than carrying him . . . not realizing that Phil didn't see Brandon or know that he was right under his feet!!!

I guess Phil saw Lynda's face and arms up in the air, because he turned around and to his surprise, saw his long lost dog! He bent down and Brandon jumped up in his arms and was kissing and kissing him and he was still giving him kisses when I got there about 10 minutes later! This was a truly happy ending after ten very difficult days for Brandon's family.


Huge thanks for Brandon's recovery go out to: Lynda, of course; Sally, the firefighter who called FC Animal Control to report that a dog was hanging around the station for the last day; Animal Control who matched Sally's report with the family's report to FCAC of their lost dog, Brandon; and Nadene, who handled much of the communications with Sally (I was working and couldn't spend time on the phone) and provided information about what she should do if she saw him agin. Sally told Nadene that Brandon had been there for more than 24 hours and that she had put food out for him to eat! Sally agreed to help and then immediately got in touch with the rest of the fire fighters (including Billy) who set up a feeding station in the back lot of the station. Great team work!

A Busy Afternoon

A busy afternoon followed the sighting call! Email snippets between Nadene and Terri tell some of the story:

Nadene: I have called the firefighter, Sally, and she said that the dog was seen yesterday at their location at 8am, then later at 6pm. She put out a sweet roll and 1/2 of it was eaten. She said that he was seen last at 6:30 am this morning. She is not there now but is calling the Firehouse (8914 Little River Turnpike) and asking her co-workers to put out some hot smelly food and will put up a feeding station for us. I explained that no one is to chase him etc.
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Nadene: I just talked with Billy, the firefighter that saw Brandon while talking with Linda today. They have put a feeding station out in the back of the fire station next to the grill. I spent a few minutes explaining the importance of not chasing him or looking directly at him. I gave him all the numbers to call if he sees him. He said the dog came from the direction of the Lutheran church, and ran between him and Linda towards the Jewish Community Center. I am calling the church and the Jewish community center now.
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Terri: I just talked to Linda who is over there flyering and stopping in the businesses, i.e., cleaners, 7-11 etc with flyers. She just went into the Jewish Community Center and a woman handed her Brandon's collar. Linda is waiting for the guard to come from downstairs to find out about the collar. I am worried sick!!!
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Terri: According to the guard, the collar was turned in this morning by someone. This was before Linda saw him today around 1:00 pm. So he is now without his collar!
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Terri: Linda finished flyering some neighborhoods in the area and went back by the church....and there was Brandon in the front driveway of the Firehouse. So close....but yet so far! Hoping that Phil gets there soon! This was about 3:15 p.m.
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Terri: He was sitting in the front oustide the bay big door. Sounds like Brandon is going between the church and the fire department. Phil is supposed to be heading over soon. Linda was going to call him and encourage him to get over there....she was going to wait for him to show him exactly where the dog has been running around.

Hot Brandon Sighting!

Update from Terri (a volunteer) just after noon today:

Just received a call from Phil (Brandon's owner) - Fairfax County Animal Control just received a called from Fire Dep. #23 at Guinea and 236 regarding a sighting of Brandon. One of the woman at the fire department called FC Animal Control, who then contacted Phil.

(Presumably the person from the fire department called FCAC about a stray dog, not about Brandon, and AC must have called Phil since he had a lost dog report.)

Since Terri is at work (and Phil is at work in the Dulles area) and Nadene (another volunteer) is at home, Nadene is following up with the caller to get more details.

We are desperate to get someone to get to the area, but Phil is at work in the Dulles area, and Mai (another family member) has to be at an appointment in Manassas at 1pm. Grrrrrrr!

Check back to see what happens, and by all means, call the numbers at the top of the page if you can help!

Friday, February 5, 2010

Brandon is Lost!!

PLEASE HELP US LOCATE OUR BELOVED BRANDON!!!

We lost our dog on Saturday January 30th, when he wandered off in the last snow storm, and he has not been able to find his way back. We have been searching for him daily, and passing out flyers. We have had reports of sightings in the Springfield/Burke area, but we have not been able to locate him. We are worried if we don't find him soon, or before the next snow comes, that he might not survive. We need help to locate him.

Brandon is a medium sized black, long haired chihuahua with white front paws and a white patch on is chest. When he got lost, he had a collar with his name tag and our contact number on it.

We are offering a reward for his safe return.

PLEASE CALL IF FOUND OR IF YOU HAVE SEEN BRANDON

YOUR HELP IS GREATLY APPRECIATED!

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