Brodie, Nash and Ruckus

Sunday morning, hours before Hurricane Sandy, I met up with Jordina, a field agent and K9 handler from Lost Pet Professionals. She was here to have here team of 3 tracking dogs, Brodie, Nash and Ruckus give us more clues about where Myrtle could be. We met near McGolrick park, where Myrtle slipped free from the hands of her dog sitter.

I brought Myrtle's tiny pink and brown winter vest (which thankfully I have never washed) and felt proud when Jordina told me this sample was perfect! "Sometimes the scent articles people bring me have been washed daily. That's harder for the dogs to pick up. This piece is perfect!" I've never felt so proud and thankful for owning a filthy little dog vest.

Jordina stuffed the little vest in a plastic baggy, "We don't even need a sample of this, we can use the whole thing." (Now owning a little purse dog was also paying off!) and she brought out Brodie, German Wirehaired pointer.

"He's brilliant.", said Jordina. "He can follow the most recent scent, even weeks and weeks after a dog's gone missing."

Read Brodie's Rescue Story

Brodie looked like he knew he was on a mission. Jordina waved the tiny vest quickly under his nose, "Find it!", she said to him. He took off, dog-jogging, down the street Myrtle was said to go down. I ran after them. We continued on over Greenpoint ave, across the bridge to Queens, and down Review St. This was the exact path the last person who saw Myrtle described. Every few blocks Jordina stopped Brodie and asked him, "Are you sure?" He would stop, look annoyed for being questioned, and then continue on his path. Brodie took a right into a lot that exited out onto some railroad tracks. 

"This makes sense!" Jordina yelled back at me. "It's quiet back here!"

Twenty minutes of jogging through the streets and down the tracks and my legs were burning. I peeled off my jacket, and made my out-of-shape self keep up.

Brodie led us to an empty lot full of debris and construction materials – it looked like a place that wasn't visited often. He bounced around an overgrown bush. This is where the scent led us. As we looked around the lot, a man unlocked a gate beside us.

"Have you seen a small black dog around here?", I asked.

"No. I'm just here to feed my cats." He pointed to three empty bowls.

"She's smart.", said Jordina. "That could be her food source. Let's go back and get Nash and see if he picks up the same scent."

On our walk back Jordina told me her story. She lost her dog Andy two years back and knew she wanted to help other people find their pets. I told her I have the exact same feeling! It was nice to be around someone who had gone through this. As we talked, I could still feel her pain and dedication to her lost Corgi. (Please take a second to follow the Bring Andy Home Facebook Page.

Read Nash's Rescue Story

Jordina prepared Nash, a rescued from a shelter in Nashville, hence his name, and looked like a beagle/spaniel mix. He gave me a few kisses when he hopped out of the car. Nash led us to the exact same spot.

"I'm still amazed by these guys.", said Jordina. And I could see why. To watch these dogs follow scents, and lead us to the same corner of this hidden lot, how incredible! I fell in love with Nash right away. I didn't think I could love dogs any more, but these rescues helping me find my Myrtle? I wanted to squeeze them!

We took Nash to a few more spots and he picked up another scent, it lead to the gate surrounding Cavalry Cemetery. Jordina suggested we take the dogs over there after testing out Ruckus.

Jordina then set Ruckus, a young Jack Russell tracking dog-in-training, and, you guessed it, he led us to the same lot.

We took the dogs to Calvary Cemetery and they each were focused on an area there, parallel to the lot. Jordina pondered the locations, "I think she's hanging around here during the day – and perhaps going over to the lot to eat at night. She's is a smart girl."

There were no other leads, so this is where our dog tracking adventure ended. Before Jordina left she must have noticed the worry on my face, "This might not make you feel too much better, but Myrtle can survive this storm. I'm sure of it. There are so many places to hide out here." It did make me feel a little better.

So what now? This day gave me hope and an area to focus on. Spending the day with Jordina and her dogs was also very comforting. Before, I had no clue where Myrtle could be. I should have called Jordina the first week Myrtle went missing.

Now I need to focus on Queens. I've started to flier and have been spending a few hours a day near that lot and in the cemetery. Putting up fliers in such a large area is not easy, so I could really use the help. If you would like to help me this weekend. Please send me an email!

I've also set up a Fundrazr campaign to help me raise enough money to place ads in all the Queens papers. This will cost me $500 for 2 weeks of ads. Here's what the ad looks like: