3 Sightings!

Finally!!!! More sightings!

Canvassing of the area around where Keisters Branch Road and Nikkel Lane meet, by Karen, have produced three sightings, all within shouting distance, all in the last 24 hours.

Hope abounds!

Oh, a word about Izzie's collar, since one of the sighters didn't call because the collar he saw on the dog didn't match the color of the collar on Izzie's photo . . . In Izzie's photo on her fliers and cards, she is wearing a red collar. When she disappeared, she was wearing a green collar. The color of the collar that the man saw on the dog that looked like Izzie was green.

Having said that, please disregard the collar color anyway! There are any number of ways and reasons why Izzie might now have a different collar or no collar at all. Please just call if you see a dog that could conceivably be Izzie.

Thanks once again for all of your support! It's making a very difficult job just a slightly bit less difficult.

And more sightings!

We are happy to report another couple of Izzie sightings, confirming that she hasn't turned to fairy dust! She's out there! Karen has been able to jump right on each sighting, and to go to the areas and speak with the people that have seen her, and others in the area, some of which have also seen her. And Karen is updating the map with the sightings.

But honestly, I'm having a hard time keeping up with where the girl is going! It looks like she's still moving around a LOT!

So the message for now is -- wherever you are in Blacksburg and the surrounding area -- please be on the look-out for Izzie. Do NOT be surprised if you see her; don't think that a sighting can't happen to you. It can . . . and hopefully yours will be the one that provides the link that is needed to bring Izzie safely home.

Stay tuned; all indications are that there will be more. But, what will it be, and when, and where???

New Sightings! 10/4 & 10/5

Saturday marked nine weeks since Izzie went missing -- the first Saturday in August.

Following a busy weekend packed with new visits and revisits to all sighting areas and feeding stations past and present, and pretty much any place that ever had something going on since Izzie went on the run, there have been a couple of sightings -- one Sunday evening and then earlier today. Karen is checking on the latest sighting as I'm writing this update.

Our travels over the weekend included a visit to a couple that had seen Izzie in August, and they have offered a couple of dog houses they are not using. These will be great complements to feeding stations, so this offer is greatly appreciated and those dog houses will be picked up for this use!

We also found out about the dog we'd been calling Scruffy, who is one dog that Izzie has been seen traveling with. Scruffy is an owned dog named Gypsy that was caught all the way over at the feeding station, on that camera there, a good distance from her home. Meanwhile, another dog that we saw as we were out and about is one that we know to live quite a ways from where we saw him (or her). So knowing that the dogs in this area that Izzie has been seen with are such travelers does make it easy to see how much she must be moving around.

We've received a call from the US postal service regarding the fact that we've been putting fliers in US mail boxes which is, as it turns out, illegal. Mea culpa for this! We won't be putting any more fliers in mailboxes, and we are looking for more ways to make sure that everyone knows who to call if they spot Izzie.

Mid-Week Update

On Wednesday, additional photos of Izzie were shown to the woman that had called in last Friday's sighting, and she's 100% sure from those photos that it was Izzie that she saw. This is good news since it had been a little while since we'd been sure that Izzie was out & about being seen. It provides new direction, a new area to concentrate in, and I for one am feeling brand new hope.

The feeding station and borrowed motion sensored camera were moved from the first site -- which seems to have been feeding everyone BUT Izzie -- over to the new area on Tuesday. It's getting some action and hopefully, it's Izzie. Besides the smell of the food to draw her there, a dirty shirt from the house was also left there to assist in that.

But not ones to wait around for Izzie to show, Izzie's supporters have been covering a lot of ground in this new area, talking to landowners and distributing fliers, and also searching in case Izzie is stuck somewhere. Next up, they will be there at the end of the workday today to catch people arriving home from work.

New Izzie Poster!

Today marks two months since Izzie slipped away, having no idea what she was getting herself into. I can only imagine how badly she wants to be home where she's safe, surrounded by family, out of the elements, has a comfy bed to sleep in -- and knows where her next meal is coming from! Without a doubt, she's trying her best to get there. But she still needs help -- everyone's help. Thanks to everyone for whatever you are doing to help bring Izzie home.

Positive Sighting September 25th

We received a call yesterday morning from a resident who lives off Wake Forest Road in McCoy. The caller saw the flier we posted Monday, which we posted because we'd already recieved a sighting in the general area, for Thursday or Friday (24th or 25th). This caller is certain that she saw Izzie on Friday (25th) at around 3 PM. The dog that she saw was traveling on Wake Forest Road towards Shale Road. It appeared she had a short chain/leash attached to her collar.

While canvassing the area and speaking to neighbors, another resident reported seeing a small black dog in the area at around the same time.

We distributed and posted additional fliers on Wake Forest, Longshop and Whittaker Hollow Roads and are focusing our search efforts in the quadrant bordered by these roads.

If anyone is available to help search please call 540.577.9739.

Monday Morning Update

Update from Karen

Over the weekend, Karen had heard from one of the two people that sighted Izzie last week, saying that after she looked at the photos on the blog, she decided that the dog she saw wasn't Izzie. Certainly we're glad to know this if it's the case, but obviously it was a let down. So Karen caught up with the other person that had seen a dog matching Izzie's description on the same day. He viewed Izzie's photos on the blog and is "98% certain" the dog he saw at 3:30pm on the 15th was indeed Izzie. This is good news, and it's the latest sighting we now have -- last Tuesday.

Karen visited the house closest to that sighting and has spoken to 3 different people who live or are visiting there. One guy that she spoke with had been away for a month and just returned late on the evening of the 15th. No real help there.

Old Creek Road is part of the daily loop, and Karen is over there at least 4 times daily at different times. She's securing permission to walk the area. Ever the optimist, Karen noted that the good news with the rain today is that maybe she can pick up some paw prints around the creek bed.

Izzie is SOOO lucky that Karen has been able to keep her spirits up, and isn't giving up after so long (more than seven weeks now), as many, many people who have lost their dogs do. Ask anyone who has lost and dog, and they'll tell you it's hard to keep going week after week. But the support of all Karen's and Izzie's friends helps make it possible for her to keep going! Keep that support coming!

Saturday Update

IMPORTANT: WE ARE LOOKING FOR THE LOAN OF A MOTION-SENSORED WILDLIFE CAMERA that can capture photos of whatever animal is obviously eating from the feeding station. Since rawhide bones are being included and are disappearing, we believe this is a good indication that the culprit is at least the same species as Izzie! Please call Karen at (540)577-9739 if you have access to a camera and can loan it out for a good cause.


From Karen, late Saturday afternoon --

We've been out all day canvassing, posting and distributing fliers on the south side of Glade Road east of Brooksfield Road and north of Prices Fork Rd. Areas revisited and canvassed include Old Mill,Walnut Spring Roads and Stratford View Drive.

Tuesday Evening's Sighting Report

Izzie was seen crossing Mt Zion Road and running up Welcome Lane around 7 PM.

We were in the area and met the sighter within 20 minutes at the exact location where Izzie crossed Mt Zion. Opus and I walked the nearby area and spoke to several residents on Welcome Road until darkness fell, and then returned to the feeding station on Glade Road and staked out the area until 11:30 PM.

We are returning to the area today.

Karen


Update posted on Karen's Facebook wall late Wednesday afternoon:

Walking, talking, posting quadrant bordered by Glade Rd, Mt. Zion Rd, Old Creek Rd and Buckshot Lane. Another sighting from yesterday at 3:30 PM close to last night's sighting.

(The sighting from yesterday afternoon was called in today.)


Important Update Saturday from Karen: The woman who reported Tuesday's 7 pm sighting called me today. She saw the dog she thought was Izzie again today and after looking at the blog photos realized it was not Izzie.

Sunday Morning Update

This update from Karen covers the last several days; you can see how hard she's working -- and how much she's learning about the goings on of the animals around here!


What a week! We've been going non-stop since Tuesday's sighting and subsequent sightings on Wednesday and Friday. I'm an adrenaline junkie by nature and was pounding the pavement until I hit the wall last night. I'm trying to be patient and wait for sightings but always end up walking, talking and fliering fueled by hot sightings.

Carol and Julie (mother and daughter) own the family homestead and farmland on the south side of Glade Road (area of last week's sightings) as well as 80% of the quadrant bordered by Backwoods Lane, Glade Road, Buckshot Lane and the top of Brush Mountain on the north side of Glade Road. Julie lives on the property south of Glade Road; Carol lives 15 minutes away and drives Glade Road several times each day.

They are huge animal lovers, intelligent and all-around wonderful! They are continually rescuing, fostering, feeding, spaying/neutering, vaccinating, etc. the dogs and cats who wind up on their land. They work with the local and regional rescue/humane groups. They are trying to coax two dogs while helping find Izzie.

The first dog is Scruffy. He has been sighted, almost daily, for about six months. (His picture was posted on this blog a few days ago.) Carol saw Izzie with Scruffy Tuesday; she knows the dogs who run in the area and is certain the dog she saw was indeed Izzie.

The second dog is Foxy. She is about the same size as Scruffy, all black, fox-like ears, long-haired. Four years ago, Foxy was taken in by two vet students who lived on Bobcat Lane. She was spayed and given a rabies shot. Foxy escaped from the vet students about a month after spaying and has been running loose in the area since. Julie and I talked about Foxy on Friday; she had not been sighted since May but Julie is confident she is eating at one of the feeding stations.

Yesterday I was driving "the loop" as night fell; my headlights picked up a pair of eyes at the foot of the farm driveway (close to the feeding station). I stopped the car and got out to get a closer look (hoping, praying it was Izzie).

It was the elusive Foxy! She stared at me and I kept my distance while talking to her softly for five minutes. Neither of us moved and I slowly backed away, got in the car and left. I called Julie and let her know: she was so relieved! Foxy is known to travel at night and is elusive; sightings are few and far between. Easy to figure with her dark coloring.

My other dogs and I walked and walked yesterday. There are so many places Izzie could be. We were on cow trails, creek beds, wildlife trails, logging and mining trails, farm roads, Forest Service Roads, main roads and the Heritage Park Trail. We could hear the canons from Lane Stadium; they go off each time the Hokies score, and they scored 52 points yesterday -- go Hokies!! We covered the north and south sides of Glade Road; I'll guesstimate an area covering one and a half square miles. We all slept well last night!

Do You Recognize This Dog?

This is Izzie's new friend; let's refer to him as "Scruffy" for now. Izzie was sighted with Scruffy on Tuesday, September 8th and twice on September 11th.

We received a phone call from a school bus driver who had seen them traveling together at 6:45 this morning. After he completed his run, this nice man phoned us and returned to the area and helped canvass.

When we arrived, Scruffy was milling around Glade Road near Walnut Springs Farm and eluded us. He crossed Glade Road and ran into the woods on the east side of Bobcat Lane.

After speaking with several people in the area, we found out they have been trying to capture Scruffy for the past 3-4 months to see if there's a collar underneath all that matted fur.

We canvassed the area from 8 AM until 4 PM today and will return frequently hoping to cross paths with Izzie. A feeding station is nearby.

Possible Izzie Sighting September 8

We had another sighting today at around 12:30 of Izzie with a long-coated brown dog. They were running on the side of Glade Road towards town. When the sighter stopped her car, the dogs took off into the woods.

I was about 10 minutes away posting fliers and had Opus and Bittie with me. We drove to the area of the sighting and walked the dogs. They both reacted in the vicinity of the sightings.

We searched the area on foot for around two hours, talked to people, posted more fliers. It's such a large area to cover, and sparsely populated. I'm headed back out there this afternoon.

Also, this morning I was back in the area where Izzie went missing -- reposting fliers in case she is trying to get back there (in light of Saturday's possible sighting which is fairly close to where she went missing).

While out, I met a woman who lives in Northend on property that backs up to Route 460. The woman owns a dog, and she said that he has been barking and staring at the culvert for the past two nights. She's going to keep an extra eye out if the barking continues. She showed me the culvert that runs under 460 and comes out on Redbud Lane. I checked out the culvert from both ends; it's very possible for Izzie to make her way through. This may have been how she got under 460 the night she escaped.

Izzie is Lost!

Izzie, a 10 pound spayed terrier mix, escaped from her caretaker on Givens Lane in Blacksburg, Virginia on the evening of August 1, 2009. She left behind her constant companion, Opus, and her best friend, Bittie.

In the course of an hour, the immediate vicinity was canvassed until nightfall ended the search.

Izzie was sighted in Brookfield Village the day after she went missing. She managed to either cross or follow a culvert under very busy Route 460.

Within 2-3 days she was sighted on several occasions at the Meadow Brook Trailer Court on Meadow Brook Road.

It appears she made friends with one or more dogs who reside within the trailer court and was spotted on three occasions in the area bordered by Glade, Shadow Lake and Meadow Brook Roads traveling with at least one of these dogs, an intact male named Bruce. We contacted Bruce's owner who informed him Animal Control had ordered him to either leash Bruce or keep in inside in accordance with local ordinances.

Two days after Bruce was in lockdown, Izzie was sighted, on two seperate occassions, and appeared to be traveling on her own. Both sightings were in close proximity to each other, one in Heritage Park and one report of her running down the middle of Glade Road. These sightings were on Sunday, August 16th between approximately 10:30am and 2 pm.

Our most recent sighting was on Wednesday, August 26th around 10 pm in the Gateway parking lot (Heritage Park) with a brown dog.

We continue to canvas the area near the most recent sightings while fanning out every day in each direction. Since Izzie has been hanging around the same area for a month, we have no reason to suspect she has wondered too far away.