Finding Chewie: Dog Finally Trapped But Someone Let Her Out

MARLBOROUGH, MA—Chewie the little black cairn terrier mix went missing from her home in Bolton on June 5 of this year. She's still missing, and her family is still heartbroken and looking for her, but there have been signs of hope through the summer and still to this day.

Since the skittish girl took off in June, there have been several sightings in the Hosmer Street and East Main Street area of Marlborough. There weren't just sightings; there was a victory. Chewie was finally caught in a Have-A-Heart type trap only days ago, and surveillance shows someone opening the cage and letting her out. The family, and searchers, are now back to the beginning; looking for a lost dog.

Karen Hovsepian of Missing Dogs Massachusetts has led the search for Chewie since day one.

Hovsepian said originally no one tied the original sightings of the dog to Chewie; most thought it was a stray dog running around. The sighting reports began in early August, and the "stray dog" was seen frequently spotted in Marlborough. On Oct. 31, the first trap was set up in the area.

"Once I got better pictures of the dog on the satellite camera and saw her myself, I looked back at old posts of missing dogs that were filed with us and found a flyer which seemed like a match to me," Hovsepian told Patch. "She was about nine miles from home."

Missing Dogs contacted the owner, who came to the area with dog's sister. Chewie, Hovsepian explained, is in "survival mode," and won't even approach her owner. She said it is common for those who go missing.

"All they are aware of is food, shelter and safety," said Hovsepian. "Many times, they do not even recognize their owner or anything familiar as they are so deep into staying safe that nothing else penetrates. The longer they are out, the worse it can get. But they do shift back once they are safe."

On Dec. 13, it appears from surveillance that Chewie was caught in the trap. It also appears from surveillance that someone had promptly him let out of the trap.

Chewie, who is about six years old and 30 pounds, is back out on the run. She is wearing a collar and tags.

"I cannot give details as to where the trap is," said Hovsepian. "There are some crazy people out there who, although may have good intentions, may interfere if they know the location. The first trap was set up on Oct. 31, and due to her moving to different locations, all still close to each other, it has been moved a few times. We have also tried different sizes, and at this time have a kennel trap out (which is basically a small rectangle type fence enclosure) and also have a Humane True catch trap out by where she sleeps."

The traps are monitored by satellite cameras, and there are two set up at each trap. They are motion activated, and send photos directly to a smartphone.

"Once we heard that the dog was not in the trap we went back through our photos and can see a woman at the trap moments before our other volunteer got there with the door open at one point, and then the door closed," said Hovsepian. "There is no way this dog could jump over, and the ground was frozen, with no holes dug for her to get under. The only way this dog could have gotten out was for this person on camera to have opened the door."

Because the cameras are pointed lower, to the level of a dog, there are no shots of the person's face.

"I am appalled that someone would do anything like this," said Hovsepian. "I will say, we should have had a sign on the kennel trap, but there are hundreds of signs all around that area and everyone in that vicinity does know about the dog, as she is seen regularly running all around."

Hovsepian said if someone does encounter an animal in a trap to always call police, animal control, or the number on the signs.

"She literally released this dog back into the woods on a freezing cold night - how would that be helping this animal in any way?" said Hovsepian. "I am just saddened that a dog that desperately needed help, who has been on its own for more than six months and has had us trying to trap her for more than a month now was finally safe, and is now back in danger. Although dogs are very resilient and can survive against amazing odds there is always a fear that something could happen to her. She was hit by a car last Thursday and thankfully did not sustain any major injuries, it seems."

Hovsepian said that the person who let Chewie out may have not been thinking, heard her barking, and thought it was the right thing to do.

"Maybe they thought they would be her hero and get her, opened the door, but she bolted?" said Hovsepian. "Maybe they just didn’t care, although I would hate to think that is the case. Like I said, there is no reason anyone should be on private property trespassing, nor should they tamper with any trapping equipment (it is actually a punishable crime)."

Hovsepian said the search team is reevaluating its strategy now. Because of her location, she said they are limited into the variety of approaches they can use to bring her to safety.

"We are hoping she will either just enter the other trap, since it is a different type of trap, or eventually with slowly moving the food further and further into the trap to regain her trust again go back in that one," said Hovsepian. "We will be discussing other options along the way and will not give up until we get her safely. We have had dogs that have been trapped multiple times so we are hoping in time she will get up the courage again to enter - it will just mean starting back at square one to get her to trust it again which could take weeks or months."

Photo submitted/Missing Dogs Massachusetts