Finding Trooper: Volunteers Rescue Puppy

Using a technique called "Hasty Search," volunteers brought home a young pup who went missing from a Stoneham foster home Thursday afternoon.

Trooper, a five-month-old Basset Hound/Bulldog mix, being fostered at a Stoneham home escaped his yard in the Crystral Drive area Thursday and was missing during the winter storm that dropped several inches of snow on the town. 

Several volunteers searched for Trooper during the storm, using tips from people who had seen the pup's missing poster online. A woman called the hotline and said she thought she had seen Trooper in the Stone Zoo area, which prompted a search in the woods nearby. 

With the "hasty search" method, volunteers use the "point last seen" to search a five-mile radius and pay special attention to how far the dog can go, based on height, weight, leg length, hunger and more, said searcher Kerrie Gilbert. 

On Saturday, Kerrie said she and her husband, Greg, continued the search for Trooper. Greg carried with him "smelly, fatty chicken, his scarf, cell phone" and went to the top of "Virginia Woods," while Kerrie went up and down the roads at the bottom, she said. 

Tracking pawprints, Greg said he was able to follow Trooper's progress through the woods. 

"He was traversing a ravine," said Kerrie. "It was quite steep. Greg was amazed the little dog did it and so well. Greg said he had to traverse and hold on to catch himself from slipping."

Although Greg lost the tracks at times, he continued along what he believed was Trooper's trail and came to a fallen tree in the snow. He stepped over the tree and found more tracks. Following the paw prints again, he found a small pine tree clearing where the prints stopped.

"He stepped to his left, halfway around tree, and out of the corner of his eye, there lying in a ball at the foot of a tall pine was Trooper!" said Kerrie.

Unsure how to catch the little guy, Greg slowly sunk down against the ground and grabbed ahold of Trooper's collar, putting the scarf onto it like a leash. While he did so, he talked to the pup, patting him, feeding him. He checked the puppy for any injuries and gently picked him up—but not before grabbing a quick photo for Stoneham Patch!

"Today I really love my husband alot," quipped Kerrie.