Animal House

Whippet fancier Jackie Levin sent this email update to Vivi's breeder Bo Bengtson, and has given permission for it to be reprinted here.

<<Dear Bo,

I wanted to give you an update about the Cesar Millan speaking engagement at the Bronx Zoo held yesterday. I am going to ask your indulgence in a bit of background first. The only NY volunteer who felt she might be able to attend was Gail Thomas. As time grew closer, she said she wasn’t sure if she would be able to attend, as she is so busy searching. I am unable to travel at the present time, because of health issues.

A friend of mine who has two of my whippets, no internet access and is handicapped in a wheelchair, decided she wanted to contribute to the Vivi search by attending. Until this point all she has been able to do is pray. This dear, 63 year old woman, Charleyne Kershner, took a bus, taxi and then another bus from Nazareth, Pennsylvania to the zoo yesterday. She felt that since she is in a wheelchair, she might be fortunate enough to be placed up front with easier access to Cesar. She went dressed with a bright yellow T-Shirt with Vivi’s approved poster on it, that she had made. She also took several hundred flyers.

Not only was she able to talk to Cesar about Vivi, but the large crowds at both the morning and afternoon sessions were made aware of Vivi’s plight. Most already knew about her and assumed she had been captured. Charleyne gave out several hundred flyers and made contact with many interested people who will keep their eyes out and also inform others. After hearing about Vivi at the talk, a gentleman named Glen Andrews from Animal Care and Control (website www.nycacc.org ) , which has chapters in all five NY boroughs, said he and his group are VERY willing to help when there is a sighting. He said his group helped look for her some months ago, but then he never had any more communication from the volunteers for help, so they assumed she had been captured. He can be contacted at gandrews@nycacc.org. He took quite a few flyers, as did several groomers who attended the speaking engagements. The rest were handed out to the dog lovers who attended and were very receptive. I believe she planted many seeds of hope in reuniting Vivi.

During the question and answer time, Cesar called on Charleyne immediately. She gave him a brief over-view of Vivi’s plight and his suggestions were as follows:

• It is imperative to keep her status in the public eye so she can be reunited if someone finds her and she trusts them enough to go to them. Especially so, because the audience reaction was that everyone assumed she had already been captured.
• He totally agreed that anyone hoping to capture her needed to behave in a very submissive way. Preferably turning their back on her, sitting down, no eye contact and no talking. Calm energy is essential.
• When she is sighted, because anything can cause her to bolt, it would be best if several people could go and form some sort of circular perimeter around her from a distance. This would be the only way to know the general direction she is traveling in, with hopes of getting ahead of her.
• He suggested that small articles of clothing with Jil’s scent on them be placed in plastic bags and sent to the volunteers who are searching and putting up posters. The item (socks would be inexpensive) should be kept in the bag, carried by the volunteer, until a sighting has occurred. If the volunteer is within "sighting" distance from Vivi, the bag should quietly be opened and allow Jil’s scent to be released and smelled by Vivi. He said it is important to remember that the very first sense that dogs use at birth is scent and this they still use first, even a sighthound. Also, if she stays in an area, then other items with Jil’s scent can be placed around the perimeter of the area and the center if possible. Remember dogs have about 220 million scent receptors, while humans have only about 5 million.
• Wild dogs often travel in circles and food can be the motivation to widen the circumference of the circle.

I realize many of these suggestions have been implemented, but I wanted to accurately state his suggestions, even if they are repetitive. Charleyne had brought another "Vivi t-shirt" with her, that she hoped to give to a NY volunteer, for more exposure. When she realized she was the only one there, she decided to present it to Cesar, in hopes that if he thinks of any more suggestions, he’ll have the number to call, right on his shirt! He was very kind to her.

I realize many, many people have done so much more for Vivi, but I thought you might find the special circumstances of this handicapped woman heartwarming. Although she is not an AWC member, as we are, she gives true meaning to our Code of Ethics which states, "Each member shall take all appropriate measures necessary to assist any whippet in distress in any circumstances."

Best wishes,
Jackie Levin Fyrefly Whippets >>

From search coordinator Bonnie Folz. Rick is the fiance of Vivi's co-owner, Jil Walton, and he has been in the area recently to help with the search for his step-whippet.

Vivi is now moving into my old neighborhood in Queens!

Denise

<<As Rick, scours the neighborhoods, he talks to everyone he possibly can about Vivi and her plight and the fact that she IS STILL MISSING.  One thing that many people, not hearing anything more about Vivi, think she's already been found.

It seems that when there are no legit sightings within a few days to a week, that usually means that Vivi is on the move and she sometimes moves into areas that do no have posters and flyers up.

Apparently this is the case again as we received calls this week that Vivi was in the Glendale, Queens, area on Monday morning and afternoon and sighted in Forest Hills, Queens, the later part of this week as well. 

New areas, no info. 

With that said, we need to step up and get the word out to the following towns: Woodhaven, Glendale, Richmond Hill, Forest Hills, Kew Gardens, Middle Village, all in Queens.

I understand some folks were contacting the various municipalities (sanitaion, police, transit, etc..) as well as businesses.  If you can do the same for these new areas, that would be a huge help.

As I look on my famous wall map of Queens (some of you may remember it from being bungied to the side of my minivan) It looks as though our Miss Vivi may be traveling back to the Flushing Meadow Park area.

Rick has talked to the folks in Forest Park and will inform us as to how we can post the info within the park.  He also feels some neighborhoods (such as Forest Hills Gardens) would be better to receive door hangers instead of posting info on poles.

Anyone that needs further info please contact me Pawsativebf@aol.com

Those that live or work in the neighborhoods listed, please tell everyone you know to keep a look out for Vivi and not to chase her.

Thanks for everyone's help.

Keep the faith.
Bonnie>>

Do I hear fifty?

On Thurs., June 22, Posh Nightclub at the Garden City Hotel hosts a Charity Bachelor/Bachelorette Auction to benefit Bobbi and the Strays.

For those who have been on the Vivi trail since its earliest days at JFK
Airport, Bobbi's outpost in the airport cargo areas was a frequent meeting
spot and "refueling" station for posters and flyers.

While Vivi eventually headed northward, Bobbi and the Strays continues to
do its quiet, unassuming work, helping homeless dogs and cats in this
under-served area of southeast Queens.

Doors open at 6:30 p.m. Bidding begins at 8 p.m. Ticket price is $35, which
includes buffet and OPEN BAR!

Alas, hotel magnate Brian Rosenberg is happily married and will not be on
the block.

Tickets available at door- please come and show your support and possibly
buy a bachelor or bachelorette, too!


For ticket information, email egiurco@optonline.net, or call (516)
679-5556.

Search coordinator Bonnie Folz sends this on:

<< Team Vivi Update 6/20/06

Vivi's breeder brings us up to speed:

<<UPDATE TUESDAY JUNE 20, 2006

    Last week’s possible Vivi sightings, at least some of which seemed reliable, produced a general feeling that we were getting “close” but did not materialize into something more tangible. I am impressed that more than four months after Vivi’s disappearance there are still volunteers who are willing to help put up posters, etc. Other than that and making sure that the “Lost Dog” ads keep running in the local newspapers there is not much anyone can do.

    The media is still interested. A journalist from Associated Press’ National Desk requested interviews with Jil and Paul, Honi and Bonnie last week, and Denise Flaim had an excellent nearly full-page article in Newsday on June 5 about the “continuing saga” of Vivi’s disappearance. She points out that “Vivi-mania” still rages, with up to 5,000 hits per day on her blog (www.newsday.com/animalhouse).

    George Bell who has a long experience of Greyhounds and Salukis makes a suggestion that won’t help Vivi but may be useful for those who ship dogs or let them run in unfamiliar areas. George gives Westminster Kennel Club’s Dave Frei credit for bringing this up. He writes:

    “The so-called telemetry devices used in open field coursing could be used with frequent flying show dogs. We have done a great deal of research on different types of devices to locate lost dogs. It has  been years since we have lost a dog in the open field ... The type commonly used in the field are tiny transmitters made for falconry. The dog wears a lightweight elastic harness and the antenna/transmitter attaches to the harness with velcro and weighs about an ounce.”

    My concerns about the transmitter getting stuck while the dog is in a crate are apparently not founded. “It is a very tiny antenna made of spring steel and would break away if somehow it got stuck in a crate. The harness is made of lightweight elastic and would also break away if somehow it got snagged.”

    John Burchard explains further: “The antenna is only about seven inches long and sticks straight up from the dog’s shoulders. The whole thing is in a flexible mount (a baby-bottle nipple, in fact), so it folds back if the dog goes under something, and then springs up again afterward. It’s held on the dog by a harness made of inch wide elastic webbing which in the field is additionally held in place by the usual coursing blanket (typically lycra). I don’t suppose it would be a bad idea to put a fluorescent pink or orange blanket on a dog in shipment, anyway. It makes a dog easy to spot at a great distance. The transmitters cost on the order of $200 each. The directional receiver costs around a thousand, but you wouldn't have to buy one of those. Just phone the local falconry club if you actually lose a dog. There is a falconry club in nearly every state.”

    Perhaps this suggestion may prove useful to those who fly dogs often.>>

A local rescue group emails for help:

<<The unthinkable has happened.  Little Shelter’s food pantry has completely run out of food.  Dogs whose impoverished owners are part of the Training Wheels Program and countless area feral cats in the Alley Cat Program rely on Little Shelter’s stock of provisions for their very lives.  At this time of the year – when many people and their pets are enjoying picnics and cookouts – these poor dogs and cats face the possibility of bare cupboards or food that may not be providing them proper nourishment.  Little Shelter desperately needs your help to feed the hungry.

Little Shelter president Maryann Chernovsky implores folks everywhere:  “Hot and humid weather is upon us; many of these dogs and all of the cats must bravely face the blistering heat.  Don’t let them be hungry or malnourished as well.  Please do whatever you can to help them have the comfort of a full tummy.  Do not hesitate; act now.  The situation is desperate. ”

Dog and cat food donations may be brought to Little Shelter at 33 Warner Road in Huntington between 1 PM and 7 PM on weekdays and from Noon until  5 PMon Saturdays and Sundays.  Monetary donations are welcome and may be sent directly to Food Pantry at Little Shelter. 

On behalf of all the innocent animals who need help, Little Shelter thanks you from the bottom of their hearts.

For more information, please call 631-368-8770 Extensions 205 or 206.  Please be sure to visit the Little Shelter web site – www.littleshelter.com – for more updates.>>

Search coordinator Bonnie Folz emailed this morning to say:

<<Just got a call from the owner of Teddy, the Bull Terrier, he's been found!!!!!!
HOOORAY!!!!!!!
Teddy went missing on Sunday, his owner made up flyers and contacted all the veterinarians & animal hospitals in the area.  Apparently, someone pick Teddy up on Monday and brought him to an animal hospital, the only one that Teddy's owner did not contact.  One of the staff at the hospital saw Teddy's lost dog ad last night and contacted his owner.  Teddy has been reunited with his family!  I suggested Teddy be micro-chipped which the owner said he's going to do. 
Teddy's owner was so grateful for having him back, thanked me for helping, wished me luck in finding Vivi and asked if he could make a donation to help us with the search.
He was one very happy owner, I'm so glad he was reunited with his dog.

Keep the faith!
Vivi's next to be found! >>

Search coordinator Bonnie Folz emails:

<<While reading today's Newsday I noticed there's an ad for a lost dog, white Bull Terrier named "Teddy" from the Little Neck, Queens area on June 11th.

I contacted the owner to get some specifics since it's quite possible one of the Vivi volunteers may come across Teddy while they are out.  The owner faxed me a copy of Teddy's lost dog flyer and I've made copies to hand out to the volunteers if needed.

Teddy is friendly and approx. 3yrs old.  He was adopted by his current owner from rescue about 7 months ago (saved from an abusive situation).  He was not wearing a collar when he got loose from his yard. The owner is devastated. 

Could you please put in a good word for Teddy on your blog and ask that if anyone sees Teddy to please call his owner at 718-225-1113?>>

Happy to oblige. :-)

The latest from rescue coordinator Bonnie Folz:

<<Happy to report two new sightings the end of last week. One of which was made by a Team Vivi volunteer! and the other confirmed by a neighbor in the same area. 

Bulldog in mauling case won't be euthanized

BY CARL MACGOWAN
Newsday Staff Writer

June 13, 2006, 3:21 PM EDT

From search coordinator Bonnie Folz:

<<

The Town of Hempstead has confirmed that Lawrence Kelly, the owner of Duke -- the bulldog that is alleged to have participated in an attack with two Rottweilers on a 4-year-old boy -- has rescinded his request to have the dog euthanized.

In accordance with state law, the town will now conduct a dangerous-dog hearing.

The two Rottweilers involved in the attack were euthanized last month after Kelly waived his right to a hearing.

Before Kelly withdrew his permission to euthanize Duke, Long Island Bulldog Rescue and the Nassau County ASPCA were fighting to get "standing" in order to advocate for the 1-year-old neutered bulldog. The issue was before appellate court, and there was a protest planned for this evening (Tuesday, June 6) at 6:30 p.m. at Hempstead Town Hall in support of Duke.

For more details, visit www.longislandbulldogrescue.org.

"No news is good news."

That approach doesn't work well as a motivational tool, as any dog trainer (or human therapist!) will tell you. When it comes to learning and evolving, rewards and positive feedback are much more effective than punishment, criticism or just plain silence.

To that end, consider this ASPCA-sponsored petition that applauds Pennsylvania governor Edward Rennell for taking steps to rein in puppymills in his state.

http://www.thepetitionsite.com/takeaction/659306722?ltl=1149525459

ANIMAL HOUSE

The saga of Vivi continues ...

Denise Flaim
Animal House
June 5, 2006

Whatever happened to that whippet from JFK?

I get that query via e-mail at least several times a week, not to mention the computer-less lady in Galveston, Texas, who calls every month or so.

Most everybody knows who the JFK whippet is, thanks to the media splash her disappearance made in mid-February: Vivi, a California show dog fresh from competing at Westminster, sped off into the airport marshlands after breaking free from her crate.

What many don't know is that Vivi is very much around - in cyberspace, at least.

Soon after Vivi's great escape, I began chronicling search efforts on my blog (www.newsday.com/animal house). Among other things, it explains why recovering Vivi would be such a challenge: Sighthounds, bred to chase fast game, are notoriously independent and quickly turn feral when lost. It's like trying to catch a cat on rollerskates.

The blog has become an electronic tapestry that documents the twists and turns of the Vivi search: The fruitless first days at the airport, from pawprints on the restricted shoreline to quilt-wrapped traps that stayed empty but for the occasional irate tomcat.

Then, in mid-March, a breakthrough: two pet-detection dogs picked up a trail that led to 110-acre Baisley Pond Park, just north of the airport.

Days later, Vivi surfaced in Flushing: She scarfed down bread tossed by a resident and touched noses with a Doberman out on a late-night walk. Again, tracking dogs confirmed her presence. Kissena Park, downtown Flushing, the Queens Botanical Garden, Flushing Meadows-Corona Park - Vivi toured them all. Volunteers widened the circle with their "lost dog" fliers, which sanitation workers then removed with great efficiency.

In April, Vivi headed north, with sightings in College Point - where camera-monitored feeding stations are still watched - and later Whitestone. By May, the "I-saw-a- little-white-dog" calls shifted south, to Alley Pond Park.

And then, barely two weeks ago, the wandering whippet's latest curve ball: Unconfirmed sightings back near Kennedy Airport - Brookville Boulevard and South Conduit Avenue in Rosedale; and 105th Avenue and Sutphin Boulevard, and 144th Street and 119th Avenue, both in Jamaica.

Late last week, a sighting put Vivi in Valley Stream, near its eponymous state park and Franklin General Hospital.

What to make of this travelogue? On the one hand, it may be a stunning testament to the connectedness of the borough's greenways. (Unlike Van Wyck-obsessed Elaine Benes on "Seinfeld," it looks like Vivi takes the Cross Island and the Southern State.) On the other hand, callers are inclined to call any little white dog Vivi.

And what of recent reports of a whippet stopping traffic on the Hutchinson Parkway in the Bronx? Does Vivi do bridges? Is she still even alive?

Meanwhile, Vivi-mania rages on my blog, to the tune of 5,000 hits a day. Volunteers who call themselves "foot soldiers" report on where fliers are needed. Others obsess that Vivi is in heat and birthing illegitimate "whip-pits." Despite repeated assertions from experts that sighthounds are usually caught by luck or accident, frustrated "doers" float dangerous notions such as dart guns and drop nets. A lady named Sharon from Michigan posts a daily prayer - or two, or three.

And Vivi's owners and breeders - who have returned to their daily lives on the other coast - look on, grateful for the support, but keenly aware of its disproportion.

"There are thousands of other dogs out there who deserve every bit as much attention," writes Vivi's breeder, Bo Bengtson, who has repeatedly said that chasing or approaching Vivi is only more likely to make her run.

But like Barbaro the injured racehorse, Vivi is a reverse Cinderella. Her showdog status satisfies our fascination with the elite and beautiful, while her misfortune elicits emotions - pity and concern - that democratize her.

The blog's comments percolate with compassion, as well as snarkiness ("I can search better than you") and obsession (with rival splinter groups of searchers). They say far more about human nature than they do about Vivi. For better or worse, the blog is a community - or maybe a cult - centered around a little snip of a lost dog. And no matter what the pushpins on the map say, it's the one place on Earth where you can always find her.

Copyright 2006 Newsday Inc.

Vivi's breeder Bo Bengtson wrote this editorial for the June 2006 issue of Dogs In Review, for which he is editor-at-large. It is posted here with permission from the magazine.

Obligatory disclaimer: It reflects his opinion, and not that of Dogs in Review. Obligatory language alert: It contains the "B" word, a common noun used among dog folk to describe the female of the species, irrespective of how she is acting that day.

<<FLYING HIGH… OR STAYING GROUNDED?

Most dog people are dependent on the airlines to some degree. We ship puppies across the country and abroad, send our best bitches to be bred to a stud dog far away, hop on a plane to go to a show and take the dog along. If it’s too big to fit under the seat in the cabin, the dog has to be checked as excess baggage. Flying has become a part of life; something we don’t necessarily enjoy but have gotten used to. Dog shows and breeding would perhaps not cease to exist without air transportation, but they would certainly be a lot different.

How risky is it to fly your dog? Is it just my imagination, or are things getting worse than they used to be? Everyone I know has a horror story to tell, but I wanted to find some hard figures.

To begin with, I consulted the Air Travel Consumer Report, which includes an enormous amount of data regarding flight delays, denied boardings, complaints, etc. Flipping quickly to “Consumer Complaints” I was surprised to find that no airline had a single complaint listed in the “Animals” category for the month of February, 2006. Since a dog that is near and dear to me was lost by Delta Air Lines at JFK Airport in New York on Feb. 15, 2006, that seemed odd until I realized that only complaints filed with the U.S. Department of Transportation were included. If you only report the loss to the airline it doesn’t show up in the Consumer Report.

Apparently dogs lost as excess baggage are included, but not specified, among the 265,610 pieces of luggage that were “mishandled” during February this year. Is it too much to expect that a dog should be treated a little differently than a suitcase? For one thing, it’s a living being; for another, we pay a lot of money to ship our dogs.

TRANSPORT SECURITY REGULATIONS

Useful information was provided by Rudolph H. Auslander of the Japan Airlines Management Corporation, a 37-year veteran of the airline industry, a dog lover and a volunteer with an English Springer Spaniel Rescue group. He writes that since 9/11 and the implementation of the Transportation Security Regulations, unaccompanied baggage is carefully screened behind the scenes after you give it to the airline for check in. That could involve a security official taking a dog out of its crate to screen it once you have left, and this, of course, increases the risk for disasters of the type we experienced. It also means that it doesn’t matter how well you secure the crate: the door may still be opened when you’re not there.

Asking the major airlines’ customer representatives directly did not prove  informative either. You would think press credentials and an offer to present the airlines’ views to thousands of active dog fanciers would meet with more than an automated reply, but that was not the case. (Delta’s only response was the following: “This is an automatically generated message. Please do not reply.” According to the Los Angeles Times and other media outlets, Delta filed for bankruptcy protection last September, but admits that the potential pilots’ strike that has been brewing recently could put the airline out of business. Obviously they have bigger problems than a lost dog.)

STILL AT LARGE

So what’s the solution? Get a small dog which fits in the cabin? Stay at home? Return to the days when dog people leased a cargo plane to fly together from the West Coast to Westminster, as apparently happened in the ’50s? I wish I had an answer, but I don’t.

According to the Department of Transportation, “Over two million pets and other live animals are transported by air every year in the United States. Federal and state governments impose restrictions on transporting live animals. In addition, each airline establishes its own company policy for the proper handling of the animals they transport.” In other words, you need to compare the regulations before deciding which airline to use.

The problems we are experiencing in flying with dogs may be part of a bigger concern: lower standards in the airline industry across the board. Data released by the USDT indicate that service deteriorated in all major categories in 2005. Bill McGee writes in USA Today (April 19) that “there’s little question that contracting out more and more tasks to lower-paid and less-skilled workers is affecting all aspects of airline customer service,” none more so than baggage handling, where complaints rose more sharply than in any other area.

So should you fly with your dogs? Should you ship dogs at all, knowing what we do about the treatment dogs may be subjected to by the airlines? It’s up to you, of course. I was lucky for years, but that doesn’t help when calamity strikes.

What I want to tell you is that once an accident happens, you will probably be on your own. Perhaps other airlines act differently, but Delta’s behavior was such that our lawyer issued a statement saying, in part, that “Delta’s actions are contemptible. Delta negligently lost [the] dog Vivi, then was further negligent in failing to properly help find her.” The lawyer did not receive a written response from Delta; their Customer Claims Manager advised her that “legal will not respond until a lawsuit is commenced.”

Meanwhile, Vivi is still at large, more than two months after someone let her out of her crate while in Delta’s care at JFK. She has braved New York winter and traffic, hunted live game, fended for herself and stayed alive. She has been sighted regularly but remains as elusive as a ghost and obviously far from her old, trusting self.

It’s even more frustrating than I thought was possible, but we still hope there will be a happy ending and are deeply grateful for all the support and kindness shown from throughout the dog fraternity.

Thank you!

Bo Bengtson, Editor-at-Large

P.S. Since the above editorial was written in early May, Delta Air Lines provided a slightly more extensive response than that quoted above. It did not include any information that was not already available, but at least Delta was not any less cooperative than the other airlines.>>

Elaine Benes of "Seinfeld" fame may take the Van Wyck, but with Vivi, my money's on the Cross Island.

Vivi's hopscotching around Queens at first seemed unfathomable: After lingering in the JFK Airport area for a month, she suddenly resurfaced more than 10 miles to the north, in Flushing. From there, she gained access to an interconnected parks system that let her bop from Kissena Park to Flushing-Meadows Corona Park to Alley Pond Park, and plenty of residential communities in between.

Last month, she reappeared in the Rosedale and South Jamaica communities that ring JFK Airport.

How did she invisibly traverse this oftentimes congested borough from top to bottom? Via the Cross Island, of course. The parkway, which runs north at its inception just east of the airport, where the Belt Parkway ends. It passes right by Belmont Racetrack as well as Alley Pond Park, and it terminates in Whitestone, one of the areas where Vivi was last seen before she reappeared in the JFK area last month.

Is it possible that when Vivi decided to head back to the airport again, she just jumped back on to this bucolic, greenery-shrouded parkway? Why not?

The most recent, albeit unconfirmed sighting of Vivi yesterday in Valley Stream was directly off the Southern State Parkway. The Southern State also connects with the Belt Parkway, which passes the airport: It heads east to Long Island, while the Cross Island aims north toward the Whitestone Bridge, its terminus.

For out-of-towners who want to understand the context of the Vivi sighting in westernmost Long Island, Nassau County is a suburb of New York City and is less congested than the borough of Queens, which borders it to the west. Think classic suburbia, with its neatly tended lawns, Levit-built Cape Cods -- and plenty of picket fences behind which Vivi could be contained by a quick thinker.

Though Nassau County does have a significant horse population, many of barns and stables are located on the North Shore, far from Vivi's current location. On the South Shore, with its proximity to the ocean and beaches, boating and fishing are popular.

Should Vivi continue her eastern migration on the Southern State, she could find herself in the mahvelous Hamptons well before the end-of-season Labor Day barbecues. Pushing farther eastward, there is Montauk and its iconic lighthouse, and then ... Portugal.

Bonnie Folz calls to say that there was a reported Vivi sighting yesterday morning in the Valley Stream area. If true, this means that Vivi has headed east of the airport, crossing out of New York City and into suburban Nassau County.

Bonnie asks that if there is anyone willing to post fliers around Valley Stream State Park as well as the streets around Franklin General Hospital, please contact her at pawsativebf@aol.com.

Colleagues and friends who ask occasionally if Vivi has been found, get the stock reply -- "No, not yet."

That invariably invites a second question:  "Why is she so hard to catch?"

And I reply, very simply, "Because she's a sighthound."

If Vivi were a golden retriever or a border collie or a Maltese, she likely would have been caught within days of her JFK escape when she approached a human for food or comfort or direction. But sighthounds are the antithesis of the indiscriminate gregariousness of the sporting dog, or the frenetic interactiveness of the herding dog, or the lap-craving neediness of the toy dog.

Arguably only sighthound people -- those who own greyhounds or deerhounds or salukis or Afghan hounds or, yes, whippets -- can truly appreciate the depths of their breeds' independence and self-reliance. (I could add basenjis and Ridgebacks and Irish wolfhounds to the vaunted "S" list, but them's fightin' words in some quarters!)

Even dog-savvy folks who have been around canines for decades can't truly appreciate a sighthound's independence unless they have lived with one, or spent a good deal of time with one. These dogs have a hair-trigger prey drive, and an ability to flip the switch in their heads from domestic to feral very quickly. Most are reserved around strangers, if not oblivious to them, keeping their affection for those they know and love. They have the body of a dog, but the soul of a cat.

They are also most decidedly not reflexively biddable. Go to any dog show and see how many sighthounds are entered in Obedience. And when one makes a rare appearance in the ring, there's a good chance the owner will wind up doing the off-leash heeling pattern on her own, while her trusty little sighthound looks on smugly or feigns sniffing a very interesting blade of grass.

Oftentimes, this extreme sighthound independence is misconstrued as a lack of intelligence. As a protest to Stanley Coren's book "The Intelligence of Dogs," which listed border collies as the smartest breed and Afghan hounds as the dumbest, the Afghan people (the fanciers, not the nationals) made up a Tshirt: Emblazoned on the front was a cartoon of an Afghan hound peering over the edge of a cliff at a pile of dead border collies.

This quick-wittedness, intelligence, reserve and self-reliance are what makes the sighthound a fearless and oftentimes ruthless hunter. It is also what makes her near impossible to catch once she has left her old life -- what she remembers of it -- behind.

(Addendum: For the record, I am not a Vivi pessimist, and am not saying that she will never be caught! But, as Vivi's breeder Bo Bengtson has said repeatedly before, the odds of her being caught in a straightfoward manner -- "Here, Vivi, Vivi, Vivi!" -- is highly unlikely. Instead, serendipity -- her wandering into a yard or garage, and then being contained by a smart owner -- is a much better bet. All the more reason to raise community awareness through posters and fliers.)

Search coordinator Bonnie Folz sends this on:

<<Team Vivi Update, June 1, 2006

For all those who requested, the most recent Vivi flier: Download LOSTDOG040406.pdf