PLEASANTS COUNTY, W.Va (WTAP) - For months, a blood hound has wandered around Mineral Wells with no apparent home. Over time he became known by some in the community as “Old Red,” “Ole Red,” or simply “Red.” After presumably months outside, Red has been rescued.
Bethany Watson, of the Pleasants County Humane Society, says a small group of community members were posting sightings of Ole Red on Facebook. When she was added to the Facebook group where these sightings were shared, she thought of someone who may be able to help.
“I thought of my friend Janet, because she lives in the area was off work at the time recovering from surgery. I thought she’d be the perfect person on the drop of a dime go [check out] the sightings,” said Watson.
Janet Turner was at one time a volunteer at the Pleasants County dog shelter, but she’s also pretty well known online for her partnership with a paraplegic dog named Gordon. Together, the two run marathons to raise money for shelters and rescues.
“I joined the group and we found out that this dog frequented like four different places in my area. So what I decided to do was to purchase some food at a local store and cook it and take it out and see if we could get some hits on the dog,” said Turner.
After a week, the food kept disappearing with no sign of Old Red.
Watson then borrowed a camera for Turner to use from an acquaintance. The camera was left out for 48 hours at one location Red was known to frequent. However, the bait left for the hound was eaten by crows.
“That was a complete flop,” said Turner. “I went back to the drawing board. We continued to follow these groups to see any other suggestions and we weren’t getting a whole lot.”
That’s when Turner reached out to a friend in Flint, Michigan who sent a special trap down to Turner to be used on Old Red. Turner says the volunteer who brought her the trap had her food and gas paid for by community members.
Two Pleasants County Humane Society Volunteers helped Turner set the trap in a location Old Red was known to frequent. Turner says he was usually spotted on Tuesdays, or other times when trash would be picked up. They watched the spot out for hours, but no sign of the elusive hound.
Then, Turner acquired two cameras from a friend and ran several “trial and error” tests to catch Red on camera.
“The Kennel was just so big, it distorted everything. Through trial and error we were able to place the camera in the correct location and we added a second camera,” said Turner.
For five weeks, Turner watched the location with no luck.
“It was getting really frustrating,” said Turner.
As Turner and her associates started to lose hope, Ole Red was caught on camera.
“After 1,500 pictures, there was Red,” said Turner. “I had kind of lost hope at that point at that point, [but then] of course I felt like, oh we’re going to get him now.”
That was about two weeks before Turner finally caught Old Red, who she has renamed Baloo.
“It was the most amazing feeling. This has been one of the hardest things I have ever done in my entire life. My chin is still sitting on the pavement in that turn in disbelief that we have him here,” said Turner.
“Twice, twice I actually gave up on him. But, I got to thinking, this dog is out running and if I give up on him, who’s going to help this dog?” Turner said.
He was captured on July 27th by Turner. She estimates he’s been in the area since at least February.
As for Baloo’s future, Turner says he is still being evaluated at the Pleasants County Dog Shelter. Turner has raised around $1,000 through her social media following to put toward Baloo’s medical expenses.
“None of the money had to come from the county, and Tiffany was kind enough to take this dog that really wasn’t in her county and I knew that I had to make it right. That no money would come from the county, that it would come strictly from my donors, and the people who wanted to support Red,” said Turner.
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The Link LonkAugust 03, 2020 at 09:25AM
https://www.wtap.com/2020/08/03/dog-known-locally-as-old-red-rescued-taken-to-pleasants-county-dog-shelter/
Dog known locally as “Old Red” rescued, taken to Pleasants County Dog Shelter - WTAP
https://news.google.com/search?q=Red&hl=en-US&gl=US&ceid=US:en
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