Abandoned beasts plague local park

It began last Thursday when a concerned citizen posted a photo of a dog on the Athol Neighborhood Alerts and News Facebook group page.

"Anyone recognize this girl?" FB user Shelli Jean posted with a photo of the large brindle canine. "I found her and a half-eaten bag of food in Farragut today."

A flurry of reactions ensued, with nearly 1,000 shares and hundreds of people reacting to what they thought was an abandoned dog at Farragut State Park. Well-meaning individuals went out to the park to find her, bringing blankets and leaving food to try to catch her.

"This was an interesting situation and it was a sad situation because it was so cold," Ranger Errin Bair told The Press on Wednesday. "There were lots of people coming out to catch her and it was scaring her a lot more." 

It wasn't until late Saturday that Farragut rangers were informed of the situation, but they weren't able to conduct a proper search until Sunday. The rangers contacted Kootenai Animal Control and a live trap was set out Monday morning.

"The minute we knew about it we contacted animal control," Bair said, adding that once the trap was set "we had her caught within 24 hours."

The dog was scared and cold, but otherwise OK. She was brought to the Post Falls Police Department's animal shelter. Kootenai County Sheriff's Office posted her photo on social media, and Wednesday she was reunited with her owners.

"At this time, animal control does not believe the owners abandoned her," said KCSO Det. Dennis Stinebaugh. "They're still looking into the circumstances."

Exactly how the dog wound up at Farragut is being investigated. According to one Facebook user who claims to be the dog's original owner, the dog was given to an acquaintance because the original owners were trying to find a better home for her.

"We don't have any more information to release," Stinebaugh said. "If anyone has information pertaining to this dog, have them please call animal control at 208-446-1300."

Bair said up to 15 animals, especially cats, are lost or abandoned at Farragut each year. She emphasized how important it is for people to immediately inform park officials if they see an apparently lost or abandoned pet so they can get to work capturing and returning it.

"We have resources as does animal control to be able to catch the animal safely and move them to a safe situation," Bair said. "We will attempt to catch the animal, whether it’s a cat or a dog or a donkey, as we've had in the past, or a llama."

The animals are brought to the Post Falls shelter and kept for five days as officials work to find the owners. If no owners come forward, the animal will be put up for adoption or foster.

"It's important for people to know that even though Farragut is close to town, it's still wilderness and there are a lot of predator animals," Bair said. "We've got coyotes. It's not a good place to dump your animals. No place is a good place to dump animals."

Stinebaugh said KCSO deals with an average of between 200 and 300 lost or abandoned animals a year. He said social media can be quite helpful in these cases. The brindle dog's owners contacted KCSO once a photo of her was on the KCSO Facebook page.

"We feel great about being able to help people be reunited with their pets," he said.

However, he reiterated Bair's emphasis on contacting authorities when lost and abandoned pets are discovered.

"One thing with social media, people might be posting their animal is lost, but they still need to contact animal control," he said. "If law enforcement doesn't know about it, you can have a lot of people searching for a dog that's sitting in the pound.

"(Social media) can be great to locate the owner, but please contact your local animal control officer so they are aware."

To prevent animals from being lost, Stinebaugh recommends owners license their pets in the jurisdiction where they live and be sure the pet is wearing a collar with the license so animal control can easily identify the owner.

"You can also go to your vet and have them chipped," he said, adding that this is especially helpful if the pet and its owners travel out of town.

If animals are lost or found at Farragut, community members are encouraged to immediately contact the rangers at 208-683-2452.