By Mary O’KEEFE

For several weeks reports were made with Los Angeles Sheriff’s Dept.-Crescenta Valley Station, Pasadena Humane Society and LA County Animal Control, among others, of three dogs that appeared to be domesticated roaming in a specific area in the Angeles National Forest. Several of the people who made the reports were concerned not only for the dogs’ safety but also for the safety of motorists as they traversed the curves along the Angeles Crest Highway.

“In early March, there had been several reports from hikers and others who had seen three large dogs wandering on Angeles Crest Highway near mile marker 46 in the Angeles National Forest,” said Sgt. John Gilbert, CV Station. “LASD deputies from Crescenta Valley station and the Montrose Search and Rescue team had seen the dogs from afar on multiple occasions but were never able to get close enough to capture them. The three Italian mastiffs continued to wander the hillsides of Mount Mooney for several weeks, during the cold snowstorms, rainy days and recent scorching heat.”

“We got a call from a [woman] who had driven by [the dogs] with a friend,” said Jo Ann DeCollibus, co-founder of Dog Days Search and Rescue.

DeCollibus said the woman had apparently called several organizations in an attempt to get help in capturing the dogs. Dog Days Search and Rescue got involved after the woman shared the story of these dogs on social media. Her post got shared on a Santa Clarita site, which led to DeCollibus’ involvement.

Many people, including Montrose Search and Rescue team members, had gone up the Crest to leave food for the dogs and many tried to capture them – all without success.

“[MSAR members] were on a weekend patrol and left food and water. They ran into Dog Days Search and Rescue,” Gilbert said.

When DeCollibus and her team got involved they quickly discovered this was not going to be a normal rescue.

“We needed to get control of the [situation],” she said of her first approach.

Of the three dogs, one would come toward people and to the Dog Days Search and Rescue team but never close enough to get captured, so DeCollibus had to learn the dogs’ patterns and get them on a schedule.

“Many people who didn’t know each other were feeding the dogs,” she said.

There was a lot of food given to the three dogs, so Dog Days Search and Rescue members put a logbook near where the dogs were seen to record who came by and what supplies were given to the dogs.

“We were able to stop [the amount of food given] and control it,” she said.

“During several weeks’ time the Dog Days SAR team endured heat, cold, rain and even snow. They studied the dogs’ behavior and gave them nicknames of Stevie, George and Grace,” Gilbert said.

The Dog Days SAR team never gave up on capturing the trio and even brought in Mike Noon, who works as a trapper/tracker for the organization, to help devise a plan to rescue the dogs.

DeCollibus and her team were on the Crest every day for weeks and observed the dangers that the dogs posed on the road. Drivers stopped, sometimes abruptly, and turned their vehicles around because they saw the dogs. Witnesses also reported seeing cars swerve around the dogs when they were in the road. At one point DeCollibus put up cute pink cones near the road to warn drivers of the dogs.

“Caltrans told me mine [would probably be stolen] so they put up bigger cones,” DeCollibus said.

All six of her cones were stolen.

Dog Days members worked tirelessly to build trust with the dogs. They set up a pen in the area and lured them with food and lots of protein, like roast chicken; these dogs made the team work to earn their trust. Eventually, after a month, the dogs entered the pen and were contained but Dog Days members knew they would need help getting out of the tough terrain.

“This was a different rescue,” DeCollibus added.

That is when MSAR’s skills came into play.

“With the dogs safe and sound, the Dog Days SAR asked LASD Montrose Search and Rescue for help in transporting Stevie, George and Grace down the steep hillside to the roadway. Team Montrose SAR responded and used their mountaineering skills to build a custom lowering system. This system used ropes and other equipment to carefully lower the dogs, which were now loaded in cages, down a steep hillside. Montrose Search and Rescue spent nearly two hours helping Stevie, George and Grace to the safety of flat ground,” Gilbert said.

The terrain was unforgiving; during the rescue one member of Dog Days Search and Rescue fell and broke her wrist. DeCollibus follows up regularly with her team member, offering to help her in every possible way.

The dogs are now in the care of Dog Days SAR. DeCollibus makes sure the dogs are healthy, encouraging them to calm down after their adventure in the wild.

DeCollibus estimates the financial costs of capturing these dogs are over $1,000.

The organization has been rescuing dogs since 2014. Although this rescue was different from their normal rescues, they are well prepared to rescue any dog in need.

They have a lot of equipment that supports their search and rescue efforts, including cameras, kennels, mobile fencing and other items.

This rescue was long and involved a lot of support but, in the end, three dogs are happily safe and sound. When asked how she thinks the dogs got in the ANF in the first place, DeCollibus said, “My heart tells me they were probably dumped [in ANF] but I always want to think they were just lost.”

Dog Days Search & Rescue is a registered 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization, and is a volunteer-based, animal search and rescue group. Those who have any questions about Stevie, George and Grace, or who want to donate to the organization, can visit their website at dogdayssar.com or mail a donation to Dog Days Search and Rescue, P.O. Box 1511, Simi Valley, California 93062. 

Anyone who witnesses an animal abused, or abandoned in the Angeles National Forest, contact Crescenta Valley Sheriff’s Station at (818) 248-3464 or the Pasadena Humane Society at (626) 792-7151.

  Mary Okeefe