Posted Courtesy of the American Whippet Club
There is a lot of activity among people who no doubt have good intentions but do not listen to advice from Vivis owners, from those whom we have asked to lead the search, or even from the experienced "dog searchers" who have been consulted.
This is very disturbing. Among much else, I was sent one email urging people to "get together" to try to "catch her" or to "amass as many people as possible in the sighting area," etc. This is directly contrary to what should be done. Even if well intended it would have the effect of scaring Vivi away from the relatively safe area where she seems to be. Anyone who thinks this is the way to get Vivi back should not be out there looking for her.
Please accept that you cannot catch Vivi. If left alone she may build up enough confidence to let herself be caught by a local with common sense, the way most lost dogs are retrieved. This isn't a sure thing, but we KNOW that going out to catch her won't work.
If you want to help, please do not take any action without clearing this with Honi Reisman. She is in regular contact with Jil, Paul and me. She has taken on this responsibility purely on a voluntary basis and we are enormously grateful to her for this.
Thanks for your patience with this frustrating and long drawn-out affair. More than seven weeks have gone; how people whose dogs were lost and gone for several months could cope I do not know.
Bo
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Bo Bengston is Vivi's breeder and Editor-at-Large for Dogs in Review magazine. Both Dogs in Review and DogChannel.com are published by BowTie Inc. Bengtson's updates originally appear in their entirety on the American Whippet Club website.
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For more information visit the American Whippet Club website.
Posted: April 7, 2006, 5 a.m. EST