Looking for Ghostman: Lost dog attracts a community of searchers
A lost dog in Charlottetown has attracted the interest of hundreds of people.
Ghostman, an Australian shepherd, got loose on Orlebar Street in Charlottetown on Friday.
Owner Hannah Hughes picked up Ghostman in Bangor, Maine, where he had travelled by air from his breeder in Mississippi.
Less than 24 hours later, he went missing.
"He bolted on me Friday night, he freaked out about something and pulled hard enough to get out of his collar and bolted," explained Hughes. "He's very unfamiliar with the area, and any people, and so he's been on the loose since about 10 p.m. Friday."
All eyes on Ghostman
A Facebook page, Bring home Ghostman, was started to co-ordinate efforts to find him. There have been a number of sightings of Ghostman but the dog is not responding to calls.
"Your first instinct when you see a lost dog is to go towards him and call their name and try to get them to come to you but according to a lot of vets we've talked to, that's not really the best strategy," said Hughes.
In fact, searchers are being advised to do the exact opposite.
"You need to kind of be submissive to him, turn your back away from him, get on the ground, make him interested in coming towards you rather than you going towards him because he just sees that as a threat," she explained.
Hughes and her family and friends have set up his kennel, which he travelled in from Mississippi, and a blanket that was in her car for the 8 hour journey to P.E.I., in the hopes of providing him with somewhere familiar to go.
"The issue is not really with finding him, it's with catching him," said Hughes.
Social media support
Maureen Kerr is helping to run the social media campaign that is tracking Ghostman sightings around Charlottetown.
She can relate to the situation. Her dog, Zooey, went missing for 15 days during a visit to Ottawa before being found, in part because of a social media campaign.
Kerr said she has always wanted to pay it forward.
"It's peaks and valleys as far as adrenaline goes, and I'm feeling for Hannah because I know how hard it is, and just having to be on all the time," said Kerr.
"As long as people aren't chasing him, because he's so scared and skittish and running away so quickly, the best thing is just to report sightings," she added.
Support is 'really touching'
Hughes is heartened by all the support.
"It's definitely really touching," she said.
"There's a lot of dog lovers on P.E.I. and I'm sure some of these people don't even have dogs of their own, they're just empathetic to the situation and I'm sure they just know how they would feel if it happened," said Hughes.
Ghostman has been spotted multiple times on Monday afternoon.
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