The Continuing Saga Of Newtown’s Lost Sheltie

Blue is far from home.

But home for Blue, a purebred sable merle Sheltie, has always been a relative term. For much of the past three years, Blue has been surviving outside in a wooded section of town bordered by Commerce Street and Church Hill Road. Now she is on the run, and the last time she was seen, she was three miles away on South Main Street and Huntingtown Road.

Blue’s life has been a tragic one. She was born in Pennsylvania in a puppy mill, where unscrupulous dog breeders overbreed their animals in order to maximize profits. Puppy mills are the primary source of often-unhealthy puppies for most pet stores in this country. Blue was a “brood bitch” and was kept confined in a cage for the first year and a half of her life to produce litter after litter of “product” for her owner. When she was abandoned by the breeder, a Sheltie rescue group in western Pennsylvania took her in.

Because Blue (known then as Blueberry) had very little human contact, she went into foster care with a family experienced in undersocialized dogs. After countless hours of training and several months later, Blue’s foster mom thought she was ready for adoption and an opportunity came in the form of a Newtown woman named Lori Friedlander, who already owned a Sheltie and wanted a companion for her. When Lori searched the Internet, she found Blue on a breed rescue web site, applied to adopt her, and then drove six hours to pick her up.

Blue was in Newtown for only a couple of days when she accidentally got loose. A search party was set up, and for the next few months Lori, friends and family searched without success for Blue. Newtown Bee readers may remember an article about Blue in June 2003 describing the efforts to locate her.

Fast forward to March 2, 2005. Karlyn Sturmer, an animal rescuer and volunteer for The Animal Center, was filling food and water dishes at an established feral cat feeding station in town when she noticed canine tracks in the snow leading away from the feeding site. Wondering what kind of dog was coming into contact with the cats, Ms Sturmer followed the tracks through the woods until she came to a pile of pallets behind a local business. That’s when a very matted and very scared Sheltie jumped out of the pile and ran away. Blue had been found.

Ms Sturmer immediately contacted Monica Roberto, president of The Animal Center, who had remembered the story of Blue and contacted the Friedlander family for a picture to confirm that it was indeed the long lost Blue. Ms Sturmer also contacted Gerri Breyan, the Newtown Animal Control officer, who said that police officers had been reporting nighttime sightings of a Sheltie in that same area.

The women and the Friedlander family set up a feeding station for Blue behind the business where she was found in the hopes of being able to catch her. However, the very smart and elusive Blue had no intention on making this rescue easy, and disappeared again.

It took eight more months to pinpoint Blue’s new location. From December 9, 2005, until April 7, 2006 Ms Sturmer carefully and cautiously tracked the dog, her efforts greatly helped by local businesses who kept track of when and where they saw Blue and called Ms Sturmer with their sightings. A variety of trapping devices and equipment were employed to catch Blue; however, none were successful.

A few weeks ago, on April 8, Blue disappeared again from her known location. Reported sightings of Blue on April 12 put her in the Dickinson Park /Ricci’s Hair Salon area on South Main Street, and most recently she was spotted at the beginning of Huntingtown Road just off of Route 25 and a mile south of the last sighting. Route 25, and most recently she was spotted in several places on Huntingtown Road.

The Animal Center and Newtown Animal Control are urging residents to help them find Blue by being on the lookout for her. She travels most frequently at night and in the early morning hours. Blue is an extremely skittish dog who is terrified of people, and Ms Sturmer is requesting that people please do not try to approach her. Call the numbers listed below to report any sightings of Blue, noting exactly where she was, what direction she headed in, and the exact time and date. If she is in a situation where you can leave food out for her, please do so but without approaching her.

Ms Sturmer has sought out Sheltie experts to help formulate a strategy for getting Blue. She found out that Shetland sheepdogs are very bright, reserved, and sensitive to sound due to their herding heritage. When exposed to something that is disturbing to them, they will often bolt and, once on the run, they can be very difficult to recover, even when approached by their own guardians. Lost Shelties go into “flight mode” and can travel a mile or more a day, crossing through several municipalities in a matter of weeks. A dog like Blue, who is extremely timid due to the lack of early socialization and the abusive conditions of the puppy mill, has proven herself to be particularly adept at avoiding capture by ignoring humane traps and relocating whenever her den has been discovered.

While Shelties are not related to collies, people will often say they look like a miniature Lassie. Blue is about 12–14 inches high at the shoulders, has very long hair that now is extremely matted and full. She has golden brown, gray and white fur on her head, white around her neck and on her legs, and shades of brown on her back and sides.

A poster of Blue can be found at Newtown Animal Control and can be downloaded from The Animal Center’s website, theanimalcenter.org. The Animal Center is offering a reward for any information that leads to Blue’s capture.

If you can help distribute posters or want to help in the search for Blue, contact The Animal Center at 203-313-4814. The Animal Center is also seeking monetary donations to help purchase a special dog trap for Blue recommended by Sheltie experts.

For more information or to report sightings, contact Karlyn Sturmer at 426-1142 or Carolee Mason at Newtown Animal Control at 426-6900.