One show dog found, second dog still on the run
ETHEL, Wash. – Luna and Io escaped from a kennel in Ethel Sunday, prompting their owners to take extraordinary measures to bring the champion show dogs home.
Those efforts resulted in one show dog being found Tuesday. A second dog is believed to still be on the run. UPDATE: The dog was found "safe" on Wednesday.
Owners Cynthia Guinn and Bill Martin of Eugene, Ore., hired two spotter planes to fly the open spaces of Lewis County around Ethel, where the two Pharaoh Hounds disappeared Sunday morning.
Luna was found Tuesday night, but Io remained missing when Tuesday's search came to an end for the night.
"It's been pretty intense," Bill Martin said.
Martin and Guinn live in Eugene, Ore., but were staying with friends in Ethel while they attended a Lure Coursing event being held over the weekend at the Argus Ranch in Auburn.
"I got up in the morning and let them out in the yard to run around before we were going to take off to go to this dog event," Martin said. "I wasn't paying attention and after I had done a couple of things, I looked up and the gate was open."
Two of his four dogs had run off.
Kim Grega, the search coordinator for Pharaoh Hounds Club of America, says the dogs were spotted later Sunday morning near Spiffy's Restaurant in Napavine near the US-12 exit on I-5.
Pharaoh Hounds are prized for their intelligence and their hunting skills. Guinn says Luna, 6, and her daughter Io, 2, are in great shape, and could cover up to 20 miles a day. She thinks they may be stalking small game around Lewis or Thurston Counties, so she and her husband Bill hired two pilots to cover as much ground as possible.
In addition, searchers have distributed flyers throughout the area and have been in touch with nearby schools and businesses asking locals to be on the lookout.
Martin said many involved in the search are volunteering, including the two search pilots who said they love animals and would fly for free. However, Martin said that "whatever expenses are involved, I am paying for them ... They're pets; they are members of our family, so I am doing everything I would do even if it were a lost child."
And Martin wanted to express his gratitude to all those who've helped him look for his prized dogs.
"The people in the area ... I'm amazed at how friendly and helpful people are," Martin said. "It's a testament to the folks around here."
If you see the dogs, please contact Bill at (541) 914-8400.
