WORCESTER — A stray dog is finally in foster care after being on the run for 555 days in Worcester. Trappers with Missing Dogs Massachusetts (MDM) has been working on the project for 19 months. She will soon be looking for a permanent home.
A long and difficult journey
The pup is now named Gracie, but was known as Roxy during her single life. Her journey was long and difficult. She was first found in the woods of Tennessee before being taken to a breeder in Massachusetts. MDM says Worcester Animal Rescue came to remove dogs from that breeder due to issues. Luckily, Gracie was adopted before that happened. She only stayed with her new family for a few days before she went missing on February 10, 2023.
“The dog was missing, but he was wandering right across the street from where they lived,” said Bernice Gero, a volunteer with Missing Dogs Massachusetts.
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Gero has been trying to trap Gracie since the moment she spotted the running dog.
“I figured if we could get her settled it wouldn’t be too bad, but it was a stupid idea,” Gero said. “She never really left that area, except for July 23, when she went to the Worcester airport.”
For the first few months, the dog always had her leash attached, but Gero thinks she probably chewed it. They tried to trap her for months, to no avail. Sometimes she would fall partially into the trap and then escape, so Gero thought she might have been trapped before. MDM has surveillance cameras with hundreds of videos of their trapping attempts. They fed her for 16 of the 19 months she was on the run.
“We cooked chicken, hamburgers, steak, she ate well. We had kibble, but we had to up the ante to keep her interested,” Gero says. “Around January of this year, she came in limping. She was literally standing in front of our camera, and we could see her deformed hip.”
Gracie may have been hit by a car
Bernice thinks she may have been hit by a car. In May, a neighbor noticed Gracie limping repeatedly. She asked Bernice to move into her yard.
“We thought this would be the perfect place for a kennel trap,” Gero said.
It took three months for it to work, but she was finally caught. She is now with Shelly Duprey, a foster family with PAWS New England.
Gracie is very scared and has spent most of her time in a crate or hiding under a bed. The dog is very sweet but scared. She has never barked or shown aggression towards Duprey. Gracie will be the 38th dog Shelly has taken in. Each one has a picture of hers on a wall in the room where Gracie stays. One day, Gracie will join the wall.
“Oh no, I’m going to let her go. I’m just a small part of her journey,” Duprey said. “I can only say that when she’s ready, she’s going to open up and be an amazing dog.”
Duprey has been taking things slowly with Gracie and allowing the dog to open up at her own pace. Once she starts to calm down, Gracie will need medical attention for her leg and shoulder. Duprey says MDM will foot the bill, but MDM is accepting all donations.
Mike Sullivan
