By MARGIE TRAX PAGE
Staff Writer
mtrax@starbeacon.com
AUSTINBURG TOWNSHIP - - Day and night people have searched for Josie the dog.
Through thunderstorms and Fourth of July fireworks Josie has stayed hidden, giving volunteers and passersby just brief sightings from afar.
Josie, the cream-colored collie/husky mix dog, is still missing after she slipped her collar at a rest stop at routes 90 and 45 in Austinburg Township two weeks ago. She was being transported from a kill shelter in Indiana to a new home in New York. Since then, the shy, skittish dog has been spotted by passersby and rescue volunteers but has yet to be captured, rescuer Dawn Shimp said.
Josie is a cream colored, medium sized dog. The danger of her situation is heightened as she was recently spayed and still has an incision and stitches from the surgery.
Rescuers have spent hours searching for Josie and have set baited live traps throughout the area. The traps are checked twice a day and any wildlife captured in the traps are released, Shimp said.
Creative rescue efforts have played on the dogs instincts. Animal Protective League volunteers brought two puppies to the area, as Josie had just had a litter before she was transported. While Josie showed some interest in the puppies, she could not be lured to captivity, Shimp said.
While the object of those sightings wasnt Josie, the yellow shepherd mix was returned to its anxious owner.
"That was the one bright spot in all of this. The owner of that missing dog contacted me because of the Star Beacon article about Josie. We are very glad that dog was found and returned to its home," Shimp said.
As rescue efforts for Josie continue, sightings can be reported and tracked online at http://wheresjosie.blogspot.com.
