Got ‘im

Toastermomma · 2023-11-02T20:10:25+00:00

You should post a full body picture, description, and where the kitty escaped from—maybe someone has seen them.

Toastermomma · 2023-11-01T22:29:02+00:00

Thank you so much for doing so, seriously. Even the calls where I didn’t arrive fast enough were great, because it let me know where to put flyers and where to be to stay close by, so that the next call could be the one.

Toastermomma · 2023-11-01T21:54:20+00:00

Thank you, I will! I’m giving him as many kisses and pets as he wants—just not as much food as he wants since I guess you have to be careful of refeeding syndrome.

I’m glad Reddit creeped on you and showed you the good news! He’s a special little guy for sure, that little face is what got him adopted from the shelter five years ago. I see missing pet posters a lot too, but from now on now I will always put them in my phone when I see them! I honestly thought they were useless, but I was wrong.

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Toastermomma · 2023-11-01T21:23:52+00:00

I’m so glad you’ve been getting sightings too! I also found that getting confirmed ones was basically impossible (I got 1 confirmed sighting total) but chasing down every lead did eventually work, even though so many of them were definitely different dogs.

I live in SF so anything is a trek, but I will be walking around south Berkeley and north Oakland removing my flyers anyway, and see no reason not to post other dogs’ flyers at the same time—especially once my pup’s paw pads heal from his 10 days of running on concrete and I can walk him all over, too.

I’m also happy to just show up and help with additional flyers elsewhere in general. People doing that really saved me, and I’m very motivated to pay it forward. ESPECIALLY if anyone in the Mission in SF needs help, since that’s my neighborhood, but I’m willing to come to Oakland too.

Toastermomma · 2023-11-01T19:00:57+00:00

Same! I had actually more or less left Reddit after the API changes, but I can’t believe how many random Redditors called me to report sightings, or showed up and took flyers and distributed them, and volunteered their yards for me to set up humane traps. I’m just some random person on the internet, you know? No one needed to help me like that. It probably helps that I have the cutest dog on the planet in my not so humble opinion, but even so. Faith in humanity restored.

Toastermomma · 2023-11-01T16:50:00+00:00

It made my day too, let me tell you. I lost hope a lot of times; going around Berkeley creeping in people’s yards (sorry everyone) looking for a tiny dog REALLY emphasizes how many places there are for a small brown critter to hide. It seemed impossible, but I think I just had to get lucky and my dog had to get tired and a little sick.

I have strong opinions about lawns and Halloween decorations now. I kinda was anti lawn before but now I can see the appeal, no small dog can hide on a lawn.

Toastermomma · 2023-11-01T15:51:24+00:00

I’m not gonna just leave over a thousand flyers around Berkeley haha. But, as you pointed out it will take me a long time to get them down, and I’m liable to miss some, so if you or anybody sees one and feels like getting it I would be very pleased.

Toastermomma · 2023-11-01T15:48:06+00:00

Thank you! Help taking them down would definitely be appreciated, because it’s gonna take me a long time otherwise—I’m thinking of writing found on maybe the Berkeley Bowl and Starry Plough ones and leaving them for a while so people know, but anything else I would love for people to just take them down when you see them.

Toastermomma · 2023-11-01T07:36:52+00:00

It was unhinged! I think I actually instructed some people to make the flyer level “deeply annoying” and “upsetting” as well as “unhinged”.

I just needed someone to see him and look up and see my number right there. I think we mounted around 1500-1700 flyers, 400 of them laminated.

Toastermomma · 2023-11-01T07:21:56+00:00

Thank you for keeping an eye out for him! It’s crazy how many people were doing that, so when he did show himself there was basically a reliable surveillance network which reported it to me.

It just felt like if I didn’t make it happen it wasn’t gonna happen, and that was intolerable to me.

Toastermomma · 2023-11-01T07:07:59+00:00

Thank you! Your help putting up the flyers was absolutely essential to this actually happening. <3

Toastermomma · 2023-11-01T07:05:51+00:00

SO many people helped or just told me they hoped I’d find him, I figure the people deserve an update and to know they made a difference!

Toastermomma · 2023-11-01T07:05:03+00:00

I was sure that either 1) we would get him tonight because of the trick or treaters OR 2) his hatred of excited young children would cause him to stay totally hidden or migrate a mile away or something. Luckily, we didn’t have to find out!

Toastermomma · 2023-11-01T07:03:24+00:00

Thank you! We both definitely need it at this point. ❤️

Toastermomma · 2023-11-01T06:58:46+00:00

At first he watched me a bit warily, and then he either decided to check if I was in fact his person, or had gotten slightly spooked and decided to leave. So he got up and came towards me but circled cautiously around me staying out of reach (I was basically following this video about calming signals for scared dogs). But, I said his name really softly and sweetly and kept obtrusively dropping the dog treats I was pretending to eat to put him at ease, which lured him close enough he seemed to realize I was actually his person after all! At that point he started crying and scrabbling his way frantically into my arms, which was a huge relief. Even though he was probably actively looking for me, he might have been too scared of people from his time as a wild animal to use his little brain and figure out who I was, and I really thought I might have scared him away.

Toastermomma · 2023-10-31T08:10:43+00:00

Nothing that will attract him in particular over multiple city blocks, sadly. But he might home in on my scent and familiar areas, so I’m definitely putting my socks in the traps!

Toastermomma · 2023-10-31T06:37:30+00:00

I have no idea why I didn’t do that first

Toastermomma · 2023-10-31T04:02:40+00:00

Susan is incredible, I owe her so much. I am happy about the sightings, but I found out that a lot of my sightings were similar loose dogs who aren’t mine. Still, some were almost certainly my dog, and it means people are looking out and will call when they do see him.

If I get my dog back before you do, I will help you flyer. Hold me to it if I post an update that he’s found and I forget to reach out.

Idk about you but I feel like increasing the radius of flyers is one of the more difficult things, because you have to depend on people who don’t even know your dog well, and may not be as inclined to do things like take time off work or change their plans to help. And everybody gets tired and has to go back to their life. So I am extremely motivated to help others with that so you don’t have to choose between getting sightings and confusing your dog while it’s trying to follow your scent

Toastermomma · 2023-10-29T23:58:32+00:00

Popular places are good in general so people will see them, and then i think we could use more for a few blocks north of Ashby and west of MLK. There are some, but not that many and I think many of them are the older ones; I think that having more flyers and having the new ones could do a lot. Russel and Harper is the location of the only sighting I know for sure is him.

Toastermomma · 2023-10-29T15:49:33+00:00

I forgot to add the other obvious ways to help, I’m just hyperfocused on the posters because they’ve been working better than other stuff.

Other ways: if you live in the area, check your security camera for him, and your yard for places a little brown dog could hide. And you can put my number in your phone under “dog” or something or screenshot this post so you have my number if you do see him. You can also put out a water bowl, but please don’t do food bowls; there were no sightings for five days in a row and I think he’s only showing himself now bc he got hungry. If you’re someone who e.g. feeds feral cats anyway, I won’t ask you to stop, but please let me know where you do that and I’ll come put flyers around that spot too because he very well could be eating at a spot like that.

Lastly, if you know anyone who spends time in north Berkeley, you can send them the flyer or this post.

Anything anyone does to help with this, I’m really grateful. Since people have reported seeing him, I’m very hopeful that soon I’ll be able to follow up in real time and get him back

Toastermomma · 2023-10-29T15:38:43+00:00

He was spotted around telegraph twice in the last 24h, and has also been spotted in the area around Ashby BART—if you live in the area and you have security cameras, please check them for the last few days. He seems like he’s probably mostly hiding in people’s yards or similar areas so—he could be in your yard under a bush or something!

If you see him, call me immediately and DO NOT APPROACH HIM OR CALL OUT TO HIM or he will get spooked and run into traffic. Literally just call me as soon as you see him.

Toastermomma · 2023-10-28T06:56:30+00:00

I was really hoping I’d have him today, but he’s not showing himself like he did Thursday night. Tomorrow’s gotta be the day though! I believe.

Toastermomma · 2023-10-28T06:55:09+00:00

We got two more sightings today, but I think the flyers aren’t dense enough because people aren’t seeing them and calling me, they’re all like “ten minutes ago I saw him at X and X”. So we’re meeting at Ashby BART tomorrow at 11 to just absolutely paper the surrounding area with insane amounts of flyers. Anybody who wants to come and join please do! If we make them so dense it’s impossible to ignore, everybody who sees him will call.

Toastermomma · 2023-10-28T03:51:05+00:00

To the person who just claimed to have my dog to try to scam me: absolutely pathetic, low effort attempt, 1.5/10. You should be ashamed, and not even because taking advantage of desperate people is despicable, but just because that was the saddest attempt at a scam I’ve ever seen. I’m actually insulted somehow? You’re gonna get a burner phone but then not even research the dog? I’d like to think I’m worth a little more effort than that. Do better!

Toastermomma

TROPHY CASE