The following story appeared January 28 on GrindTv.com, and was featured on the Yahoo homepage, where it garnered nearly 1 million views. People from around the world have become interested in the plight of Shaggy, who continues to elude animal-control experts who want to save him from the Michigan winter and find him a suitable home.
Avery Sullenger-Wedder, who has been closely following the saga, said Tuesday that enough money has been raised to purchase a net gun, cover medical expenses, and pay for any training Shaggy should need once he's captured. Additionally, a Help Shaggy Facebook page has been established to allow his fans to receive updates and participate on comment threads. As for Shaggy, Sullenger-Wedder said the large furry dog was last seen sunning himself on a resident's driveway.
By Pete Thomas/GrindTv
A large brown dog nicknamed “Shaggy” is making lots of friends in Cascades Township, Michigan, but the abandoned Newfoundland-mix is wary of capture and won’t let anyone take him in.
In fact, Shaggy, so-named because of his long fur, has evaded capture for six months. The 80-pound dog has been spotted several times and even walks alongside people as they walk their dogs, but becomes jumpy and bolts whenever someone tries to get close.
Presumably, Shaggy sleeps in nearby hills and ravines, and survives in the cold with the help of his bear-like fur coat.
“I feel sorry for him. You can just tell that he wants love and attention from a family,” local resident Avery Wedder told MiLive.com. “But it’s sad—he’s so completely unsocialized because he doesn’t know how.”
Joe Daineles, a spokesman for Kent Animal Control, told WZZM 13 that dozens of attempts to capture Shaggy—including baited traps and attempts to leash the canine—have failed.
“We went out with the zoo veterinarian and their tranquilizers,” Daineles said, but explained that the tranquilizers did not work, and that Shaggy is “as skittish as a deer.”
Residents and dog rescue groups, likewise, have failed to catch Shaggy. Residents have been leaving food outside, which Shaggy seems to like, so at least the dog is well fed. But with winter having set in, a more serious attempt will be made to catch Shaggy.
Animal control experts want people to stop feeding the dog, so they can establish a central feeding location that Shaggy will get comfortable visiting.
Then, it’s hoped, he can finally be captured, and toward that end the Kent County Animal Shelter has set up a GoFundMe page, asking for donations so it can purchase a net gun. Because a net gun, seemingly, might be the only way Shaggy can be caught.
Daineles said that once the dog is captured, “We will make sure Shaggy is healthy and fine, and we will transfer Shaggy to a place that can work on behavior modification and placement.”
–Images are courtesy of Steve Zaagman/WZZM
–Follow Pete Thomas on Facebook
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