Sassy the Springer Spaniel was missing for 18 days in December. During that time, news of her was often shared in the Gorham, Maine Facebook Group. The list of those attempting her rescue was quite extensive, and it came down to group cooperation and determination to bring Sassy home.

Breeder Maura Doyle has 33 years of experience breeding and training Springer Spaniels. Among Doyle’s requirements for a prospective owner, their homes must have fenced-in yards.

For 7 years, Sassy lived with Doyle’s life-long friend Kathleen and her parents. Then, in March of 2021, Kathleen’s father passed away. Two weeks later, so did Kathleen.

After her friend’s passing, Doyle took Sassy back into her custody. She recognized that Sassy needed to be placed in a similarly comfortable home, where she could continue her domesticated life.

“My co-breeder shared an email looking for an older dog for an elderly man — a similar situation to what Sassy had been living with for 7 years,” she said.

On December 9, the man and his daughter met Doyle and Sassy. She told them that if it wasn’t working out to please contact her and she would come get Sassy. They said they would, then Sassy hopped right into their car and off they went.

On December 12, a previous client from Kittery sent Doyle a flyer from Maine Lost Dog Recovery, curious if it was one of the breeder’s Springer Spaniels. Sure enough, it was Sassy.

It turns out the folks who had just adopted Sassy listed her on Craigslist as “free to a good home,” so Sassy had been picked up by someone in Gorham. This resident didn’t have a fenced-in yard, and when they let Sassy out without supervision, she ran off.

Doyle and a friend raced to Maine from Cape Cod. When they arrived, they met the father of the Gorham resident and most recent owner of Sassy. They went to Gorham PD to speak with the Animal Control Officer, then Doyle went to Sassy’s last known location, where she searched for three hours. After no success, Doyle contacted Pawz Unlimited.

“There had been recent sightings,” said Pawz Unlimited owner, Erica Monk. “When that happens we will put a trap in the area and a live game camera that sends text updates so no animals are left in the trap.”

For five days, the trap was in a neighborhood where Sassy had last been seen. There was talk of Sassy being hit by a car. When a dog is in bodily danger due to high traffic areas, a long-time missing or injury, Pawz Unlimited will use a tracking dog, such as Seamus, specifically trained for search and rescue.

Seamus followed Sassy’s scent to the USM trails. During the search, he tracked her to a dangerous incline that was too icy to navigate. The search was then called off. Later, Pawz Unlimited approached from the opposite side to avoid the climb, and fresh evidence of Sassy was found.

Pawz Unlimited received a call that Sassy had been seen on a turf field at USM. The trap was placed nearby in the woods.

Later, as a man was walking in the woods with his dog, the dog started playing with Sassy. The man, an avid hunter, was able to track Sassy to where she had been sleeping. The trap and cameras were moved near that location. Later the next day, Sassy was found in the trap.

Sassy was immediately taken to an emergency vet and assessed. It turns out she had not been hit by a car, but she did have mild frostbite and had lost about 16 pounds.

“Pawz Unlimited was amazing,” said Doyle. “They were in constant communication with me. They even bought a drone for this rescue.” USM Public Safety and Maintenance staff were also extremely helpful. Many were involved in Sassy’s rescue, from Seamus the rescue dog to the folks updating Facebook with sightings.

Sassy is now living a safe, happy, healthy and loved life with the woman who contacted Doyle about the missing dog flyer. A group effort indeed.