News Flash: He’s safe

Flash, the little brown dog who captured the hearts of so many people in Port Washington and the surrounding area, was caught early Monday morning.

It took dozens of people tracking the puggle and the persistence of Port resident Kim Haskell, who coordinated their efforts during the past three weeks, to capture the elusive animal.

“I was so excited,” Haskell said of the call from Yvonne Wheaton at 2 a.m. Monday telling her she’d caught Flash in a live trap at her house on West Beutel Road in Port. “I feel so much better. I lost a lot of sleep worrying about him. We’ve been looking for him for so long. It feels good knowing he’s taken care of.”

The dog was checked out by veterinarian Brian Rollman of Little Animal Clinic Tuesday, who removed about a dozen ticks from Flash and gave him medication to treat him for possible parasites and heartworm, she said.

“He thought he was in amazing shape considering how long he’s been out there on his own,” Haskell said.

The dog is 18 pounds, a little underweight, she said, and Rollman estimated he’s 2 or 3 years old.

A check by Rollman revealed Flash isn’t microchipped, Haskell said.

Flash has been a sensation since he was first spotted in the area in late September.

People have been posting sightings of the dog online, offering advice on how to catch him and even giving him the name Flash, inspired by the speed at which he ran from would-be rescuers.

He was a regular sight on the north side of Port Washington, although his travels took him as far north as Pebble Beach Road in the Town of Belgium and as far west as Fredonia.

“I cannot tell you the number of messages I got about him,” Haskell said. “Without that, I could not have gotten ahead of him and we would not have gotten him.”

Haskell, who said Flash was likely abandoned, said the dog was seen numerous times late last week north of Port. On Friday, she said, she saw him three times on Lake Drive.

Sunday evening, Haskell said, Ellen Paulus reported seeing Flash on Highway LL just past Sucker Brook Road, heading toward Port.

“I had plotted his trips, so I had a pretty good idea of where he was going,” she said, noting that the map of Flash’s verified whereabouts has more than 60 pins on it.

She called Wheaton and one of her neighbors, both of whom had trail cameras set up to record the dog, and told them she was sure Flash would be heading through their neighborhood.

Wheaton set up a live trap and baited it, Haskell said, but she placed a bath mat on the floor of the trap to protect Flash’s paws from the metal cage.

But Flash was wary, she said. Wheaton watched on the trail camera as he walked in, stepped to the end of the mat and reached over to grab the hamburger, never stepping on the trigger that would have closed the door.

“I couldn’t believe it when she called me,” Haskell said.

Wheaton reset the trap, this time using a towel that went over the trigger without setting it off. About 2 a.m., she called Haskell to let her know that Flash had been caught.

Haskell and her husband Duane picked up Flash and took him home.

“He was almost catatonic, he was so scared,” Haskell said. “I sat with him on the floor for a couple hours.”

Eventually, she placed the dog on her lap and after an hour or so, she said, “he just relaxed.”

She slept next to him, and he’s been her constant companion ever since.

“He is just attached to me,” Haskell said. “He cries if I leave the room.”

Flash, who got a bath on Monday, is terrified of going outdoors, Haskell said, perhaps because of all the time he spent dodging predators and fending for himself.

“But he’s starting to act like a dog,” she said. “He wagged his tail at me a couple times, and he slept on the couch next to me.”

Sleep is something Flash has been doing a lot of, she said, noting “Everything tires him out.”

By Tuesday, she said, Flash had “started coming out of his shell,” although he still backs away if people walk toward him.

“He’s come a long way in just one day,” she said. “He’s safe and he’s very happy.”

Now that Flash is safe, Haskell said she plans to work on socializing him.

“I think it’s really important his first experiences are positive,” she said, noting she’s gotten advice from rescue organizations. “We’re making everything positive and calm. Then we’ll work to find him a good home.”

And if someone tries to claim him as their lost dog, she said, they will have to have a darn good reason why they weren’t looking for him if they want him back.

“Nobody’s getting this dog until I’m satisfied,” she said.