06/17/2026
Story adapted from Jill and LDI.
He went missing on the morning of Thursday, 6/11, after slipping out of his harness as he was going to a vet appointment. His owner, Mirielle, and her friend Drew, contacted Naperville animal control who were very supportive and helpful and brought a trap out for them. Mirielle and Drew monitored the trap throughout the night but unfortunately, he was not seen.
Mirielle’s mom, Lynn, also contacted Linda at LDI who gave expert guidance and created a flyer for them. Lynn immediately got to work on the flyers and because her number was on the flyer, she started handling all the calls that came in. Linda contacted SmithicAir who was put in contact with Lynn.
The next day, Friday, a lost dog recovery team (Jill, Rita and Deb) got involved and SmithicAir came out to fly the area. They were successful at locating Earl pretty quickly, even though he was bedded down in deep brush along a fence line. The recovery team advised Mirielle and Drew to approach the area and sit nearby with Mirielle’s other dog, Zappa. They tossed treats and quietly spoke to Zappa in a calm, happy voice. Having Zappa there was helpful because dogs who are in survival mode will often approach a dog they are bonded with before they will approach their owners. Unfortunately, it seemed that he didn’t quite catch their scent and Earl ran. SmithicAir lost his signal.
Several feeding stations with cameras and another trap was set up. Unfortunately, Earl did not come to any of the feeding stations or traps. Saturday landscaping cruise saw Earl in the area but he did not show up on any cameras. SmithicAir came out and again was able to locate Earl. One of the traps was moved closer to where he was seen, however, Earl didn’t show up to any of the traps that night either. The recovery team set up another trap and circulated flyers but no sightings were made the next day.
Finally, on Monday, there was a Facebook post with a picture of Earl 4.5 miles away from the office complex. Mirielle got to the area, she saw him pretty quickly and tried to calmly approach him, but there were other people out who were trying to catch him and calling out to him and he was on the run. **It’s so important not to call out to a lost dog or chase them. They are in survival mode and they will make bad decisions as they try to avoid being pursued!**
He ran back across the extremely busy road and then he was seen again by some of the same people who had seen him in that area earlier. They saw him run and take cover under a parked car on a neighborhood street. They were advised not try to catch him or call out to him, but to keep an eye on him and see if he would remain under that car, where he was safe, until Mirielle arrived.
In the meantime, Jill, one of the lost dog Recovery team members, arrived just as Mirielle got there. A plan was put in place and these amazing good Samaritans who were all near the car, were asked to lay down around the car, shielding all sides with their bodies. With all of Earl’s exit routes blocked, Jill and Marielle were on opposite sides of the car, working together to coax Earl out. Jill was able to grab hold of his leg and Mirielle was able to scoop him out from under the car and into her arms. Baby Earl was safe!
His journey doesn’t end there though. He was taken immediately to Veterinary Emergency Group in Naperville to have him checked out. It was determined that he had a very large wound on his neck with cuts that went all the way around his neck and it was infected. It looked as though his head had been trapped possibly in a fence, and he had worked hard to get himself free. When he did that, it created a very large wound that required surgery. The people at VEG took great care of him and they were able to clean his wound and place sterile dressing with sutures to help it stay in place. Earl will need ongoing veterinary care until it fully heals.
He is now home where he belongs, relaxing and healing. Please send positive healing vibes to Baby Earl
From the beginning, Earl’s family was 100% dedicated to getting him home safe. They listened to the guidance from the lost dog recovery team and went above and beyond and trusted the process. Mirielle’s sister Mia and her niece Vivienne, who are not local to the area, were also extremely helpful with calls and posts and anything else they could do from afar.
There were many others who helped get Baby Earl home safe. Thank you so much to Lisa, who helped with flyers and provided food and items to Mirielle for the feeding stations. And also thank you to the amazing people of Naperville who called in sightings and also worked together and with the recovery team to get Earl home safe. It takes a village and the village showed up for Baby Earl!
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