09/21/2026
🐾 CHUNK NORRIS’ (now Moose) FINAL UPDATE… and the bait it finally took to get this big guy into the trap! 😂
Friday night (9/18), we were finally able to transport Chunk to his foster-to-adopt family (Ashley May Valle). Now we can close the horrible chapter where someone threw him out like trash and left him to fend for himself, defend himself against predators, and endure the last summer heat wave and multiple storms all on his own. Now he gets to start the BEST chapter... one with a family, a safe place to sleep, plenty of food, and most importantly, lots of love.
Now that we’ve had a little time to catch our breath, here’s the full story and some of the amazing people who helped along the way.
It all started Friday night, 9/4. I was heading home from a late-night drone call when I saw a post about this massive dog lying right in the middle of the road in front of Creekside Acres Wedding Venue. Come to find out, he had already been hanging around there for a few days. I went down, along with several other people, to see if we could help. That’s where I met Ashley, who showed up with experience with the breed, a pack of hot dogs, and a leash. 😂 Unfortunately, he wanted absolutely NOTHING to do with any of us or our treats. We just hadn’t discovered his kryptonite yet…
I went back the next day and sat with him with treats and another dog, but he still wanted no part of us. So we put a trap out at the wedding venue. We cheated a little and used the drone to find his hiding spot, then made a trail of chicken broth all the way back to the trap. It worked flawlessly, except for one small problem...he absolutely refused to go inside the trap.
The next day we spoke with Lora Eby Willis, and they were incredibly helpful. They even offered to let us try luring him into the wedding venue barn so he wouldn’t feel so confined. Unfortunately, before we could make that happen, someone chased him out of the area.
So the tracking began. He moved up toward the Stivers and Conservancy area, bounced across the Pike for a day, and thankfully eventually came back toward Conservancy, where several neighbors and the park rangers were extremely helpful. He kept circling between the park office and Carl Hoskins’ property, so we set a box trap at Carl’s house. He visited it dozens of times and even went partially inside a few times, but it became pretty obvious that we needed something bigger.
Luckily, when all of this started, it motivated me to finally order the remaining parts and spend a couple all-nighters in the barn finishing our kennel trap (commonly called a Missy Trap, or MT for short).
The park office gave us permission to set the MT there, and within a few hours he found it. But again, he would put his front feet in, grab whatever part of the bait trail he could reach, and back right back out. This dog was NOT making it easy.
So began what felt like our own version of Chopped: Stray Dog Edition. 😂 We tried wet dog food, cat food, chicken, Spam, pancakes, eggs, bacon, sausage, venison, steak, liver, gizzards, and probably ten other things I’ve already forgotten. Nothing was enough to convince him to go all the way into that trap.
At one point I jokingly said, “Apparently we have a vegetarian Mastiff.” The next day, I was getting the last of the sausage that Aislin Carter had cooked and donated to the cause out of the refrigerator when I noticed a head of broccoli in the back that was about to get tossed. I figured, why not? I cut off a few pieces and put them out, and I’ll be damned if he didn’t go farther into the trap than he EVER had before. 😂 He went almost all the way in, just shy of actually tripping it.
So that evening I went to the grocery store, bought a head of broccoli and some cauliflower, and made him a trail. After still being VERY cautious about the trap, the big guy finally couldn’t resist anymore. After all the meat, bacon, sausage, steak, liver, and everything else we tried, BROCCOLI GOT HIM. 🥦😂
And because nothing about this dog could possibly be easy, of course he finally went in during an absolute MONSOON. I went down and sat with him in the rain for about 20 minutes while Kylie was on her way. I figured I might need her muscle in case this giant decided to get squirrely on me. 😂 Thankfully, he was more than ready to hop into the van and get out of the rain.
He was chipped, which allowed us to learn his backstory. Thankfully, the chip had never been updated to the person who dumped him. We kept him for a few days so he could decompress while Adopt A Pit got him set up in their system, his chip transferred, and Ashley completed the foster application. And now he’s where he belongs. ❤️
This whole experience was a huge eye-opener for me. I normally help with trapping rather than taking the lead role, but for whatever reason, this one was just meant to be mine. Kylie lives too far away to make multiple trips every day all the way out here, although she still helped a TON. For the first time, I got to see firsthand just how much time, work, patience, and MONEY goes into getting ONE stray dog safely off the streets.
And let me tell you, it is NOT cheap, and it is NOT easy. The people you see on Facebook trapping dogs day after day, and the rescues that step up to take these animals in afterward, do absolutely incredible work. Most of it is paid for through donations or straight out of their own pockets.
Just to give you an idea, on this ONE dog we spent approximately $300 in bait, $150 in fuel, $20 in sign materials, $30 in trail-camera fees, plus who knows how much in miscellaneous supplies and materials for the trap. And that’s BEFORE the rescue side even begins. Now Adopt A Pit will be taking care of his vetting; heart worm testing, vaccines, neutering, and everything else this “tiny little guy” needs. 😂 I can only imagine what the bill will be for a Moose-sized patient.
So the next time you see a stray dog posted on Facebook, remember that getting that animal safely off the street, vetted, and into a good home can easily cost hundreds, and sometimes thousands, of dollars. There are a LOT of people behind the scenes putting in hours, losing sleep, driving countless miles, buying bait, checking cameras, setting traps, and spending their own money because an animal needs help.
We’re just happy we got to be a small part of this big guy’s story.
I’ll put links below for Adopt A Pit and Kylie for anyone who would like to support the work they do.
🥦 BROCCOLI. Freaking broccoli. 🥦 You can’t make this stuff up. 😂
https://adoptapitrescue.org
https://linktr.ee/Kylieshaferdogtrapper
