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09/05/2026

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09/02/2026

10 month old Ella is home after a big adventure! She had just arrived to her new home on Sunday late afternoon. Her new family gave her a bath and a haircut. Then, a little while later they let her in the backyard with their other yorkies. Little did they know that there was a broken board in the fence, and Ella wasted no time in taking advantage of it and escaping the yard. She had only been in her new home for 2 hours! Not able to catch her, they called Animal Control. AC came out but did not see her and highly suggested that they contact us. The deputy called me to give me a heads up. A day and a half went by and I had not heard from them. I drove through the neighborhood and did not see any signs up. *sigh*. Then, I received an email from them asking for help. There had been a couple of sightings of her running through yards, always heading to back yards where she could usually slip through a fence. I told them that they MUST put up signs. They had printed a bunch of fliers and had handed them out to a bunch of neighbors, but that wasn't good enough. Signs are the key. In the meantime, I was able to catch one person at home whose yard she had been in the previous night, and he allowed me to put up a camera and feeding station. A few hours later, the owner called and said that she is out putting up signs, and she just saw Ella! She ran across the street, into a back yard, ran back and forth along the fence, then disappeared. I met her where Ella was last seen, and another neighbor gave permission for a camera and food. I looked at the map, and if she went through the fence, she was in the next neighborhood, about 10 houses in. A friend in rescue lives about 5 or 6 houses in, so I called her and gave her a head's up. I headed over there, and sure enough, I saw Ella running back and forth between 2 front yards, looking for an escape. She went in the fenced yard of 1 house, but they were not home. I put a trap on their driveway and stayed to watch it. A few minutes later, the owner came home. I explained the situation to him and he gave me permission to have the trap in his yard. So, I moved it to the gate so that they only way out was to go in the trap. But, then the 2 young adults were working on a car outside. I knew Ella would not come anywhere near the trap with them outside. They said that they would be out there for a couple of hours. *sigh*. So, I took the risk of going in the backyard, closing the gate behind me, and moving the trap much closer to where Ella was frantically trying to get out. When that didn't work, I went back in and moved it to within a foot of the fence. There was a child's swing set and treehouse in the corner, so I had to maneuver around them a bit. Ella just froze. I tossed a few bites of Vienna sausages to her, but she was too afraid. So, I left the yard and watched from the neighbor's yard. Within 2-3 minutes, she ate a piece of Vienna sausage, and that's all it took. She went into the trap. It took another minute or so for the door to shut because she was stretching to reach the food. But, she finally put her foot on the trip plate. She's now home, where the hole in the fence has been repaired, and every family member has been told that she is not to go outside, even in the fenced yard, without a leash!

08/30/2026

For those who have been concerned about the 2 dogs lost in the car accident near Kings Dominion, TRAP EM’ RVA trapped Tobey last night!!!! I don't know all of the details, other than Monica Good (Real Deal Trapping) came all of the way from Harrisonburg to set up a Missy trap and brought 2 other box traps (they had 1 out but he wasn't going in it). Woo Hoo! Now for Caroline Shelter to capture the other!

08/29/2026

Luna is safe and sound after an 8 day adventure!! She's 11-years-old, and has gone out in her yard, off leash, with a family member, for almost all of those 11 years, without incident. We don't know what happened -- did she see a deer that just HAD to be chased? Did she hear a noise (that was inaudible to the humans) that scared her? No idea. But, she took off. The owners searched, but couldn't find her. The next day they contacted us and got to work on signs. As sightings came in, we decided that more signs were needed and put further out. She was seen several times around a very dangerous 4-way stop, even running in the middle of the road as though she was leading a parade! The owner received 1 call that she was sunbathing in a front yard. The husband hurried over and saw her, but then the homeowner came out and said something like "why won't she come to you? Here doggie!" and started clapping his hands while calling her. By now, you all know what happened -- she ran. A few days later, another call came in that she was near the 4-way stop again. The wife headed right over. By that time, Luna was gone. She had run into the corn field. The wife sat at the edge of the corn field for about 30 minutes, just talking and following the "rules" for calming signals, but to no avail. But, then another call came in from a contractor who saw the dog and then saw a sign, so he called to say that she was in the neighborhood on the far side of the corn field. The wife headed right over. She saw Luna, laying in the grass. She stopped and sat down and started the calming signals routine. But, then a man who was jogging came by and asked if she was ok? She said yes, that her dog has been missing for 7 days and she was trying to get her. "I can help!" and he started running towards the dog. Before the wife could tell him "no!" Luna got up and ran. *sigh*. By that time, I had gotten over there, and then I saw Luna. I had the wife move over to where I was, and she started the calming signals again, but then Luna got up and walked off. Well, at least she didn't run! We decided to go ahead and set the trap and camera (once we contacted the property owner). We sprayed heavy liquid smoke. But, her little brain was still not connecting to her nose or her stomach. Then, 25 hours later, while I was shopping in Dog Krazy with my 2 dogs (who were also getting their nails done) I received a notification on my phone of movement at the camera. I looked and it was Luna! The camera only takes a 30 second video, and it took her, probably, 33 seconds to step on the trip plate, but she was trapped! The owners arrived and headed for the Tomahawk Live Trap, but Luna was still in fear/flight mode and tried to escape. Once the owners sat down next to the trap and talked to her she finally recognized them. The wife said "it was like we could see her brain flip to where she recognized us!". Yep, it just takes time! Welcome home, Luna!

08/28/2026

So, Animal Control called me on Tuesday. There was a momma pig and her 5 piglets that showed up on someone's property on Sunday. Did I have any ideas on how to trap them? I knew that a box trap wouldn't work -- momma is at least 300 pounds. She'd tear it up. And although I don't know much about pigs, the one thing I do know is that if you mess with the piglets, momma will get mad and attack. And you DON'T want to be attacked by a pig! Keep in mind that they eat anything -- including humans, dead or alive! Fortunately, the piglets are still little enough that they are following momma everywhere. We could try the Missy trap (thankfully, we have 2 and the 2nd one is made from 2 Retriever dog kennels). So, I called Laura. Let's just say that her response was something like "now what have you gotten us into??" *sigh*. Sorry! I like a challenge!
So, after dropping kittens off at Kincheloe, we went to Aldi and picked up 6 watermelons and an assortment of other vegetables. Then, we met at the house to assess the situation: Narrow driveway with a drop off on one side (no shoulder on either side); obstacles of trees and the overhang from a shed to get a trailer down the hill to where the pigs are hanging out; we can't dawdle on this because momma pig is attracted to the watermelon that is being fed to the resident chickens (one of the piglets already got stuck trying to get in with them).
So we set the Missy, and talked about the next step. Animal Control had a person with a livestock trailer who would pick them up once we trapped them. So, 9:00 a.m. on Wednesday we would meet to trap.
I called the livestock trailer guy to confirm plans, and also explain about the driveway and layout. His trailer is 24 feet long, plus a big pickup truck. No way. It won't be able to make it up the driveway or be able to turn around. Well, he has a smaller one. Great! Bring the smaller one.
The next morning, at 8:40 a.m., 2 texts came through almost simultaneously. 1 from Animal Control telling me that the deputy who was supposed to come out had been sent home with an injury, and 1 from the guy with the livestock trailer stating that he was sick (very dizzy anytime he stood up), so he couldn't make it. *sigh*. Well, that gave Laura and I time to "tweak" our plans. By the time we finished, we had it perfected, so we went back home. (Oh, we left 6 more watermelons).
I spent all day calling around trying to find someone with a trailer and a farm to take them. I finally found someone with a trailer, but she didn't have an open field on her farm for them. So, I kept calling people and messaging people. I was coming up with the same answer (keep in mind that I was only contacting "sanctuary" types of farms/rescues). I was not getting anywhere. The next morning, I contacted AC again, and put the ball back in their court. They had to find a place for the pigs to go before we could do anything else. Fortunately, the injured deputy was back on duty and got on it! Within a few hours he called me and said he had it all worked out. Someone with a trailer would come once we had them trapped, and take them to his farm. Great!
I called the guy to warn him about the driveway and layout. He said he'd bring his small livestock/horse trailer. Now, I'm a suburbs girl. Tell me that you are bringing a small trailer and I picture a trailer that will hold up to 2 horses. Why in the world would you need anything bigger for 1 pig and 5 piglets, right? He said he'd handle it, whatever the layout. He drove all sizes of trucks all of the time.
So, Laura and I got ourselves ready, put more watermelons in the trap, and waited. It took about 40 minutes for the pigs to show up. (which is how long it had taken the previous 2 days, after we put out watermelons). Momma and 2 piglets went right in. Then the 3rd piglet. But the other 2 had other plans. They were too busy playing to go in the trap. Then they needed a short rest. Then momma came out of the trap. Then the 3 piglets followed. Then momma went back in. Then 4 piglets followed her. FINALLY, the 5th piglet went in. Then we had to wait for them to get away from the door so that they were not blocking it. Finally, I was able to pull the string and they were caught.
I called the trailer guy. He'd be there in about 30 minutes.
After about 25 minutes, momma got restless and picked up one end of the trap! The babies moved to get out, but, fortunately, Laura was watching and she got up and yelled and grabbed a pole and headed towards the trap. Momma put the trap down before there were any escapes. I called the trailer guy and told him to hurry. He was only 3 miles away. Phew!
Well, he showed up with a 14' trailer! He didn't have trouble getting up the driveway, but there was NO WAY it was going to get down to the trap. I called Animal Control. They said that they had a small livestock trailer (what??? Why didn't they tell me this before??? Apparently not all of the AC deputies are trained in driving it. Ok, but....). Well, their "small" trailer is also 14'. So, after giving the trailer guy time to think, we decided that the best thing to do is walk the trap up the hill to the trailer. Fortunately, it's not heavy. While we waited for Animal Control to show up to help, we took a few panels off of the trap to make it more manageable (and lighter). Then the entire Animal Control department showed up!!! (It's not often that they deal with pigs, and since they can be dangerous, it allowed Laura and I to sit back and watch from this point on, although Laura stood by with a net in case any of the piglets escaped).
The team slowly and carefully moved the trap (they couldn't lift it more than 1 or 2 inches from the ground or else they risked escape. Once they got it to the trailer, it took a few minutes of poking and prodding momma to get her to go in the trailer. Then the piglets were added. We were all so relieved when the door was closed!
This was real teamwork!

08/27/2026

Oy! What a day! Actually, 3 days! I'm too tired to tell the full story right now, but after I cool down (I've already taken a shower), have something to eat, feed my critters, catch up on messages, then I will tell the story (if I haven't fallen asleep). In the meantime, I want you to turn to the person next to you, have them remove 1 shoe and 1 sock (if you are alone right now, take off one of your shoes and socks) and do the "this little piggie went to market; this little piggie stayed home" nursery tale. (I'm so glad it didn't turn bad, with you all coming to my funeral. I told someone yesterday that instead of singing "Amazing Graze" you all would be singing to the tune of "grandma got run over by a reindeer", but with the words changed to pigs.)

08/22/2026

W**e and music! Come on out to Wilderness Run Vineyard/1781 brewery on rt. 3 between Brock rd and rt. 20! The band will be playing until 8:30!

08/22/2026

Can you help us purchase a drop net??? Full explanation is on the fundraiser page, but the short version is that we have 2 dogs, who we have trapped previously using the Missy trap, and have been loose for MONTHS, and we need a drop net in order to capture them.

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