I know we all believe in miracles. I do. But for four-year-old Rori, a Sheltie, this is one Christmas that ended her long journey – one that began in the Spencer and Candor, New York area back in August of 2019.
It was back at that time, in August of 2019, that Katrina Merritt of Binghamton was going out of town and had plans on having a co-worker dog sit. According to Merritt, she took her dogs to the co-worker’s home in the Spencer and Candor area. What she didn’t know is that it would be the last time she would see Rori, her Sheltie. Her other dog was a Boxer named Champ.
Plans were set and the dogs were dropped off, but soon Merritt learned that Rori had escaped the co-worker’s home – leaving the Boxer behind.
It wasn’t long, however, and the search began; especially when Rori didn’t return.
According to Merritt the immediate area was searched, to include Cass Hill in Candor, but to no avail. They even took Champ, the Boxer, with them during their search, in the hopes that Rori would recognize a scent and come around.
“None of our efforts worked,” said Merritt in an interview last Sunday.
Rori is all smiles at home with her owner, Katrina Merritt. Provided photo.
After a month, she explained, they gave up.
“By Christmas I assumed she wasn’t coming home,” said Merritt. “I was hoping the best; that maybe someone took her in.”
That was 2019.
Then came 2020 – a year filled with sickness and death, protests and riots, and of course, the Presidential Election. And there was Rori, who was presumed to be long gone, either meeting her fate on the mountain, or resting in a new home. Either way, the turmoil of 2020 and all of its strife left Merritt with little hope that Rori would ever return.
Because Rori was missing for so long, the social media postings that were originally cross-posted weren’t gaining any activity, but they remained; rescuers often scrolling by and asking about the status of the dog.
But the postings paid off. At the beginning of December, Merritt received word of a sighting near the bus garage in Owego. What was odd about this is that Merritt used to live on McMaster Street in Owego with Rori, so maybe this was the home that she was searching for during her travels, and her struggle to survive.
Working with Merritt throughout this time was Linda Ann Hamilton, an animal rescuer from Chenango Bridge.
Although she serves as a dog control officer in an official capacity, when Hamilton learns about lost dogs she will often reach out, on her own time, and lend a hand in the search. This was the case with Rori, with Hamilton reaching out at the beginning of the initial search in 2019.
When Hamilton learned of the early December sighting in Owego, she went to work right away.
The dog had initially been spotted near Tioga State Bank and was seen often; the staff at the Route 96 Branch thought she must live nearby.
One of the bank’s neighbors, however, wasn’t so sure about that theory.
Polly Jones Bidwell, who is an animal lover at heart, stated in an interview last Sunday that she noticed one day that her two dogs, Max and Diesel, became anxious. When Bidwell looked out the window she saw the Sheltie.
Recalling an older missing pet post, Bidwell searched for it on social media, and it looked like the same dog.
“A part of me thought this can’t be the dog,” said Bidwell of the sighting. It had also been rumored at one time that a car had hit Rori. But when the owner, Katrina Merritt, saw a photo from the sighting, she knew it was Rori.
“I get all sorts of animals on my property,” said Bidwell, who added that she was ready for the challenge.
She explained how she walked by the schools and by the tracks and called out to the Sheltie, but it ran.
Rori is home and happy with her siblings. Provided photo.
“The dog was in wolf mode,” said Bidwell of Rori’s time in the wilderness, and in her search to find her way home.
Bidwell connected with the rescuer, Linda Hamilton, and the two went back to work! Hamilton had previously set up a feeding station near the initial location where Rori went missing in June of 2020, but didn’t have any luck; maybe this time things would be different.
Beginning a little over a week ago the rescuers, Bidwell included in the mix, set up a feeding station across from the bus garage in Owego, and cameras were set up that would offer text alerts if there was movement.
By Tuesday, Dec. 1, Rori was seen at the feeding station. The next step was to get Rori used to a live trap, which rescuers brought to the location that Wednesday.
“We wanted the dog to get comfortable with going into the cage to eat, so we left it inactive for a few days,” said Hamilton.
Rescuers filled the cage with hot dogs and beef, cheese and other treats.
“On Wednesday, Thursday, and Friday she was a regular diner,” exclaimed Hamilton.
Pictured are Diesel and Max, dogs owned by Polly Bidwell. The dogs became a familiar scent for Rori, who had been on the run for 16 months. Provided photo.
By Friday, however, she was ready.
Bidwell, on Saturday, filled the cage with a meal fit for a queen, turkey and a marrowbone wrapped in bacon. They zip tied this to the back of the cage so that Rori would go all the way in the cage. It was time for the live trap.
In the meantime, Rori was getting used to hearing Bidwell’s voice, and to the scent and smell of her two dogs, Max and Diesel; so the rescuers took their time with this one. At one point they even had to temporarily remove the social media posts about the sightings to avoid any disruption to the feeding station and the process.
“We needed the dog to be comfortable with the feeding station, and with the environment,” said Hamilton.
Rori reunites with Champ. Provided photo.
They also told Rori’s owner not to go too far that Saturday, and that they were very close.
By 11:30 a.m. on Saturday, Dec. 5, Rori entered the trap and the door shut.
Once the door closed, Hamilton described, Rori circled around, but chose to eat the bone anyhow that was tied on the back.
“She chose the bone over panic,” Hamilton added.
“We were very lucky on this one,” said Bidwell, who also noted that Rori was in relatively good shape for being on the lam for so long.
Hamilton went back to Bidwell’s just after noon to make the special delivery to Binghamton, and to mark the end of Rori’s 16-month ordeal.
Pictured is the area of Rori’s sighting earlier in the month. Provided photo.
“When dogs get lost they go into survival mode,” said Hamilton.
But in spite of this, when Hamilton arrived at the owner’s home in Binghamton, Rori recognized her owner right away.
Merritt explained that when they brought Rori out in the cage, that it sniffed her hand, saw the other dogs, and was just fine.
“For the first half hour she sat on my lap,” said Merritt, “and then she wanted cheese.”
Pictured is the area where Rori was presumed to be hiding out. Provided photo.
As for the shape she’s in, Merritt stated that Rori had about 50 ticks, and that they combed her fur and removed them, and then gave her a good bath.
“She’s good as new,” said Merritt, adding, “She’s ecstatic to be home; she hasn’t stopped smiling.”
And there were a lot of tears and emotions, too, with Merritt explaining how she cried a lot, just waiting to hear she was caught.
“This is the best Christmas gift ever,” Merritt exclaimed, and as Rori laid down for a warm and cozy nap.
And with 2020 soon coming to an end, the story of Rori offers the happy ending that we are all longing for – or maybe even a bit of a Christmas Miracle.
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