Pooch That Escaped Dog Trade Needs One More Rescue

Cookie – the runaway rescue dog – continues to evade Montgomery County rescuers trying to bring him home.

He was last seen on Nov. 5 in the Battery Kemble Park area of Washington, D.C. The folks at Pure Gold Pet Trackers trailed Cookie’s scent for more than two hours, but Cookie on the run and had too big a head start.

One of the dog-lovers who helped Cookie make the 14,100-mile journey to Maryland from Thailand says people are searching for the Wheaten terrier. One volunteer is even searching the park as well as all nearby streets calling for Cookie, while several students at American University have joined in the hunt.

“We need this baby found,” rescue organizer Karene West previously told Patch. “We didn’t rescue him from a hellhole in Thailand to be a stray dog in this country.”

Volunteers have put up hundreds of posters in the park and in the surrounding neighborhoods.

After escaping from Thailand’s illegal dog-meat trade and surviving a 14,100-mile journey to Maryland, Cookie is skittish of people. He was rescued along with hundreds of other dogs being hauled on trucks illegally through Thailand to Vietnam and China for food consumption, says the rescue group that found him a home in the U.S. Dogs like Cookie are packed into small wire cages containing 15 to 20 dogs, then trucked to markets to be sold for $10 each.

West with Cookie’s rescue group -- Angus Fundraising Group for DMT dogs and other animals in need – says Cookie doesn’t trust people, so he’s traveling at night.

Cookie flew to Dulles Airport Oct. 2 to start a new life as a pampered pooch. On his second day with his new owner, Susie Homan of Kensington, Cookie bolted despite being on two leads. A pet tracker found him within two days in Homan’s neighborhood.

But, on Oct. 22 Cookie escaped from Homan’s house again. West says that an Oct. 29 post on Craigslist that Cookie was seen eight miles away in the Silver Spring area allowed Pure Gold Pet Trackers to pick up Cookie’s scent. The terrier was tracked for four hours, but they couldn’t catch up to the wandering dog.

Supporters have put up posters in the Kensington and Silver Spring areas. West’s group has money raised to call trackers in again, but they need residents to look for Cookie, especially at night.

“If we can get just one good sighting we can call trackers back in and most likely find him in one or two days,” West told Patch last week.

She urges anyone who sees Cookie not to approach him. Instead call 240-605-8701 or West at 615-812-6629.

There is a reward for Cookie’s safe return.

Cookie wearing a black collar, and the tag has the Homan’s phone number on it with the message: “Oh (expletive), I’m lost.” He hasn’t been fitted with a microchip.

»Cookie, a Wheaten terrier, has escaped his Kensington house and has been seen in the Silver Spring area. The map shows where he has been roaming in the past week. Photos courtesy of Karene West