'Huge' Search Party Mobilizes, Police Help As Community Tries to Bring Lost Dog Home

NORTH FORK, NY - Four days after she went missing, the Southold community was still searching desperately for Jazzy Thursday night.

According to Jazzy's owner Cathy Weschler, Jazzy's odyssey on Thursday took her on quite a trek; she was spotted near Soundview Avenue and the Horton Lighthouse, where Weschler and her family used binoculars to scan the shoreline.

Next, she was seen near Mattabella Vineyards on Route 25, then the Southold American Legion, behind the Southold Marine Center and finally, in the cemetery across from Peanut Alley, Weschler said.

"I can't believe she can go so far, so fast," Weschler said.

The public has taken Jazzy into their hearts, sharing Facebook updates furiously and even forming a "huge" search party near the cemetery across from Peanut Alley, Weschler said. Local business owner Eric Russell and his son, among others, have been "searching constantly," Weschler said.

She added, "The police called to tell me she was seen in the cemetery and they sent two cars to help look," Weschler said. "She got away from us."

Weschler said she and others are trying to find a good spot to set a safe trap provided by the North Fork Animal Welfare League.

Others have been sharing tips on Facebook on how to catch Jazzy, including bringing steak, hot dogs and other treats out while they search.

Dog on the run

Jazzy has been leading her worried family and the entire Southold community on a days-long chase.

Since she went missing on Sunday, friends, neighbors and even strangers have combed the Southold community searching for the pup, a three-year-old, 30-lb. white and tan Norwegian buhund.

So many have opened their hearts to help, Jazzy’s owner, Weschler, said. When her “missing” posters were destroyed in the rain, Academy Printing offered to make new, larger ones, at no cost.

On Wednesday, despite numerous sightings, as night fell, Jazzy was still running free.

Sightings on Wednesday placed the pup on Hortons Lane in Southold, in the Harbor Lights community, then standing in the middle of Main Road near South Harbor Road, then Corey Creek Lane.

“She’s been all over town,” Weschler said, of her elusive pet.

Jazzy ran from Angel Shores down North Bayview, down Pine Neck, down and across Main Road and then, down South Harbor, she said.

But so far, no one has been able to catch her.

Weschler said her family is grateful for the community outpouring of help: Late into the night on Tuesday, neighbors and residents were out combing the area, creating a search party out to save Jazzy.

On Tuesday, Weschler said Jazzy was spotted at the beach by Inlet Way and Cedar Point Drive East, as well as on Midland Beach.

“She ran by us a bunch of times smiling, as if to say it was great fun,” she said. “But we have no clue where she is now.”

Weschler said the North Fork Animal Welfare League had let the family borrow a trap, which they set near where Jazzy was last seen.

“A man called me because he saw her down by Angel Shores,” she said. “He waited for me to get there and helped us look. My daughter Arielle tracked her footprints in the sand down by Inlet Way.” Another woman from Southold, Jennifer Giovanniello-Becker, saw the posts and has been helping to put up posters, driving all over town in the search, Weschler said.

“Just when I’m ready to give up, someone calls and says they’ve seen her,” Weschler said.

A caring community

Of the heroes who have turned out to help, Wescher said, “I am so overwhelmed by the community support. We were out looking of Jazzy and came across a whole group of people out in the cold and the dark looking for her with their dogs. There was a large truck looking with the search lights on. Maribeth Kilcommons told some of her neighbors and it turned into a search party. They think the saw her down in the same area.”

Weschler told Patch that Jazzy, who was adopted from a rescue organization in New Jersey lastThursday, has been missing since Sunday and has no idea how to find her way home — because she doesn’t know where home is.

Weschler was up before dawn on Tuesday, continuing to comb the streets of Southold in search of her beloved pet.

She has asked the community for volunteers who might be able to help her and her family hang posters, with the aim of casting an even wider net to help find Jazzy.

Initially, a sliver of hope was born after someone said they saw Jazzy on Elizabeth Lane. “I was so worried because it had been so long since she was spotted and then I got a call that someone had seen her,” Weschler said. The person came out and helped us look, she said. “We’ve been searching the area since, but we didn’t see her. We are so moved by all the people who are looking for her.”

But still, Jazzy has not been found. “We really, really miss her,” Weschler said. “I’m feeling a little defeated right now. I’m going to pick up more posters. We could really use some help putting them up so we can cover a wider range.”

Tips on how to catch a frightened dog

Weschler also found tips on how to catch a frightened dog onpetfinder.com.

According to those tips:

“The Missing Pet Partnership specializes in capturing skittish, hard-to-catch dogs, and cats,”the site reads. The problem with panicked dogs is that most rescuers call the dog to try and get the dog to come to them — big mistake. Never call a stray dog. Don’t look at it, don’t pat your leg, and don’t walk towards the dog. If the dog has a skittish temperament, typically he is in ’fight or flight’ mode and will be running in fear.”

The site adds, “What you want to do instead is use calming signals and try to do something to calm and attract the dog. Lip licking, yawning, feigning like you’re eating food off the ground are such signals.”

Newly rescued Jazzy has no idea of how to find home

Jazzy was rescued from a shelter in New Jersey.

“Poor Jazzy had it rough,” Weschler said. Her elderly owner has been very sick in the hospital, and had to surrender the dog. “We drove to New Jersey on Thursday to get her. She’s pretty much been in a kennel for a long time.”

When Weschler and her husband Chris brought Jazzy home, the Norwegian buhund immediately won the hearts of their five children, who range in age from 27 to 11.

“She’s very sweet but very, very shy. She’s been sleeping in bed between my husband and me. She’s not even housebroken,” she said. Jazzy is three years old, she said, 30 lbs, and white, with a lot of fur.

Her voice breaking, Weschler said, “She’s got to be absolutely petrified out there.”

Jazzy got out Sunday when she squeezed through the fence. “We have other dogs,” Weschler said. ”We don’t know how on earth she could have gotten out.”

The family lives on Glen Road off Main Bayview in Southold. She was last seen at Pine Neck Road and Main Bayview.

“We are so devastated,” Weschler said. “Just seeing how shy and frightened she was. Our kids are completely in love with her. They carried her outside to go to the bathroom because she didn’t even know what to do out there. She was totally clueless.”

Her son, 11, was so upset over Jazzy that he was sick, she said.

“I’ve been driving around, crying, trying to find her,” she said.

One resident saw Jazzy by Catapano Dairy Farm at 5 a.m. Monday and another saw her on Clearview Avenue in Southold at 6:45 a.m. Monday, she said.

Her older daughter was out Monday hanging up posters around town, Weschler said. My daughter said, “Please, tell me we’re going to find her for my birthday,” which is on Saturday.

While Jazzy is not aggressive, she’s very shy, so she may run if spotted. Anyone who sees her is asked to sit or lie down quietly; the dog “might come over to see what on earth is going on,” Weschler said.

She added, “I’m worried sick. She’s got to be cold. She can’t even come home — because she doesn’t even know where home is. She’s hasn’t been here long enough to know.”

Anyone who sees Jazzy is asked to call or text 631-655-4770 or call 631-765-6866.