Sam’s Story
Sam Connelly of Pure Gold Pet Trackers has helped many people who have lost their pets. Sam has trained Golden Retrievers to track lost animals by their scent. This is a story about how Sam and her AFH adoptee Abby have saved the day on more than one occasion!
Sam Connelly and Abby are our heroes. Together they form an incredible “Pet Detective” team that finds lost pets, but that was not always the case.
When Sam first took Abby in as a foster dog, she shunned contact with humans and would even go into a corner and, if no one stopped her, would stare at the wall or spend hours licking her paws, the floor or whatever.
Then, one day, she saw Sam’s cat in his cat tree and something just clicked. Soon it became apparent that Abby would make a great search dog for cats! Over the years, she has found lost cats inside of walls, on roofs, in trees, under furniture, and inside vehicles. She has an incredible 90% recovery rate on lost cats.
Last year Abby got a chance to track two missing beagle puppies. When their mom went wandering, the two pups followed and were lost. Soon Abby and Sam went to work. They followed the scent through the woods and then down to the creek where one of the puppies had been found clinging to a log. Sadly the track suggested the puppy had been swept downstream. Although the humans had given up hope, Abby refused. She would not quit and had to be lifted by her harness to get her out of the creek. Several days later a miracle happened! The puppy was found alive, two miles downstream from where the search had ended. Abby was right
Sam says she is grateful to AFH for bringing this amazing girl into her life. “She is both a joy and a challenge to work with and I’ve learned so much by working with her to save missing pets.” AFH is grateful to both of them. They are indeed heroes!
Learn how you can help AFH raise funds to purchase new transport vans to replace the aging ones we’re currently using. Visit our #GivingTuesday page and take action today!