Nico

Date Missing: Feb 13, 2021
Date Recovered: Feb 27, 2021
Description: Male - 15 lb Terrier, Gray/Brown
Point Last Seen: Embarcadero, Morro Bay
Last Known Position: Black Hill Trails, Morro Bay

Summary:
Nico went missing while visiting Morro Bay with his family. The family lives away from the area but returned multiple times to look for Nico and place posters. They also acquired the help of local resident who helped develop sightings and place additional posters. I became involved after the first of two weeks. Nico was eventually trapped and returned to his owners.

On Feb 21 I drove to Morro Bay to meet with Nico's owners. They explained that on Feb 13 they were walking with Nico on the Embarcadero, a popular destination that fronts the bay, when Nico got scared from some noise and ran off. They searched the area completely but could not find Nico, who had a collar and leash on at the time he went missing.

They further said that there had been two sightings, both along a creek on the east side of Morro Bay, roughly two miles as the crow flies from where he went missing. One of the sightings was from a woman who attempted to secure Nico, but he slipped out of his collar and ran off. Together we did a cursory search of the creek area and developed a loose plan to recover Nico.

On Tuesday the 23rd, a sighting report was received indicating Nico was seen in the "Black Hill" area of Morro Bay.

A local resident who has knowldge of the area went to the location and observed for Nico that moring. I later drove to meet her and she had since developed further sigting info.

I scouted the area for a camera trap placement and also became familiar with it. Black Hill is a wooded area with trails that is heavily populated with people walking with their dogs.

My camera trap was placed under some shrubs, close to a trail head, but concealed enough to prevent casual observation of it.

Camera trap location and trailhead

Camera trap location under shrubs

The first night the camera trap was out there was a brief sighting of Nico on camera, but Raccoons and Coyotes also showed up, which did not bode well. The Coyote's were about four times the size of Nico. The Coyote's also took the food bowls away each night, complicating matters.

On the second night, Nico appeared once around midnight to have some food. It was great to know he was still in the area subsequent to the verbal sighting reports from days earlier.

On the third night Nico showed up to eat twice. This gave me reasonable assurance that she would show up about the same time the next day, an opportunity to set a trap.

It became obvious that the Raccoons would appear first, around 8PM. Then Nico would between 11PM to 1AM, followed by the Coyotes later. This gave me a window of opportunity for setting the trap but not having interefernce from the other animals.

So I prepared to set the trap the next evening, Feb 26th/27th.

My original plan was to place the trap exactly where the camera trap had been located, under the shrubs. It occurre to me when I arrived that perhaps the Coyotes enjoyed the "cover" of the shrubs and may not be so willing to enter the trap for food if it were in an open area. Hence, I chose a location about twenty feet away, just off a trail in the open.

I set the trap and but waited until after the "Raccoon hour" to load it with a rotisserie chicken, a bowl of dry kibble, and a bowl of water outside the trap door. I then splashed a fair amount of Liquid Smoke in and near the trap and crossed my fingers that Nico would take the bait.

To my dismay, the camera showed people walking by the trap around midnight. I thought the night would be a bust.

The area adjacent to the trailhead is a quiet neigborhood. Consequently, I could not park there without causing some concern, so I parked a few minutes away in a commercial area. I knew the people walking by would scare off Nico, so I began to figure a return trip the next night would be necessary. Still, I sat tight hoping for the best.

Then my cell phone alerted me of some movement at the trap at 24 minutes after midnight. It was Nico. Sadly she didn't go in the trap but I held out hope she would return. And that she did about ten minutes later. This time she did not hesitate to go in and have a meal.

I raced back to the trap and prepared to transport her back to my house for the night.

After loading up Nico, we made a nice slow drive from Morro Bay back to Paso Robles. It had been a long day and even a longer night, but it pales significantly as compared to the two weeks Nico spent alone with little water or food. He drank loads of water after I got him inside. After that he completely dozed off for a couple of hours, no doubt enjoying the warmth and comfort he had not had for the past two weeks.

Later in the morning, his owners drove out from Fresno to pick Nico up. Nico was immediately thrilled to see them, and vice versa. They are such wonderful people, making Nico's recovery just that much more special.

Happy trails Nico !