Feral Stray Evaded Capture For Two Years Before Rescuers Realize What They Have Been Missing

We like to believe that our dogs will always love and trust us, that they will always come running when they hear our voice or smell our scent.

But, sadly, that may not always be true.

Records abound of dogs that got separated from their beloved humans for one reason or another and went into complete shock.

When that happens to a domesticated animal, they can revert to a feral state and their brain simply cannot process anything except fear.

No matter how loved or loving they had been, they become wild creatures with nothing on their mind but survival. Fight or flight.

Dogs that have been by their owner’s side 24/7 can refuse to allow them to come near if they have gone into that state.

There is no recognition in their eyes, and they seem to have forgotten everything they’ve ever known.

Rescuers believe that is what happened to a little dog nicknamed “Houdini” because of his ability to escape from any trap that was set for him.

“People at the port fed him and gave him water, but he wouldn’t allow anyone to get too close to him,” Hope for Paws Founder Eldad Hagar told The Dodo.

“He was just too scared.“

No one knows where Houdini came from; he just appeared one day.

Dashing under trucks, beneath gates and fences, and darting around heavy equipment became his daily MO at the TraPac Terminal in the Port of Los Angeles.

For over two years, he eluded traps and other attempts to catch him.  Many tried, all failed. The four-legged waif with huge brown eyes was just too fast.

And he was very smart!

Security guards for the terminal had started calling him Houdini after one of them put a rope on the guard shack door, hoping to lure the dog inside and pull the door shut.

No way! As soon as Houdini spotted the unfamiliar rope, refused to enter — not even for special food.

The same thing happened with efforts to entice him into a cage with food. He wanted and needed the food. But, he was too smart to allow himself to be trapped.

It was assumed he was someone’s pet that had gotten lost, but no one will know the truth.

They only know that the little guy stole the heart of everyone who saw him and everyone wanted to help.

Hope For Paws, an animal rescue, decided to help. They sent a team of volunteers to try to catch Houdini using their tried and true methods. Methods that failed dismally.

The came back the next day and upped their game.

Still, the little grey and white guy ran free, barking wildly at every human he saw, as he had done for the entire 2 years since he had shown up at the Port.

Finally, Hope for Paws decided it was going to take an army to get the job done, so they called in reinforcements in the form of  Rescue From the Hart.

Then, after several failed attempts, one lucky volunteer managed to “lasso” Houdini as he raced past, while another person quickly tossed a net over him.

The poor dog thrashed about, injuring a foot in the process although not seriously.

He snapped at everyone who came near and he lunged about in the netting, eyes glazed and mouth wide as he panted in panic.

Eventually, one of the security guards who had been feeding Houdini since the first time he saw him came over and was the first to actually pet Houdini.

You could almost see the small dog’s fear melting away!

He was still frightened and he was still untrusting, but the feral look was gone from his eyes. He remembered suddenly what it was like to be loved.

At the shelter, it took some intense hands-on therapy before Houdini was totally comfortable with being touched, bathed, brushed and loved.

But before too long he was begging for pats and cuddles and learning to play with other dogs and remember what it was like, well, just to be a normal dog and not a feral creature of the shadows.

“Houdini is doing great,” Hagar told The Dodo.

“He is such a happy dog, loves people, loves dogs, it’s almost weird how fast he turned around.“

He was placed in a foster home for a while until they were sure that he had indeed reverted completely back to being a good pet.

Now, he has been adopted and is living with a wonderful family that intends to be sure Houdini never has to feel the need to escape from anything ever again!

Welcome home, Houdini!

Sources: The Dodo, The Animal Rescue Site