A local dog who spent 57 days roaming the wilds of Hollister was captured just days before Christmas.
Daisy the dog was captured on Dec. 19 by local Deanna Barth. Barth has over 20 years of experience in animal rescue (domestic and wildlife) and veterinary medicine.
“It’s my passion,” Barth said in a phone interview with the Free Lance. “I’m a firm believer that everyone was put on Earth for a purpose and animals are definitely my purpose.”
Barth found out about Daisy through the Hollister Animal Lost and Found (HALF) Facebook group. The public group provides a place for locals to post about missing animals. Barth is an administrator on the page.
“I have a fantastic relationship with our animal shelter,” Barth said. “The page acts as a liaison between the shelter and our community. Using social media is a wonderful way to communicate with the public. We don’t want to work in place of the shelter, we want to work with them.”
Barth stressed the importance of filing lost animal reports with the shelter.
“We always want to make sure people call the animal shelter,” she said. “They should always call and file a lost report.”
Daisy started out in Ridgemark and hung out mostly around the corner of Southside Road and Enterprise Road, according to Barth. She said she quickly realized it was going to be tough to capture Daisy. The dog’s fight or flight stress response kept Barth from getting close.
“She was completely panicked,” Barth said.
Barth tried basic capture strategies to lure in Daisy such as avoiding eye contact, bringing her odorous foods and even bringing a friendly dog around.
“Anytime something new was introduced to her environment, it would spook her,” Barth said.
None of those strategies worked within the first week, Barth said.
As the weeks went on, Daisy continued to explore. Her travels took from Ridgemark all the way out to the Hollister Dual Language Academy on Santa Ana Road, according to Susan Hilden, a friend of Barth’s who aided in Daisy’s capture.
“After so many weeks, we realized we needed to try to reach out to see if there was someone we could get to earn her trust,” Barth said.
Hilden located the family who fostered the dog before adoption: Karen Topping and her six-year-old daughter Meghan.
That was a turning point in Daisy’s capture. Barth said Daisy had bonded with Meghan during the time she was fostered.
“We knew this would likely be the only person Daisy would recognize and possibly trust again,” Barth said in a post in the HALF group.
By this point, Daisy had moved to sleeping on a mattress behind the fire station on Union Road.
Hilden said that Meghan walked out alone into the field where Daisy was and laid down.
“Meghan on her own went out in the field and laid down,” Hilden said. “The dog recognized her and came to her.”
Hilden is keeping Daisy for the foreseeable future, and the dog is already bonding with Hilden’s granddaughter, she said.
“We don’t know what her history is, but right now she’s secure,” Hilden said. “I want to give her security. I want her to be emotionally safe.”
