THE GREAT OUTDOORS: How I lured a reluctant 'Big Dog' out of the cattails

I wasn’t sure what the subject of this week’s The Great Outdoors was going to be and then Mother Nature provided one as she usually does.

My latest adventure started early one morning as I drove on Meadville Road in the town of Alabama and a beautiful German Shepherd suddenly appeared along the edge of the cattails near the road. He was a big guy and there was no collar on him. It looked to me like he had been dumped in this remote area by some thoughtless owner who no longer wanted him. He looked like he may have had some hip problems, a common problem with this breed of dog and an expensive one to deal with.

The dog seemed to want to come to me but was hesitant; when I stopped and tried to lure him to closer he turned away. I headed up to one of the nearby dike gates of the Tonawanda Wildlife Management Area where I noted a couple of plastic pans filled with water and food; obviously they were left for this dog. Again the dog followed me, but he was not willing to let me approach and eventually disappeared into the cattails.

I put in a call to a friend, Denise, the state Department of Environmental Conservation wildlife technician for the Tonawanda WMA, and she relayed to me that they knew about this dog but were unable to approach him either. She added that she was considering calling Genesee County animal control.

Later that day I returned to the area and encountered Ruth, one of the people responsible for leaving food and water for the dog. We had a long talk about the situation and Denise and her assistant eventually showed up. While we were all talking, the dog stuck his head out of the cattails. Denise is very good with animals so she made a slow approach while talking to him. Eventually she got close and he allowed her to pet him, but she could do nothing more and he soon retreated back into the cover. It was the end of the day, so we all left, but Ruth and her husband returned later with cooked hamburger, which the dog came out to eat when they backed off, but again he would not allow any approaching.

The next morning I returned to find Ruth sitting on a boulder by the dike gate. She relayed that the dog had not been seen and she was very concerned about him. As we talked, hoping that our conversation would get him to expose himself (which seemed to have worked before), I looked down the roadway on the dike and there he was! I have an access permit for the WMAs so I immediately and slowly drove toward him, but again he shied away, although he continued to walk ahead of me along the cattail edge. He was weak and was getting tired so I drove past him, all the while talking to him, hoping he would stop and maybe lay down. Well, he did just that.

Still trying to convince him I was there to help, I got out of the car and grabbed a can of cooked chicken that I had brought along for the occasion should it arise. Approaching slowly and speaking softly, I made my way to him and eventually he got a whiff of the chicken. I hand-fed him, a piece or two at a time, and he eagerly finished the whole can. He allowed me to pet him and even put an arm around his neck, but I had no way to “capture” him and he started to pull away, so I quit.

There was a can of sardines in the car, and I needed something to put around his neck if I got close again, so I retrieved that can and a heavy camera strap. Slowly I approached again, and got close enough to hand-feed him sardines. He allowed me to put that camera strap around his neck and we “talked” a bit. I knew I needed something more to hold him, but for the time being I was keeping him from going way back in the cattails where I could not go. Holding him with one hand, I reached for my cell phone, called Ruth and told her to drive up and bring the leash she had.

As Ruth started to approach, Big Dog — we had become pretty good friends by then, so I named him — got nervous and tried to get back into the cover. I was able to hold him while Ruth approached very slowly, threw the leash to me and then backed off.

Big Dog allowed me to put the leash on and now I had a good hold on him, but I’m not the guy I used to be and am unstable on the sort of ground conditions where we were, so I remained on my butt and wiggled my way up the slope, dragging Big Dog along with me. I was able to hold on to him because he was weak, but I was getting weak too.

Denise was off duty that day but I called Bill, her assistant, and told him I needed help. When he arrived, Big Dog got nervous again. I was still on the uneven ground and afraid of losing him if I stood up. I reached out to Bill with my right arm and told him to drag me as I wiggled backward and held on to the leash. This must have been quite a sight!

Tune in next week for the rest of this story.

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A quick side note: Most hummingbirds have left our area by now, but still keep your feeders out and fresh until the end of the month. Late migratory birds may be passing through and they could use that extra help on their southern journey.

Doug Domedion, outdoorsman and nature photographer, resides in Medina. Contact him at 585-798-4022 or woodduck2020@yahoo.com.