Lost, found and lost again: adopted dog up to his old tricks

VIRGINIA BEACH

The first time around, Debra Griggs spent six years plotting to capture the stray dog and save him from street life in Norfolk.

She called him the “Teflon Don” of dogs, but maybe he was more like Houdini.

Eventually the dog was caught, found a good home and became Sebastian. But now, he’s slipped loose again. Griggs, a Norfolk Realtor and long-time animal rescuer, worries that Sebastian might try to make the trek from his home on Virginia Beach Boulevard near Birdneck Road to his old turf in Norfolk.

That’d be a 17-mile trip, if the dog stuck to the highways. Plus he’s old, it’s cold outside, and he walks with a limp.

Sebastian, guesstimated to be a 12-year-old Chow mix, slipped through a door left open by an electrian on Saturday, then scooted through an open gate in the yard.

He did look back.

“He turned around and looked me right in the face and kept on walking,” said Betty Rouse, who adopted Sebastian about a year ago. She figured the look said, “I’m free, and there’s nothing you can do about it.”

Griggs began trying to catch the dog, which she then called “Doggie,” in 2001. He evaded Griggs, Norfolk Animal Control officers and neighbors for years. After a while, after even staking out his feeding spot, she conceded. She took a dog house out to where he hung around and arranged with neighbors to fill up food and water bowls.

Doggie only turned himself in to a neighbor after he was attacked by other dogs, ran into a swamp and was seized upon by maggots. Griggs spent $2,500 on the vet bill.

In Rouse’s home, she said Sebastian was always friendly, but kept to himself. Finally, after more than a year there, he had begun to warm up.

“He sort of does it his way,” Rouse said, “and because of his age, we let him.”

Now, Griggs and Rouse fear that if he is not walking back to Norfolk, he might be stuck somewhere with his collar snagged on a branch. Griggs has plastered the area with posters, contacted shelters and alerted all the animal rescue people she knows. She’s got no leads.

“I’ve had two clairvoyants go out there,” Griggs said. “Yeah, I’m doing everything; I’ve gone over the edge.”

Sebastian was last seen wearing a red collar. He has golden fur and walks with a slight limp. If seen, phone Betty Rouse at (757) 560-0858.

Lon Wagner, (757) 446-2341, Lon.Wagner@pilotonline.com