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We don't know for sure what kind of hardships, cruelty, or challenges poor little Penny had to endure in her first 3-4 years of life but we can certainly speculate. Found in a Florida shelter by club member/rescue worker Kathy Shaw, where she had been taken in as a stray living on the streets, origin unknown, she was matted, filthy, under weight and terrified. Kathy took her home and started her on the road to a new life with a bath, grooming and whole lot of reassuring love. A call to Sally Schnellmann followed and Penny was soon at Airedale Acres Halfway House awaiting her new home.

Over the last ten years of their rescue efforts, countless discarded Airedales looking for a second lease on life have crossed the Schnellmann's doorway, each one special with their own unique personality, but in all those years they had never met a dog like Penny. She was the most well-mannered and refined young lady they had ever met. The other four-legged residents at Airedale Acres also noticed her wonderful personality and she was an immediate hit with them. She showed no fear or intimidation with being introduced to eight yapping resident Airedales, a scene that is usually somewhat unnerving for most just arriving rescues. For her the bond was immediate and she was pleased to have eight new buddies, her favorite being our ten-year-old Brutus, who we believe she was a bit smitten with.

Her interaction with people, on the other hand, was a total contrast. Where contact with dogs was met with total comfort, contact with people was an intimidating experience for her. Her tail would immediately go between her legs, her head would drop and she would fearfully approach, hoping to be loved. Through observation of these traits we concluded she had spent much time on the streets and was used to frequent contact with other dogs, but had suffered some form of human abuse. This sweet, emotionally scarred young girl had a way of tugging at your heartstrings and for us it was love at first sight. We knew she needed a special home with caring people who could reestablish her trust in humans again. It was quickly decided Penny would become part of the Bill and Mary Ann Staudenmaier family in Boca Raton. After a two-week stay at Airedale Acres to rehabilitate from a necessary medical procedure, she was on her way to Boca to start her new life!

As can be expected, when Penny was left with Bill and Mary Ann it was a stressful time for her. She had spent two weeks at Airedale Acres and had begun to feel secure. Now she was again thrust into a new and intimidating environment. The tail, which after two weeks of loving reassurance had just begun to spend time in the up position, now locked backed into the tucked mode. That's a difficult part rescue work and why some people can't do it. A bond develops if a dog has been in foster care for an extended time and you know there will be a period of anxiety and adjustment for the dogs when they leave. But with experience you come to realize the adaptability of these wonderful animals and you know they will be OK. That's the way it was for Sally that Tuesday morning when she delivered Penny to Bill and Mary Ann. She could see Penny was nervous and did not want to be left, but she was confident her new people would quickly reassure her with loving abundance and so Sally departed with the belief it was the start of a new and wonderful life for Penny. One day later that feeling of joy for Penny was severed with a heart stopping phone call, Penny was lost !!

The call came to Airedale Acres at 2:30pm on Wednesday. Bill reported that about 2 hours prior he had been leaving the house when Penny had followed him down the steps to the door. He saw her and instructed her to go back up stairs, she couldn't go along this time. When he saw her start to climb back up the steps he turned back to the door to leave but as soon as he opened it she did an immediate 180 and bolted around his legs and out the door before he could react. It was grounds maintenance day in the development where they live and as Penny made her way across the lawn one of the workers saw her coming, and feeling threatened turned his power hedge trimmer in her direction and revved the engine to scare her off. It worked. Any fears of humans that were stored in her psyche were immediately brought screaming to the forefront of her mind. She was totally spooked, and she was gone.

At 2:40, ten minutes after receiving the call Sally and I (her son Rick) were in the car franticly making the 65-mile trip to Boca. Time is critical with a lost dog because you can never be sure how they will react when they suddenly find themselves out on their own. Some may stay close while others may begin to wander franticly moving farther and farther from their point of escape. We knew by the time we got to Boca there would be little daylight left but we had to try to make contact before night or it could be over for her. The area the Staudenmaiers live in is highly congested and if she were to begin to venture out of the local neighborhood and into heavy traffic areas it could be fatal. We arrived at Bill's door at 4pm where we received his shaken voice report. Bill had seen Penny about a mile outside his development at a water treatment plant that bordered I-95. He had tried to catch her but she evaded him and then disappeared. Our hearts sank. I-95 is the main route of travel up the east coast and in this area it constitutes 6 lanes of bumper to bumper traffic traveling 65 miles an hour. If she were to run onto that highway she would be dead.

With Bill's briefing, we set out to search. When we arrived at the treatment plant we found it to be a totally fenced in facility with an open gate. We also noticed that I-95 was also fenced off and that this facility butted up to that fence. A temporary sense of relief was gained from that. We entered the plant and found it was a large area comprised of much vacant land covered with brush and bramble. A road circled the interior of the facility so we did many slow laps calling out her name hoping if she were hiding in the brush she would hear Sally's familiar voice and respond. Nothing. As we were leaving we saw some of the plant's employees and left a name and number to call if they saw her. We exited the facility and decided to cross the bridge over I-95, which took us into a large neighborhood area of single family homes. We only had a short time left before dark so we searched the streets stopping to speak to people we saw. "Have you seen her? Would you call this number if you do?" Again, no trace of her.

As darkness set in we went back to Bill's. He had been busy calling shelters, calling the police department, calling friends to help in the search, and making signs to post. Having done all we could do we got back in the car and headed home. Along the way barely a word was spoken. A sick feeling permeated through us. That poor little girl who had been so needing of love was now out on her own in a very dangerous area. Hope was not high.

After arriving home and feeling emotionally exhausted, we prepared to try to get some sleep for what was to sure to be a long upcoming day. At 9:30pm, just as I was crawling into bed, the phone rang and moments later a yell came from the other room: Rick, she's been seen!! Bill had called to report that one of his neighbors had seen Penny sniffing at Bill and Mary Ann's door about 8:30pm. Thank God, we thought, she has stayed in the area. I immediately decided to go back to Boca. If she were to show up again during the night, maybe a familiar voice, face and scent would calm her enough to bring her in. Quickly I loaded my van with a crate, a lead, food for lure, the blanket she slept on here, and a blanket for myself and I was off.

I arrived about 10:30pm and was quickly given a tour of the grounds by one of Bill's concerned neighbors. Bill's development consists of 10 eight family buildings partially fenced on 3 sides and bordered by a large canal on the fourth. In the back of the development along the canal there was a large area of brush and bramble that continued along the canal, out of the development and towards the back of the treatment plant we had searched earlier in the day. The development fencing extended only to the edge of this bramble but not down to the canal. This I was sure must be Penny's means of exit and entry into the development. It offered excellent cover for travel and could serve as a hiding place during busy daylight hours. My hope was she too had discovered this safe area and would use it as her base.

By 11:30pm I was set up. In Bill's section of the development there is a large, sunken, partially lit green area surrounded on three sides by buildings. The fourth side of the green area is bordered by a fenced swimming pool. Directly behind the pool is the canal and brambles. My plan was to wait by Bill's door. If she came out of the brambles and around the pool into the green area I would sit on the ground and softly speak to her and attempt to coax her in. If that didn't work my plan was to lay face down and make crying noises to encourage her to come to investigate and then grab hold of her when I had the chance. This is a technique that has been used successfully by Sally in the past.

By 4am I had seen no trace of Penny. I decided to lie down for a little while in my van, which I had parked in a manner so that it overlooked Bill's door. It was about 6:30am when I caught movement. Out of the corner of my eye a blur of motion moved around the corner by Bill's door and out of sight. Was that Penny? I quickly jumped out of my van and as I rounded the corner I saw Penny walking into the green area at a distance of about 15 yards. I went to one knee and called in my softest voice to her. She turned to look at me without ever slowing her stride and when she saw me her ears went back, her eyes filled with a wild look of terror and she turned away and broke into a run as if she were literally running for her life. She ran up out of the green area, around the pool and over the rise down to the canal. In a matter of about 5 seconds from the time I first saw her she was gone and the encounter was over.

When morning light broke fully I decided to go back to the canal and into the brambles to look for sign: tracks, bedding areas, anything that might give me a sense of how she's moving and allow me to pattern her. I followed the brambles out of the development and it soon ended at a railroad track. As I looked down to the tracks there she was. Penny was crossing the tracks and leaving the area. Again I called softly and again off she went. She crossed the tracks and into the weeds, by reflex I followed. I ran so I would not lose her and as I ran I began to get a sense of where we were. She was following an old over grown trail that went along the canal and behind the plant we had searched the day before. The plant was fenced, so her direction of travel was limited to moving straight ahead. If she attempted to go right she would slip down a steep bank into the canal and I would have her because I would jump in and grab her, if she tried to go left she would run into the plant fence. This encouraged me to continue my pursuit, but as I ran I could hear the traffic from I-95 getting closer, we were headed right for it! Sudden terror overwhelmed me, I could be chasing her right to her death, but just as quickly I remembered the fence that bordered I-95 and it occurred to me that this could be my chance. When we get to that fence I will have her boxed in on 3 sides and her only escape will be past me. Hopefully she will just cower and I will be able to grab her or at worst she will attempt to escape by running past me and I can make a leap to grab her. I deemed it worth the chance and hastened my pursuit. After about a half mile of her and I running through briars and jumping obstacles I was still only about 25 yards behind her as she crested the last rise before she arrived at the I-95 fence and what I anticipated as her impending capture. As I came over the rise what I saw put my heart in my mouth, the fence that was suppose to be there was not. The fence that goes for miles ended right at the corner where it met the plant fence I had been running along and in its place was a guard rail she could have easily gone right under. God, have I done what I feared, did I lead her right to her death? The road was only about 20 yards beyond the guardrail and she was no where to be seen. Without breaking stride I jumped the rail and headed for the road, looking down the green way along the road as I ran. Nothing. When I got to the road, I looked both ways searching to catch sight of her as the cars flew by. Thank God there was no sight of her on the highway. A four-foot high concrete median barrier separated the two directions of traffic so she could not have crossed the road. That offered more relief, but where did she go? As I continued to look I noticed a small opening under the bridge where the road crossed over the canal, and when I looked under I could see a sloped concrete embankment coming out of the canal that went all the way under I-95. She must have crossed under and is now on the other side of the highway. I decided that would be the end of the chase.

As I embarked on the long walk back to the development I replayed the whole scene over in my head. Had I done the right thing? It all had happened so fast. Had the fence been there would I have her now? If I had it to do over again with more time to think about all the variables would I have done the same thing? Have I driven her out of the area for good now?

It was 8:30am when I got back to the development and Sally was there having stopped on her way to work hoping to hear good news. There wasn't any to share, and when she heard my story she was distraught as I was. She asked what do we do now and I could only say, "I don't know, I guess we can only wait and hope she finds her way back to the area." But my hopes weren't very high. Here she had cover to hide in during the day, but now she was on the other side of I-95 in a congested area with little cover where she would probably run scared all day ending up who knew how far away. If she didn't get killed would she ever find her way back? I went home very disappointed questioning the next move.

From that first day's experience it was clear Penny would not be caught by humans alone. Any sight of them struck immediate terror in her and she would disappear. We needed a new strategy. Maybe she would make contact with a dog she knew. Many years ago Bill and Ann Cassady , club members from Boca who were instrumental in the start of our rescue program, lost a two-year-old Airedale in Pennsylvania. For weeks there would be sightings but the dog would not allow anyone to approach him. At last resort they flew that dog's Airedale buddy up from Florida to Pennsylvania, and when the dog saw her buddy she immediately ran to him and they were able to get her.

We decided to try this approach and who better to lure Penny in than Brutus, her best buddy at Airedale Acres. But would Bru be up to the challenge at 10 ½ years old? Bru immediately extinguished any doubts. He went to work Thursday night at 6pm and was unbelievable. Right from the start it was totally apparent that Bru knew what he was there for. I first took him around the development saying to him, "Where's Penny, find Penny, boy." I took him to areas I knew she had been, hoping he would pick up her scent, and he left plenty of his own scent for her to find. We then set up by Bill's door and waited. Bru was on a one-hundred-foot lead, which if she did appear would allow him to go out and make contact without her sensing my presence. Right from the start Bru's behavior was amazing, it's as if he knew exactly why he was there and what his role was. I kept repeating, "Where's Penny buddy, find her," and he would patrol continuously from one side of me to the other along the 20 feet of rope I gave him. He would walk to the end of the rope, then stop and gaze out into the darkness, with his nose up picking up scents. Then, when he determined nothing was out there he would come back and walk past me to the end of the rope in the opposite direction and employ the same ritual. This went on continuously for 5 hours until at 1am with no sign of Penny, and Bru starting to tire, I decided to retreat to the van and let us get some rest. I lay down and, trusting Bru's senses to alert me if Penny should appear, closed my eyes. Every time I opened my eyes to check on Bru his head was up at full alert.

At 4am I decided we should get back to our post in case she found her way back to the area and made a daybreak appearance as she had the day before. We went out and Bru laid down some fresh scent behind the pool near the canal and brambles, then we got on our post. Immediately Bru went into patrol mode again. At 5:20am I caught a movement out of the corner of my eye on the far side of the pool. A few seconds later a dog came out of the shadows into the light on the far side of the green area, it was Penny! I tried to get Bru's attention who was patrolling in the opposite direction at the time and out of view of her. By the time I got him back she had wandered off back behind the pool and out of sight again. What a high feeling, she had found her way back to the development, back to her safe zone. I felt a great sense of renewed hope.

Bru stayed on patrol and at 6am he was just heading past me in the direction of the pool when he came to a stop with full alert posture. I looked in the direction of the pool and coming around the near side of it and into the light of the green area was Penny. I looked at Bru and he assumed a sitting position while he awaited her approach. I knelt down over by a bush in the garden out of sight. When Penny reached a point directly in front of us in the middle of the green area she stopped, turned and looked directly at Bru. He held his ground. For about 30 seconds she starred intently at him wanting to approach but was afraid. Finally the uneasiness over took her and she began to depart across the green area. At this point I told Bru to "go get her boy" and he took off on the dead run after her. He closed ground quickly and as he was beginning to reach the end of his 100 feet of rope I applied break to the rope and he came to stop and barked to her to come over to him. When she initially saw him coming at her, she retreated, but when he came to a stop she did also, and turned toward him. When he barked to her she wandered over to him until they were nose-to-nose, and both tails started to wag in recognition of their old friendship. A little play followed and I could see her body language change from tension to a degree of relaxation. I started to guide Bru in by his lead but then, as if he sensed the game plan, he began to lead her to me on his own. I thought we might have a chance. Her posture had changed and I thought maybe when she sees me now she will make the connection between Bru and me and would approach. No such luck. At a distance of ten feet while coming straight in she caught her first sight of me. Although I was sitting on the ground with my head down to avoid scaring her with eye contact she instantly upon seeing me startled, turned away and departed. Bru seeing she was leaving made immediate pursuit barking to her to come back but it was to no avail. She had seen one of those awful humans and she was not sticking around buddy or not. When Bru came back he was noticeably distraught, as if he knew the mission had not been successful. We loaded into the van and headed back to Airedale Acres to rest and plan a new strategy.

Friday afternoon: we realized now that Penny was not going to be caught by a human by hand, there will have to be some type of a trap employed. A net was considered but after a few calls it was discovered these are not an easy items to find. Sally decided to call Animal Care and Control to see if they had any ideas or suggestions for a trap. They said they had a trap we could use and when we went to pick it up they provided us with a thorough explanation on its use.

At 6pm Friday Bru, Rick and trap headed back to Boca. We decided to set up the trap at the far end of the green area in front of the pool at a point she has been seen crossing. I will hide inside the pool area behind the fence in a blind I construct out of tarps and blankets. I am fully camouflaged and will observe from this blind.

The trap is similar to a crate in shape and construction. On one end is a door that slides straight up allowing you access to the back of the crate for placing the bait. The front where the dog enters has a door that swings straight up and is held up by a friction- locking device. When the dog enters the crate and moves to the back to obtain the bait he steps on a panel on the floor, which releases the friction-lock, and the door slams shut. As the door swings down, a metal ring on each side of the door slides down along the frame of the crate locking the trap. For bait we chose partially cooked balls of hamburger (3 pounds) and cheese. Next to the trap Bru will be in a separate crate to entice her to come to the trap.

At 7pm Bru enters his crate. At 7:30 Bru comes out. It's obvious at this point our effort is futile. It's a warm Friday night and the development is bristling with activity. We walk the development and Bru lays down scent. Finally at 11:30pm things start to quiet down and we decide to set up again, Bru goes back in his crate and I go to my blind. Again Bru is Fabulous. As I watch from my blind I can see his intensity. Sitting up and turning focus from one side to the next he is intense. He knows where I am but shows little tendency to look my way. He shows no discontent at being left alone in the middle of a strange field, he is looking for his Penny. At 12:30am I notice Bru become alert and gaze in a direction to my left. I know what it is, he sees Penny. I get very still and wait. In a moment Penny enters my view and approaches Bru's crate. She comes nose to nose with him to say hello. I can see her tail start to wag but Bru stays quiet so as not to alarm her. She then catches scent of the food at the back of the trap and puts her nose to it to investigate. Interested she moves to the front of the trap but then hesitates and backs away. She moves around to the back of the trap again nosing at the food when all of a sudden she gets skittish and starts to move away. Bru sounds off with barks of frustration at her leaving, beckoning her to come back, but to no avail. Quickly I learn what caused her alarm as from behind one of the buildings a group of teenagers round the corner on their way to the pool. Bru and I again leave our posts to wait out the interruption.

I'm not discouraged however. She has come to the trap and smelled the food and was not spooked by the trap but by distant voices, I feel she will return. Bru on the other hand is disappointed and dejected. When I go to let him out of his crate his head is hanging. At 2am the kids leave the pool but the development's sprinkler system is operating and the zone that waters where the trap is set has yet to go on. Rather than have Bru and the bait receive an ill timed shower I move the trap to a safe area and wait. At 3:20am the spot we had the trap set up is finally being watered and I look over at the other side of the green area to see Penny is back in the area. Bru sees her too but remains totally silent and she again moves off. I'm not discouraged, we still have 3 hours till dawn, we have time.

At 3:30am the sprinkler stops. I rush to replace and set the trap. Quickly Bru is in his crate and I run to enter my blind, it's now or never. I watch as Bru again goes into work mode, smelling the air and surveying the landscape. I too watch for some time but then tiredness overcomes me and I lightly nod off. Next thing I know a pleading whine from Bru has snapped me back to attention and I look up to see Penny has returned. Again she sniffs at the back of the trap by the food and moves around to the open door in the front. This time however she finds the meatball I placed at the opening. She grabs it and gobbles it down. She sees the one I put half way in the crate and carefully steps in just far enough to reach it grabs it and quickly retreats out of the trap. But now the taste of a long overdue meal has superseded her anxiety about entering the trap and she carefully re-enters moving all the way to the back where she can enjoy her meat and cheese smorgasbord. As she puts here head down to the food she steps on the lock release and as designed the door slams shut and the locking rings drop. She quickly spins to retreat but it's too late, she is caught!

I spring to my feet, the feeling of joy and relief overwhelming. So many times my fear she would die, either from injury by a car or even worse a result of slow starvation, haunted me and I knew with each day that went by the chances of catching her were diminishing. Now having her in the trap provided a sense of indescribable relief. I harnessed my enthusiasm to quickly run to the trap, and instead approached as slowly and calmly as I could. Even at that, the sight of my approach caused her to let out a series of blood curtailing screams and she clawed franticly at the walls of the trap. I continued my approach speaking softly to her and when I reached the trap I knelt down and continued to reassure her. At that point she went docile. Bru on the other hand was ecstatic, vocalizing his excitement at our success. To avoid any risk of escape I picked up the trap dog and all and carried her up to my van, placed it inside and closed the door. When I went back for Bru he was still expressing his yip, yip, yip of excitement. As I opened his crate to let him out he burst forth with a big smile, waggy tail, and wiggly butt, jumping at me in his enthusiasm. We took his crate back to the van and when I loaded it up Bru promptly jumped into it and collapsed. He was exhausted from his 2 straight days of duty and now that he knew the task was complete. He would proceed to sleep the next 24 hours straight.

I got in the van with the two dogs and closed the door. I looked at my watch, it was 4:30am. Penny was in the back of the trap afraid to come forward. I went to reach for the promise collar we had placed on her 3 days before, and for the first time noticed it was gone. I got a choke chain I had brought along in case of this situation, crawled head first into the trap and slipped the collar over her neck then against her wishes pulled her out. For the next two hours we sat in the van pulling the burrs and pine sap out of her coat and petting her till the fear trembles subsided and she finally would take food from my hand and have a drink of water. With a full stomach she curled up beside me and went to sleep. At 6:30am I looked up to see a face looking in my van window, it was Mary Ann. As I opened the door and she saw Penny sitting at my side she burst into tears and hugged her. Her Penny was home.


This article was originally published in conjunction with the February, 2001, issue of Airedale Chronicles, Newsletter of The Sunshine Airedalers of Florida. Copyright 2001 by Rick Schnellmann Article reprinted with permission of the author. Reproduction in whole or in part without written permission of the author is prohibited.

8/13/2001

I'd like you to know Bru celebrated his 11th birthday on August 1st, is doing great, and still thinks he is a kid! Also, typical Airedale, he's still getting into trouble himself - the other day he was napping on my bed and I found he had dug a hole right in the middle of the spread, creating his "nest!" Yeah, he's still a kid!

And an update on Airedale Penny - she is doing GREAT! She has adjusted beautifully to her new home and is adored by her adoptive family, who have had Airedales for many years, and claim she is the smartest and sweetest Airedale they have had the privilege to share their lives with. At a recent Sunshine Airedalers of Florida club meeting, we were thrilled to watch Penny earn her CGC certificate as a well-behaved Airedale.

Sally
Palm City, FL
Sunshine Airedalers of Florida