Eugene couple hire planes to search for missing show dogs
ETHEL, Wash. -- Luna and Io are on the run, and their owners are taking extraordinary measures to bring the champion show dogs home.
Owners Cynthia Guinn and Bill Martin of Eugene, Ore., have hired two spotter planes to fly the open spaces of Lewis County around Ethel, where the two Pharaoh Hounds disappeared Sunday morning.
"It's been pretty intense," Bill Martin said.
Martin and Guinn live in Eugene but were staying with friends in Ethel while they attended a Lure Coursing event being held over the weekend at the Argus Ranch in Auburn.
"I got up in the morning and let them out in the yard to run around before we were going to take off to go to this dog event," Martin said. "I wasn't paying attention and after I had done a couple of things, I looked up and the gate was open."
Two of his four dogs had run off.
Kim Grega, the search coordinator for Pharaoh Hounds Club of America, says the dogs were spotted later Sunday morning near Spiffy's Restaurant in Napavine near the US-12 exit on I-5.
Pharaoh Hounds are prized for their intelligence and their hunting skills. Guinn says Luna, 6, and her daughter Io, 2, are in great shape, and could cover up to 20 miles a day. She thinks they may be stalking small game around Lewis or Thurston Counties, so she and her husband Bill hired two pilots to cover as much ground as possible. They spent Monday morning searching 10- and 20-mile circles around the area, but came up empty.
In addition, searchers have coated the areas with flyers and have been getting in touch with nearby schools and businesses to be on the lookout.
Martin says many involved in the search are volunteering, but "whatever expenses are involved, I am paying for them... They're pets; they are members of our family, so I am doing everything I would do even if it were a lost child."
And Martin wanted to express his gratitude to all those looking for his prized dogs.
"The people in the area... I'm amazed at how friendly and helpful people are," Martin said. "It's a testament to the folks around here."
If you see the dogs, please contact Bill at (541) 914-8400.