I so wish I had good news to tell you. Little lost dog Bert was found dead at Fort Funston Saturday morning. We are all terribly heartbroken, as I know we felt we would find him in time. I know that's how I felt.
A couple walking their dogs found Bert on the dunes above the water fountain and the top of the bunkers. He had probably been dead for at least a week. At this point, we don't know if Bert left Fort Funston and returned, or he was there all the time and despite repeated searches of that area, he was not to be found.
A small dog alone in a park area, especially over night, is in great danger from hawks, owls, coyotes to name just a few. Of course we will never know exactly what happened to Bert and that is also difficult to deal with.
Bert was not a fearful little dog and was used to being with his group of dogs off-leash at Fort Funston. How he became lost, what spooked him or why he suddenly wasn't with his group, no one knows. It happened that fast.
The search began immediately and as many of you know, continued for over two weeks until we got the terrible news Saturday morning. The effort to find Bert included flyers, a search dog, car magnets, email alerts, his own Facebook page, Twitter--any and everything we could think of to help find and bring Bert home.
I'd like to thank everyone who donated to GDR on behalf of the search for Bert and who gave us encouragement to continue searching. We were determined not to give up on him, and we didn't. To donate to Bert's fund go to: http://gratefuldogsrescue.org/DonationsToGratefulDogsRescue
We will never forget Bert. All of us involved in dog rescue will continue helping abandoned dogs find their forever homes. And that is how we will honor the memory of Bert.
Jean Kind
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