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KATIE HOULA 's story comes to us from the pages of the web site CREATURES SAFE PLACE, An organization devoted to rescuiing wildlife and returning it to the wild when possible
THE STORY OF KATIE HULA By Susan List-Purkey
From information gathered in snippets, provided by many accounts, I have pieced together a plausible background story of “Katie Hula,” the Catahoula Leopard Dog.
“Katie” is approximately two years old. She made her home in and around Allapattah Flats K-8 School at 12051 NW Copper Creek Drive, Port St. Lucie, FL.
I’m told that the construction crews that built the school began feeding her as a puppy sometime in 2007. Once the school opened, the students, parents, teachers, school employees, bus drivers, local residents, and outside vendors continued feeding her. People were even coming on the weekends and holidays to give her food.
Port St. Lucie Animal Control received several calls for a dog at large at the school but were unable to get near enough to catch her. I received my first call for her on October 3, 2008. Everyone I spoke with told me that I would not be able to go near her as she ran away at the slightest hint of approach. Keep in mind that, although homes were planned in that area, none were constructed. There were only streets, empty, overgrown lots, open fields, drainage ditches, barbed wire fences, and abandoned orange groves for her to run into and hide.
What began as another dog at large call quickly became a personal journey for me. Early on, I knew that rescuing this dog would require much of my off-duty time. Even though I spent many of my lunch times and break times out at the school, much more of my personal time was spent in this effort. My husband, John, and my friends became integral parts of this rescue.
I began my efforts by calling her simply “Catahoula” but decided, as we forged a bond, to name her something that sounded similar as she was becoming used to the cadence and tone in my voice. “Katie Hula” was so named.
We tried setting a large humane trap several times but she was not cooperating. I even went as far as buying a fully cooked roasted chicken and baiting the trap with it. She got the chicken without springing the trap.
After observing her on regular occasions, I decided to ramp up my efforts to rescue this feral dog. She showed no signs of aggression and seemed to want to be social; I believe she just didn’t know how.
I made signs and posted them at the school’s entrances, and made flyers to hand out, encouraging everyone to stop feeding and paying attention to the dog so she would rely solely on me for food and human contact. I attended to my task seven days a week. Seven weeks, a plethora of dog treats, and five cases of dog food later, I was finally able to coax the animal to eat out of my hand. She still did not accept human contact but I could touch her chin as she was eating out of my hand. She would gently take the food then back off as I made attempts to touch her.
From the very beginning of this journey, I discussed the situation, and gave daily updates to my friend and mentor, Wyn Burns, director of Creature Safe Place Wildlife Rehabilitation Sanctuary. Over a short period of time Wyn and her husband, Bob, began to care for “Katie” as well. They agreed to give sanctuary to this beautiful creature when we caught her. I believed that she could be socialized and domesticated but was considered feral and I believed that the best place she could be would be with Wyn and Bob. She had stolen all of our hearts.
Wyn and Bob came out on many occasions to observe, interact, and feed the dog, so as to create a bond with her.
People could not get near “Katie Hula” so they were throwing food to her from their vehicle’s windows. She associated food with vehicles and began to venture onto Glades Cut Off Road, a busy two-land highway, regularly traveled by large commercial trucks and vehicles going at high rates of speed. Several times when I arrived to feed her I chased her off the busy highway where she sat waiting for people to throw food. I believed this danger to be eminent; her rescue was a priority.
Creature Safe Place, located in Ft. Pierce, has been taking in, treating, and, when possible, releasing abandoned, orphaned, sick, and injured wildlife for over sixteen years. They also accommodate exotic rescues. Wyn has made many contacts over the years in many agencies and rescue organizations. She decided to call Deputy Pat Ivey of the Saint Lucie County Sheriff’s Office, Criminal Investigations Division, Agriculture Unit, for some advice.
She told Pat of the situation with “Katie.” Deputy Ivey agreed to dart the dog so she could be captured.
On my day off, on December 3, 2008, Wyn called me to tell me the plan was in motion. She said Pat had agreed to meet with me at the school. I was very excited thinking that this might be the day that “Katie Hula” goes to a new home where she will never have to experience fear or hunger or loneliness ever again. All of Wyn’s pack (five beautiful dogs from small to extra large) had come to her with ‘baggage’ of some sort. She has a female breeder rescued from a puppy mill, a dog that’s deaf, a feral dog, an abused dog, and one that’s going blind. We figured “Katie” would fit right in.
I met Deputy Pat Ivey and his partner, Master Deputy Rick Stuhr, at the school at approximately 10:30 a.m. “Katie” was there but was uneasy at the presence of the two men and their vehicles. Because the dart gun must be loaded just before its use, Pat was unable to load the weapon before “Katie” bolted under a barbed wire fence and off through the overgrown orange grove. We agreed to meet back at the school at 2:30 p.m. as that was my usual time to feed her.
At 2:30 I drove by the school and spotted her. We decided to meet at a staging area down the road. Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission Officer Kyle Patterson was also on-scene. Pat got into the back seat of my personal vehicle. Rick (a.k.a. “Termite”) drove the Sheriff’s Office vehicle, staying back a few hundred feet. We agreed that I would lure her to the food bowl in a spot where Pat could get a clear shot at her thigh muscle for optimum effect. We kept a good thought about which way the dog would run once darted. Pat got a good clean shot and the chase was on. Luckily, “Katie” ran to the front of the school instead of to the orange grove. Rick and Kyle followed her in the FWC vehicle.
In the meantime, Pat was stuck in my back seat. Unbeknownst to me, I had the child locks on the back doors of my car. Pat kept yelling, “Don’t chase the dog, keep an eye on her, and get me the heck out of this car!” I was so excited that the dart took that, as hard as I tried, I could not get to the door lock button fast enough, then pushed it the wrong way, but finally was able to unlock the door. I have to say it was the funniest thing I’d experienced in a long time. I thought Pat was going to come out the window. Adrenaline was pumping and I couldn’t help but laugh out loud. (Sorry, Pat.)
Pat finally got out of my back seat and contacted Rick. Pat secured his weapon, jumped in his truck, and went to the dog’s location. He told me to stay put and they would bring her to me.
What seemed like an hour, but was only about ten minutes, Pat called me to come to their location. Kyle had “Katie” on a catchpole. They said she had put up a good fight against the sedative. She had traveled quite a distance. I laid down next to her in the street, put my hand on her head, and she took a long relaxing breath. The officers weren’t quite comfortable with putting her in my car unrestrained so we called Wyn to bring a crate to the scene. We crated her and took her to Creature Safe Place where an enclosed pen was waiting for her. I stayed with her for several hours until she came out of the sedative. I spent the next two days with her in her pen. I spent some time with her on my days off just talking and petting her and eventually taking her on walks.
Three weeks after the rescue, we brought “Katie Hula” upstairs to her new home on Christmas Day. What a great gift. She spends every night in the house with her new pack and Wyn and Bob have made great strides with her. She is still leery and we know it will take a long time for her to trust humans. She has learned how to play and her new best friends are “BB” and “Corky,” a Mexican Hairless and a domesticated feral wolf hybrid.
I took her to the Saint Lucie County Human Society on February 4th where she was spayed, vaccinated, and microchipped. She tested negative for heartworm!
She has learned some new commands and is walking on a leash with no problems. She free-feeds with the rest of the pack and is never without food, water, shelter, and lots of love.
Many people were instrumental in her survival and rescue. Although she is a warrior, a survivor, and very, very smart, she could not have gotten to this point without those who helped her along the way. Thank you to all who fed her, prayed for her, and called animal control in her behalf. Without you all this rescue would not have happened.
A special thank you to those parents who, while waiting to pick up your child(ren), told me that I wasn’t supposed to feed the dog per Port St. Lucie Animal Control. Bless your diligent hearts!
I would like to thank my teammates at Port St. Lucie Animal Control, Assistant Principal Mike McLeod, Allapattah Flats K-8 School, Wyn and Bob Burns, and the Wild Bunch at Creature Safe Place, Deputy Pat Ivey and Master Deputy Rick Stuhr, St. Lucie County Sheriff’s Office, Officer Kyle Patterson, FWC, Dave Robertson and the staff at St. Lucie County Humane Society, Gilian Robertson, volunteer and animal whisperer, and the many others who were, and are, involved in the rehabilitation of “Katie Hula.”
I wish I could have taken her home with me but she is where she is meant to be. She is home. She has her own pack and lots of people who love and care for her. I see her very often and am grateful that I was chosen for this karmic assignment.
TO SEE KATIES PICTURE CLICK HERE