Just photos

Nancy H and Gigi together. Salsa, the scent dog, who tracked Gigi around AU Park, Tenleytown, Frienship Heights and Spring Valley meet tonight in our home. Sam took the photos.

The "I couldn't make this stuff up" ending

NOTE: Since this is a blog, chapters will appear in reverse order. This is part 7. One photo is of a ball (read the story), another is of Gigi in Dr. Monsein's basement, minutes after her rescue, and third is of Gigi, Lucy, Nancy and Jim Hunn, happily together and at home.

Before we conclude the tale of Gigi's rescue, a quick update. Not along ago I met Sam, the pet tracker, at the grounds of the Swedish residence. We packed up the humane trap. The trap was not what returned Gigi to us. Sam and Salsa then came by and met Gigi. As Salsa approached the door to our house, she definitely noticed Gigi's scent. Since Sam and Gigi are both quiet and shy, they got along great. I'll share photos of their meeting in another blog update.

Now back to what a number of folks have been waiting for. Jim was speaking on Thursday evening with Nancy T, Gigi's foster mom from Charlottesville, and she reminded me of how much Gigi loved playing with a kickball. In fact, Jim had brought one home for Gigi the night she escaped. Nancy T suggested I take one to the area around the humane trap, which was close to Dr. Monsein's home. Jim was dubious, but thought what the hey. So early on Friday, Jim brought fresh fried chicken for the trap, and he dropped off the kickball.

Later that day, Lee Monsein and Sam Connelly spoke via phone, the first time they had "met." Lee told Sam that he had observed Gigi playing by herself with the kickball. Gigi played with the ball as if she were in a soccer match of one. She would push it forward with her head or bat it with her paws, chasing after it. Imagine Gigi, alone in the vast lawn of the ambassador's residence, playing with the kickball. Sam suggested to Lee that he place it in his dog run, which, if you have read the previous chapters in this saga, was rigged with a motion sensor detector aimed at the gate, with ropes running through the doctor's windows. The detector sounded an alarm in Lee's house if anything approached. So Lee placed the ball inside, along with food, and waited. Since he had placed a second motion detector aimed at the humane trap, and since Gigi was very active, approaching both the trap and dog run numerous times, Lee got little sleep as the alarm in his house repeatedly woke him up.

Finally, at 3:30 AM, Gigi, entered the dog run. None of the foods that the many Gigi fans suggested (KFC, Popeye's, lamb tripe, roast beef) did the trick. It was a rubber ball and the promise of play! When Super G entered the dog run, Lee slammed the door shut at which time Gigi went ballistic. She started to leap the height of the six-foot fence. Lee was afraid she might bounce over the fence and once again take flight. Quickly entering the run and picking Gigi up, Lee took Gigi into his downstairs den and called us at 3:47 AM. Ten minutes later, we walked into the basement room where Gigi, cool as a cucumber, was being petted by Lee.

What makes this so extraordinary is that Jim works for the national profit which advocates for the importance of play in our children's lives--KaBOOM!. In fact, it was a KaBOOM! kickball (our colors are purple and orange) that lured her in. KaBOOM! is launching a campaign to Save Play in the spring, building on our 14-year history of creating 1,700 playgrounds (each done in a day with all volunteer labor) for children throughout North America. We have drawn the support of our last three first ladies--Hillary Clinton, Laura Bush, and Michele Obama. We know that play makes children healthier, physically and emotionally. And in Gigi's case, play literally helped to save her life.

This entry is being written by Jim. I hesitate as I write, because the parallels between my personal and professional lives seem contrived. I am passionate about the importance of play and about dogs. For the two to unite in the rescue of Gigi seems unbelievable. Anyone who has watched the joy of creatures at play (in additional to humans and dogs, I've observed it first-hand with chimpanzees, cats, dolphins, mountain goats and many other species) knows that we are all hard-wired to cavort, run, bump into each other, leap, swirl and laugh or bark or chirp or squeal with delight. I believe play is an essential part of a full, happy and healthy life. It's how kids learn to engage with the physical world. And it is disappearing from our kids lives. Click on KaBOOM! if you want to read more. In the meantime, know that at this very moment, Gigi is teaching our other dog Lucy the joys of kickball. And my wife Nancy and I couldn't possibly be happier.

Final chapter will come tonight

Sorry for delay, but we spent the evening playing with Gigi. She and our Sheltie Lucy, who is around the same age, are now acting like Shelties--play herding each other in our backyard (securely fenced) and house. When Nancy and I came home last night Gigi actually ran to us and jumped up to get petted. We are still vigilant, but Gigi (her newest nickname is Super Gee) is showing signs of getting more comfortable. We know this can take more than a year with a rescue dog.