Annie The Missing Dog Once Lived in Woods for 30 Days

Stacy Landau, owner of Annie, , never planned to adopt the dog. Rather, "She adopted us," the Needham resident said.

About a year ago, Landau was fostering Annie, a rescue dog, while looking to find her a permanent home. Annie came from a rough background in Missouri, Landau said, and twice people took her home, only to give her up again.

The last of those times, someone tied up Annie in their back yard in the Swansea and Somerset area, near Fall River. The dog managed to get loose, and she dug under the fence and took off into the woods.

She then lived alone in the woods for 30 days before she was found. During that time "I made the promise that I would keep her" if she came back, Landau said.

Annie did come back, having lost a lot of weight. Now, a year later, she's missing again.

Her pet sitter, who was supposed to stay with Annie in Needham (in a previous report we said they were from Newton), brought her to a Somerville apartment. She slipped out of her collar and "just freaked and bolted," Landau said.

The result has been an all out search for Annie, who was last seen on July 17 near the intersection of Walnut and Pearl streets.

Landau and people wanting to help have posted "lost dog" signs around the city—you may have seen them.

They've run into some complications in Cambridge, where posting signs is against a city ordinance. Landau received a call from that city's department of public works saying she could be fined $100 per sign—though it sounds like Cambridge is trying to be helpful and sensitive to her situation.

"People are trying to help," she said.

It's been a while since someone has seen Annie, which seems discouraging, but "this is now when we should start [getting] a sighting because she's hungry," Landau said. The dog, trying to survive in an urban environment, may have lost weight and might come out of hiding to find food.

She's scared and in survival mode, which means she's skittish, Landau said. People shouldn't chase her or try to get her, but if they see her they should call (617) 877-5774.

That way Landau and animal control officers will have a solid lead on where she is, and it will help them search.

"I do think she's alive," said Landau. "She's so smart, and she has survival skills." 

Living in Somerville, however, is not like living in the woods.