MANOR, Texas — A Manor family is grateful to have their dog back after he escaped while in the care of an Austin vet.
“He is like our little baby,” said Eunice Giron, Pimpon’s owner.
Getting Pimpon, a 5-year-old Dachshund, back into Giron’s loving arms wasn't easy because he got lost miles away from his Manor home.
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“The days were passing, and I was really getting very emotional, sad,” said Giron.
“He scared us to death because for four to five whole days nobody spotted him at all, not one person had seen him anywhere, and that's very unusual for a dog on a run,” Amber Orr.
Orr works with TRAPRS, a nonprofit that rescues lost animals. It was March 31 when Pimpon went missing. Pimpon was with his handler at Austin Vet Care at Central Park, and according to the clinic, loud construction noise nearby scared him and his handler, so he got away.
Orr knew this was an emergency case she had to take, especially because he was prepped for surgery at the time he went missing.
“First of all, he wasn't lost from home and the vet was in a very heavily populated and high trafficked area, so we were concerned about that and then he had an IV catheter in his leg, which they're not supposed to stay in there longer than 72 hours maximum,” said Orr.
She said that all added to the danger. Day and night, she and the Giron family searched for him. They put out flyers and set up traps at parks nearby.
“It had 57 people, hours in it and that includes people that brought their scent dogs to track his trail, and that includes people who stayed up all night watching traps that we set down in a neighborhood where he was previously spotted,” said Orr.
Finally, 10 days after his disappearance, Orr said a woman spotted him under a BBQ pit at her home.
“I felt like my whole hundred-pound stress be relieved,” said Giron.
“I was able to catch him with Vienna sausages by hand in what we call a hand capture where we make friends with the dog,” said Orr.
Now Pimpon is happy and reunited with his family who has no intention of losing him again. As for that vet office, Giron said she won’t be going back.
“They need to be more careful,” said Giron.
Orr said she plans to work with Austin Vet Care so this doesn’t happen to any more pets. She recommends all vets double leash dogs and cats when they’re outside and for the handler to secure the leash with their hands.
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