Off the Highway and Home Again: The Rescue of Finn & Virgil

We received a message about Finn and Virgil—two bonded escape artists who had slipped their fenced yard and been running loose around town for two weeks. In full flight mode, they would take one look at their people—or anyone else—and bolt in the opposite direction. Gold medal Olympians had nothing on these two.

Recording sightings is always critical; it tells the dog’s story. After mapping reports, a pattern emerged. The boys appeared to be traveling a several-mile loop, surprisingly close to home. The biggest concern? They were crossing the highway multiple times a day. I never worry much about wildlife with a missing dog—cars are enemy number one.

The sightings showed they favored returning to the city cemetery, likely drawn to the quiet and sense of refuge it offered. Surrounded by residential and commercial properties, bordering a golf course, and across from the hospital, it made a logical operations base. Having grown up in the cemetery business, spending nights in one doesn’t bother me—if anything, it feels familiar. More importantly, it was the safest place to work, away from traffic.

The City of Wamego graciously allowed us to establish feeding stations and ultimately set traps within the cemetery. So the plan began—as it always does—by mapping sightings and studying aerial views to identify probable travel routes. My initial hunch centered on a dead-end road that cut between commercial and residential property—an easy travel corridor for the boys.

We set two feeding stations: one there and another along the golf course to the west. Within 30 minutes of leaving, they found the first station. Hungry boys. That’s exactly what we want—not just to feed them, but to anchor them to a safe location where they can be humanely trapped and brought home, out of harm’s way.

Step one complete. Now the real work begins.

Trapping one dog can be tricky. Two at the same time? Some would say impossible. The biggest risk was catching one and having the other panic and disappear, completely changing its pattern. There’s no predicting how the second dog might respond.

The plan: set two traps side by side. Ideally, when one was trapped, the other would enter the second trying to reach his buddy. (I’ve used this strategy successfully with cats—placing a hesitant family member’s trap between two already secured companions.)

Traps were set at 5:00 PM. Then we wait. We operate on their schedule now.

The boys arrived around 8:25 PM.

Virgil entered first. Smooth and quick. He enjoyed a good meal and soon rested comfortably in his “crate.” Finn, however, proved a more formidable opponent. While Virgil was going in, they managed to trip the second trap without getting caught. I approached carefully, rewarded Virgil with more “chimkin,” and reset the second trap with fresh rotisserie chicken.

Finn eyed me. I eyed Finn. The dance began.

He managed to steal most of the bait and even figured out how to step in and out without triggering the trap. Then he positioned himself south of Virgil on the road, keeping watch over his buddy.

At 10:12 PM, I switched strategies. I wove chicken directly into the trip plate and created a breadcrumb trail of chimkin from Finn’s lookout spot into the trap. Rotisserie chicken really is a dog’s kryptonite.

Eleven minutes later, at 10:23 PM, Finn was secured.

Two traps. Two brothers. Together.

They were beyond happy to be reunited with their dad—home, warm, and most importantly, OFF the highway.

Welcome home, Virgil & Finn. 🐾