Rescuers return missing husky to Manlius owner

TOWN OF MANLIUS – As Bill Fedorich was completing his pre-retirement return to Manlius after living in Fairfield County, Connecticut, he had a feeling the pace of life would be as laidback as he remembered. He didn’t expect, however, to be thrown for such an immediate loop.
On Feb. 3, Fedorich was in the process of unpacking a stack of boxes when his 10-year-old canine companion Raj slipped out the door, ran off and went missing.
“It was the worst day for him to get away,” Fedorich said. “That was that real cold Friday when we had the heavy windchill factor and a lot of snow and it turned to 20 below zero the next day.”
At that point, the Siberian husky was still getting adjusted to the neighborhood and shaking the nerves from encountering the hired movers. And not only that: in between the two households he had grown restless from being cooped up in a hotel room for three weeks.
“Huskies are notorious for being high-energy, and for being escape artists as well,” Fedorich said.
In the days that followed, Raj was spotted near Fayetteville-Manlius High School and the corner of Enders Road and Route 92, but he would scurry away when approached.
“The dog’s whole plan is to be invisible,” said Matt Osinski, the president and founder of the Baldwinsville-based nonprofit Gatekeeper K9 Rescue. “If they cross a road it’s just to go back into the woods somewhere or behind houses because they’re scared.”
In the meantime Osinski, the man tasked with finding Raj, had set up trail cameras and feeding stations around the area. He also made use of humane box traps containing pressure plates that trigger a door to close without touching or hurting the animal that walks inside.
Though Raj has a thicker coat compared to other dogs, the cold weather was still a concern to those searching for him because bodies of water were frozen, food sources were limited and his paws would eventually become numb.
“The longer they go without resources, obviously the harder it is to survive, plus their body is using up energy while conserving it as much as they can,” Osinski said.
According to Fedorich, it didn’t help that Raj is what he considers a “pampered” pooch accustomed to eating roast beef cold cuts and a full jar of peanut butter a week.
It wasn’t until later in the month, on the warmest day of the year so far locally, that the next notification of a sighting would come in.
That 65-degree afternoon of Wednesday, Feb. 15 brought Cazenovia resident Mark Masiclat to a section of Limestone Creek for some fly fishing.
After he caught a couple of brown trouts, Masiclat decided to call it a day, but he wound up walking the opposite direction from where he entered the forest. As he followed a deer out of curiosity thinking that it would lead him back to the road, he found himself in the right part of the wilderness at the right time.
On a small patch of land at the base of Edwards Falls, Raj poked his head up appearing tuckered out and sore without his owner in sight.
“I’m not much of a spiritual man, but the way that all unfolded was pretty interesting,” Masiclat said. “I just think it was absolutely meant to be.”
Not wanting to corner the husky too much, the fisherman crossed the rushing water to the edge of the island but kept his distance. Since he was wearing felt-bottom wading boots, he knew it would be a challenge to carry Raj down the 100-foot sheer cliff by Pompey Center Road, so he stayed put and contacted Manlius Town Clerk Allison Weber, who forwarded him to Central New York SPCA’s dog control services.
“I didn’t want to be responsible for finding him and then try to be Mr. Hero Man and have him run off again,” Masiclat said.
With the sun coming down and the mist from the waterfall soaking them both, Masiclat waited with Raj for an hour and a half until the proper assistance was able to arrive with a sorted-out game plan.
By then, he had shared screenshots of his whereabouts with SPCA dog control officer Hannah Davis and Osinski, her frequent third-party collaborator in “more severe” situations.
The CNY SPCA’s dog control side covers 11 different towns in Onondaga County. Davis said every case involving a stray or lost dog is different, but she contends that Raj’s was “one-of-a-kind.”
Described by Masiclat as a “total sweetheart” of a dog, Raj had his guard up at first, but he warmed up to Davis and hopped in the passenger seat once she began feeding him hot dogs.
By 5 o’clock, Raj was returned home after being gone for almost two weeks.
“Later that night when I got follow-ups, the way Raj was sitting there with his tongue hanging out on his owner’s couch, it didn’t look like he was missing for more than two hours,” Masiclat said.
With this excursion behind him, Fedorich said he’s convinced that Raj’s desire to be a wild, wandering animal is now out of his system.
“He’s mellowed out ever since and he doesn’t like to stay out the way he did,” Fedorich said. “He’s much happier indoors and much more cuddly than he used to be.”
He said Raj also lost close to 10 pounds and developed a deep gash on the back of one of his hips that was operated on last week at the Manlius Veterinary Hospital.
Known to be vocal, Raj nonetheless has refused to retire the practice of stomping his front feet when he wants a treat.
Fedorich, whose first stint in Manlius lasted from 1979 to 2003, said the ordeal this month served as a perfect reintroduction to the area because of the concern and effort shown by his new neighbors.
“They didn’t know me or my dog at all, but they cared enough to go out and look for him,” he said. “It really made a big, positive difference and confirmed to me that I had made the right move.”
As for the rescuers, Fedorich said he appreciates them risking their personal safety on slippery, steep terrain.
“I can’t thank Mark, Matt and Hannah enough,” Fedorich said. “The three of them really worked a miracle that day.”
Though Gatekeeper K9 Rescue officially launched as an organization this past July, Osinski has been using drones, traps, fliers and social media to track down lost dogs for the last three years. He recommends leaving out food and monitoring it with no trap attached as the first order of business.
“If they find food once, 95% of the time they’ll be back looking for more,” he said. “It’s not a process that can be rushed, even if the forecast is 40 below, because it will fail if you do.”
He also advises dog owners to install baby gates in their kitchen or second barriers between the front door and the outside.
So far Osinski has helped to save about 150 dogs, mostly within an hour radius of Baldwinsville.