Could Scout be coming home soon?
The female Boykin spaniel went missing at dawn on Dec. 7 when its owner, Braden Boykin (yes, the same name as the dog breed), and friends went out duck hunting in Mathews Brake near Sidon.
Now, according to Christa Boyd, Braden’s mother and Scout’s co-owner, a trail cam set up by trackers caught a picture of Scout just after midnight, wait for it — on Christmas morning.
A Christmas miracle? Well, the 2-year-old dog hadn’t shown up yet as the family waited out Christmas near a humane trap, filled with food and clothing carrying the scents of both owners. Boyd even arranged for a visit to the area by a few of Scout’s littermates to make it more Scout-friendly.
Tuesday afternoon, Boyd posted to the “helping scout get home” Facebook page: “Today it is more than faith and hope that Scout is alive. It is FACT.”
Boyd asked for prayers from people concerned about the dog and requested that everyone to stay away from the area to keep the dog from spooking again. She said there have been several carloads of people driving around the Mathews Brake area looking for the dog, especially after reading about the $5,000 reward for Scout’s return.
Boyd also announced Tuesday that the reward — offered from a friend of the family who, she said, is asking for anonymity — will go to Dave and Amber Burrus of Terry, who brought their German shepherd, Bruno, to the area to help in the search.
Bruno is a trained pet-finding dog, Dave Burrus said, and the center of a company the couple is forming, Mississippi Lost Dog Recovery. He said he wasn’t expecting the reward when Boyd announced it.
“We didn’t know we were getting anything until she said it,” Burrus said. “We were just doing to this to bring Scout home.”
Burrus contacted Boyd earlier this month after someone shared a Facebook post with his wife. Boyd then hired Burrus and Bruno back on Dec. 10, but they couldn’t work in the muddy area after frequent rains. They came back Sunday for another chance, and Bruno hit on a trail. Burrus set up the trail cam Monday night and got the image they had been hoping for.
“We have not paid the reward yet, but we’re giving the reward to Bruno and his people,” Boyd said. “We feel like we wouldn’t have found her if they hadn’t tracked her.”
Boyd said the reward has unfortunately brought out some people who had more in mind than the dog’s safe return. After posting on Facebook in the afternoon, she said, they had received calls from four different parties, all of whom claimed they had the dog, “which they do not.”
Boyd was skittish to give any indication of her location as she, Boykin and Burrus waited for Scout to trigger the trap.
“We’re as close as we’ve been,” Boyd said.
• Contact Gavin Maliska at 581-7235 or gmaliska@gwcommonwealth.com.
