Still searching for Geno

Barbara Lawlor

Nederland

Katie is not giving up. She is still optimistic that Geno is out there somewhere, managing to survive, but still in flight mode. Although it has been over a month since he was last seen, and although there have been dozens of sightings, none of them have been validated. However, Katie Albright says that dogs or cats who have disappeared have often been found months, even years, later, depending on the circumstances of the disappearance.

Geno was last seen at his Sherwood home on Saturday, July 9, 2016. His owne,r firefighter Charlie Schmidtmann, was one of the first responders to the Cold Springs Fire which started at the intersection of Cold Springs and the Peak to Peak Highway. He knew the fire was torching toward his house, but he continued to work the fire line.

After the flames blew through the Ridge Road area, eight homes had been destroyed, including Charlie's. His horse and donkey had been rescued and his lab had been found, but Geno, his St. Bernard, who is a rescue dog, was gone.

Once the flames and hot spots had been mopped up, neighbors and friends began searching for the dog, sifting through the debris and ash, looking for dog tags with a metal detector. There was no sign of remains.

Katie says she is sure Geno escaped the fire and she began the huge search effort that included almost 100 signs posted along major roads and intersections into subdivisions in the entire mountain region and even across the state. She created 17 different Facebook groups, including the Geno site.

This is what Katie does. She has trained all summer with the Missing Animal Response program and now armed with logistic tools and resources, she has launched a comprehensive campaign to bring Geno home to Charlie and Bretlynn.

"I have been training with MAR all summer, learning how to help people find their lost dogs and cats. When Luna the Corgi went missing last spring, I realized that a fast, saturated start was necessary. I felt like there was so much to do but I didn't have the training. I wish had started in March, but I didn't start until May."

Katie considers herself to be a missing animal response technician. When the Cold Springs Fire evacuation center began to empty, she wondered what was being done to find Geno, and she thought that through her recent training and experience she could help in the search. She had learned that the most important thing is to flood the area with signs, so that everyone is aware and on the lookout for the missing pet. It is hard to miss a large, hairy St. Bernard, especially when his face is on every mountain road and intersection.

A team of volunteers began making the signs using neon green as the attention getter and pictures and the 5+5+55 motto, "Use five words that can be read in five seconds, traveling at 55 mph."

"These signs are not random, they are a part of the initial protocol of the search. The idea is to start locally and expand the radius, which we have done. The signs are now in Winter Park, Georgetown and Lyons. Although we have had 20 or more sightings, we have no verifiable leads."

The search is massive and has been aired on social media as well as television news stations and larger front range newspapers. Supporters have responded from as far away as New York. Geno has become nationally known.

There are many stories of missing dogs being found in unusual circumstances. A few years ago, a stray dog decided to live in a field in Old Town. The residents became concerned when winter moved in but no one could get near the dog who would bolt at any sign of someone trying to touch her. For months, the residents put food and water out for the dog and knew she had found an old shed to curl up in.

Old Town resident Annette Croughwell managed to gain the dogs trust, to get close to her, to pet her and then, finally, to read the tags on the dog's collar. When Annette called the number on the tags, at first the owner didn't believe it could be true. He drove up to Nederland and the reunion between dog and owner was a whole box of Kleenex moment.

When dogs run off because they are scared, traumatized, maybe injured, they switch to survival mode. The friendliest dog or cat could flee from any human contact.

Katie emphasizes that if people see Geno, they should not call, chase or follow, even though it would be one's first instinct. Animals in flight won't come when called. One should not look the dog in the eyes but get low, pretend to be eating something yummy, smack your licks, yawn, try to take a picture and call Katie.

"We are searching every day, doing something. One sighting on Fourmile turned out to be a workman's dog."

Sometimes if people see a dirty, skinny dog, they will think it is a stray or abandoned dog and pick him up, either keeping him or dropping him off where he could get help. Katie and her team of volunteers have called every animal shelter, veterinarian clinic and boarding facility from Cheyenne to Denver to Grand County.

"It is entirely possible that a tourist could have picked him up. He might not even be in the area," says Katie." Geno does have a microchip and could be identified if brought to a vet."

Recently Katie has helped find two cats that were missing in two separate incidents, using a trap. Elvira, a sleek, grey cat was seen in Old Town by several people and Katie set up the trap under a trailer and baited it with tuna. For a while, nothing happened and then when Katie went to check the trap, she saw the little face looking at her from within the cage, and started crying. She texted the owners and they were all reunited within the hour.

She helped another couple who had a missing cat set up a trap near her house and finally, early in the morning, the cat came out of the woods lured by the smell of food. Another happy reunion.'

That's why I do this, says Katie, who offers free consultations to anyone missing their pets.

Katie grew up in Seattle, always an animal lover whose favorite movie was "Homeward Bound," a story of animals on a long journey back to their family. One of her favorite books was "Misty of Chincoteague" a story about wild ponies living on an island. When Katie heard that someone had shot and killed the pony of a 13-year-old girl, she contacted the Chincoteague people who sent the girl a free pony from their next roundup.

"If I knew last spring what I know now, we would have had a good chance of getting Luna back to her owner."

Katie came to Colorado attending Western State College. She began telemark skiing in 1984 which led her to a race at Eldora which led her to move to Nederland in 1993. She worked as dispatch for the Eldora Ski Patrol and was loving being here when her dad got sick and she moved back to Seattle to care for him.

When she returned to Nederland 13 years later with her daughter Emily, she started a Private Investigator business, traveling all over the Front Range, dealing with mortgage fraud and serving papers. She found it all depressing so in 2007, she founded Cherry's Pet Sitting in Nederland.

" Cherry was my little medical research beagle that passed last year. She taught my daughter and I a lot about so many things and I wanted to remember her every day."

It seemed natural to combine her pet care business with her investigative skills to help find missing animals.

"I am still optimistic that we can get Geno back to the Schmidtmanns. I want them to know they have support from people all over the county, and we are not giving up."

Katie says she could not have launched the search campaign without help from Nederland Feed and Pet and The Business Connection for suppling the signs. She wants to keep expanding the signs into more areas but will need to have more donations for materials. Especially the tape. "We used so much tape, she says, and we learned that all duct tape is not equal. But there are no holds barred on this search and we will keep getting Geno's picture out there."

If you have any information about Geno, or want to make a donation towards search supplies, contact Katie at 303-956-9320 or cherryspetcare@gmail.com.