When Norm Feigenbaum, 93, arrived at his Los Angeles home after a quick shopping trip, his yellow lab, Sunny, didn’t come to the door as she always did.
The house felt unusually quiet. Feigenbaum called Sunny’s name and searched every room and corner of the yard for his 7-year-old rescue dog.
“She was gone,” Feigenbaum said.
His heart sank. Sunny came into Feigenbaum’s life four years earlier, after he adopted her from a local shelter.
“I live in a big house all by myself, and I just wanted to have a beating heart in this building,” said Feigenbaum, who lost his wife in 2016. “She is nothing but love and sweetness.”
Sunny’s previous owner had died, and she was withdrawn when Feigenbaum first brought her home.
“This dog suffers from separation anxiety, probably because of the loss of her first owner,” Feigenbaum said.
Feigenbaum believes Sunny scaled a six-foot wall in his backyard that afternoon on Oct. 4, trying to accompany him to the grocery store. Sunny has a doggy door that allows her to go into the backyard on her own.
“She is always following me around,” he said, noting that Sunny had never tried to escape the home before. “She’s my best pal. She’s an amazing doggy.”
In a panic, Feigenbaum contacted Dog Days Search and Rescue to help him track down his dog.
“He was very distraught and did not know what to do,” said Jennifer Justice, a volunteer with the nonprofit that helps reunite lost animals with their owners.
Volunteers met with Feigenbaum, and they started putting up posters. Feigenbaum drove around on his scooter and handed out fliers to passersby.
The day Sunny went missing, someone spotted her on the same route Feigenbaum took to the grocery store. Although volunteers scoured the area for days, they couldn’t find her. A week went by with no sign of Sunny.
“It was distressing to everybody,” Justice said, adding that they contacted local media to get the word out.
Then came a breakthrough. A homeowner whose house overlooks a large nature preserve about half a mile north of Feigenbaum’s house saw a yellow lab wandering there. The homeowner had seen one of the posters and called Dog Days Search and Rescue.
“That was what we needed,” Justice said.
Rescuers were puzzled as to how Sunny got into the Chatsworth Nature Preserve.
“It’s all gated,” Justice said. “However, the coyotes have made several holes along the fence line. Crews go in there and do some work, and I think that’s how she actually got in.”
While rescuers were relieved to know Sunny was probably somewhere in the 1,325-acre open-space preserve, they were worried for her safety.
“It doesn’t have any water in it,” Justice said. “At that point, it had not rained here for months. It was very concerning as to how she was surviving.”
Rescuers also had a hard time accessing the private property. After the homeowner reported that Sunny was inside the preserve, workers briefly allowed them in – but they could not find her.
The rescue team set up cameras and traps along the fence line in hopes that Sunny might sneak out through one of the coyote holes. They baited the traps with food and Feigenbaum’s unwashed socks to lure Sunny in with a familiar scent. Overnight, they spotted Sunny on the cameras sniffing the socks – but she didn’t exit the preserve.
“She wanted to get back to him; she just didn’t know how,” Justice said.
In the days that followed, rescuers camped out in their cars, often for 12 hours a day, Justice said, and Feigenbaum sat outside the fence, calling out to Sunny.
“We got zero sleep,” Justice said, adding that she and the other rescuers all live at least 30 minutes from the preserve.
Rescuers wanted to set up traps inside the preserve, but they struggled to get access.
“It was very frustrating,” Justice said. “Everyone we called kept saying, ‘I’m not the right person.'”
Between the coyotes and lack of food and water, “there is no doubt that she was on borrowed time,” Justice said.
Finally, Justice and other volunteers got through to someone who provided them with access to the preserve, and they were able to go in and set up traps – 12 days after Sunny went missing.
They filled the traps with food they knew Sunny couldn’t resist: homemade meatballs, kielbasa and rotisserie chicken.
“Within a few hours, we got her,” Justice said. “She was scared. She didn’t know who we were, and there was a lot of fussing going on.”
Sunny quickly started falling asleep, and Justice said she also looked skinny.
“They don’t go to sleep when they’re out; they’re on alert all the time. They have to be for their survival,” Justice said. “She knew she was safe.”
Rescuers called Feigenbaum to tell him the news, and they drove straight to his house with Sunny.
“I was so excited and relieved,” Feigenbaum said. “My baby was coming back to me.”
As soon as Sunny saw Feigenbaum, her tail began wagging at full tilt, Justice said.
“She had a huge smile on her face,” she said. “It was very obvious that he was her person, and he was so incredibly happy to get his dog back.”
Feigenbaum said he was overwhelmed with joy.
“She’s amazing,” he said.
Feigenbaum said he’s blown away by the rescue team’s effort and the community support.
“I was absolutely staggered and still am,” he said. “The response has been incredible, and I’m very grateful.”
Justice took Sunny to the vet, where she was treated for a few cuts and a small wound. She also got a bath.
“She is back to her old self,” Feigenbaum said. “She won’t leave my side.”
To prevent another escape, the rescuers installed a temporary gate to ensure Sunny can’t hop over the wall again. They are asking for volunteers to assist with a more permanent solution and to help clean up Feigenbaum’s overgrown yard.
Feigenbaum said he’s elated to have his best friend back.
“Without her, there’s nothing,” he said.
