“She’s nothing but skin and bones.”

Residents of Mailley-et-Chazelot in Haute-Saône regularly saw this dog wandering alone, increasingly emaciated. Captured by the Capture Yala association on December 31, the young hunting dog, now named Dorota, was entrusted to the Vesoul SPA where she is awaiting a new family.

A beautiful story of patience and solidarity. In Mailley-et-Chazelot, in Haute-Saône, a young dog just 4 years old was saved from the street by the Capture Yala association, following a report from two individuals.

“Raphaëlle and Franck called us about a dog they had seen wandering near their home for at least two years“, says Laurence Simon, president of the association. “Franck is a hunter and he saw her walking alone through several local villages..” Initially, the Franc-Comtois thought that the young dog liked to walk alone, before returning to her home. But by coming across her without an owner, Franck ended up worrying.

After some time, the couple started feeding the animal when it ventured near their home. A ritual that has become almost daily, but the inhabitants have never managed to approach it, let alone capture it. Not to take her to the pound, but so that she can be cared for and properly housed in a shelter. Because it was clear that the young dog was indeed left to her own devices, in bad shape, wandering aimlessly in the surrounding area.

In two years, no one has managed to catch him. He is a timid dog who is wary of humans. She is not aggressive but does not let herself be approached.

Laurence Simon, president of Capture Yala

This is why Franck and Raphaëlle got in touch with Capture Yala, an association in Haute-Saône born in 2022 which seeks to help runaway or abandoned dogs.

To carry out the capture, the volunteers used a high-tech trap cage, capable of closing remotely. “A food bait is placed at the bottom of the cage and when the dog enters, a sensor detects its presence, which closes the grid.” An operation that offers a success rate of 100 % during interventions.

In just a few hours, the young dog was captured. Once inside, she was particularly docile and cooperative, even allowing her rescuers to caress her and take her for a walk, while the Vesoul SPA could welcome her. “It's a love“, attests Laurence. “In the street the dogs go into survival mode, they are stressed by abandonment and become withdrawn. She just needs to get used to human contact again.“

Capture Yala volunteers suspect abandonment. The young dog was certainly used for hunting and must not have succeeded in catching enough prey. But these are just guesses.

When they collected her, the poor animal “was nothing but skin and bones“. Very weakened, the young dog was taken in by the SPA where she received care… And even a new first name: Dorota. A new start for this dog, who is now just waiting for a new family.