9/15/02 (Sun) - No new sightings.  We've been worried about the latest sighting report that Rumble was "very thin," although we know we shouldn't be surprised.  During our drives in the area we haven't seen much road-kill, so we've been wondering what Rumble could eat. The experts have given us some encouragement by telling us that lost dogs often raid vegetable gardens.  (If you find Rumble raiding your garden, we'll gladly pay you for anything he takes!)  Dogs also like apples, and Nelson County has lots of apple orchards.  We take some encouragement from this.  Rumble's brother and littermate "Ranger" (who lives in northern Virginia) likes vegetables and apples, so we're sure that if Rumble's hungry, he'll gladly eat these things too.  Ranger has been wearing a green ribbon tied to the back of his collar for his brother Rumble.  (See photo of Ranger in Rumble's Scrapbook.)

9/16/02 (Mon) - No new sightings.  On Saturday, the Richmond Times Dispatch published an update on Rumble's progress. Yesterday, the Charlottesville Daily Progress also published an update. We so appreciate both articles as they have reminded people that Rumble may be at a critical point in his journey. We know that many people saw the articles because we received several calls letting us know that people are pulling for Rumble and are on the lookout for him. On Sunday, we took Bita, Rumble's mom, for a car ride. We took her to the areas through which we think Rumble will most likely travel. We walked her around the areas and showed her to people so they will have some idea of Rumble's size, markings and coat coloration. (See photo of Bita in Rumble's Scrapbook.)
 

9/17/02 (Tue) - As a result of the weekend newspaper articles updating Rumble’s progress, we received several reports of possible Rumble sightings. Many folks have asked how we decide to which ones we’ll respond. The answer is that we try to respond to all of them! We don’t want to overlook a single possibility. Since Sunday, we’ve been checking out several reports, two of which appear to be quite promising. One was in the general location of the sightings reported on 9/07/02, and the other was several miles north of there. Since it's not possible for both to be Rumble, we'll wait for another sighting before we update the maps. We took Bita with us again yesterday when we went to check out the sightings. On the way home, we stopped at the Colleen Drive-in for soft-serve ice cream. Two women saw Bita and very nicely asked if she was "the lost dog." We explained that she was Rumble’s mom. They asked to pet her so we took Bita out of our car. The nice ladies fed Bita their soft-serve from a spoon! (See Bita's photos in Rumble's Scrapbook.)
 

9/19/02 (Thu) - No new sightings. Yesterday we showed photos of Black Dog (see Rumble's Scrapbook) to the person who believed he saw Rumble on 9/04/02 (see sighting report of 9/07/02) on Rt 657 (see maps). After studying the photos, the man said that the dog he saw was Black Dog, not our Rumble. We understand how difficult it can be to identify a dog. After all, we had to get close enough to Black Dog to be able to take photos before we could say the dog wasn’t Rumble. We have requested that the folks who believed they saw Rumble in Gladstone also take a look at the photos. We are still checking out one other Nelson County sighting from the weekend, but we’re preparing ourselves for the possibility that the last confirmed sighting may be the one east of the James River in the Yogaville area (see sighting report of 8/20/02). If this turns out to be the case, then, in all likelihood, Rumble is still east of the James River in Buckingham County, probably subsisting in the James River Wildlife Management Area. Several people who live in that vicinity have so kindly emailed and telephoned to assure us that folks there are aware of Rumble’s plight and are on the lookout for him. The maps will be adjusted to reflect whatever we learn. Knowing that so many folks care about our boy comforts and encourages us. The strength of our prayers for and faith in Rumble are matched only by Rumble's own spirit and courage to make it home.
 

9/20/02 (Fri) – No new sightings. Although we've had no new sightings, we constantly keep in our minds that the August 16th sighting (reported 8/20/02) was accurate and that the glimpse gotten of Rumble showed him to be strong. Many wonderful people are helping raise public awareness that Rumble is somewhere in Central Virginia. We had an opportunity yesterday to meet a young lady whom we believe to be the youngest member of the “Rumble Helpers” team. Kali, five years old, stopped by with her mom to pick up flyers to distribute and post. We couldn’t let the moment pass without getting a picture or two of her with Raider, Rumble’s dad (photos below and in Rumble's Scrapbook). We want to thank Kali for her efforts in finding our boy!
 

9/21/02 (Sat) – No new sightings.  We would like to share with you some good news!  Remember the German Shepherd in the animal control facility near Atlanta that a friend of Rumble's notified us about because she thought he just might possibly be Rumble (see report of 9/10/02).  He was rescued!  Pleaserescueme.com wrote to us and said, "I received all kinds of emails from people all over the country wanting to help with "Justice" as he is now called.  "Justice" is safe in a foster home outside Atlanta and his foster mom says he's a wonderful boy.  He will be transported to the rescue organization as soon as they arrange transport for him.  Thank you so much for caring."  We wanted to share this good news, because you deserve thanks too!  Justice was rescued by the good folks at West Virginia GSD Rescue Co-op who now hope to find Justice his forever home.  We've created a special page just for Justice.  If together we could help Justice find a family to love him, that would be wonderful!  (See photo of Justice on Justice's page)
 

9/22/02 (Sun) – No new sightings.  We've all been reflecting on how Rumble has managed to evade being caught, or even sighted more than briefly between western Chesterfield County and Buckingham County. We realized that, in fact, he comes by the ability naturally. Rumble's grandmother, Gypsy, often has been called the Houdini of the K9 world. Gypsy has quite a reputation for not staying anywhere she doesn't want to be. She also has a reputation as a great adventurer. Stories abound about Gypsy and her escapades. Vets particularly are curious about how so many of Gypsy's teeth have gotten broken. We know it's from Gypsy dismantling chain link fencing! A photo of Gypsy may be found in Rumble's Scrapbook.  
 

9/23/02 (Mon) – No new sightings.  After we determined that the dog on Rt 657 was Black Dog and not Rumble (see 9/19/02 update above), we thought we should show Black Dog's photo to the folks in Gladstone who thought they saw Rumble (see 9/02/02 report). They now have looked at Black Dog's photo and said that the dog they saw was not Black Dog. Based on the descriptive information these nice people have provided and the direction in which Rumble was headed when last seen (see report of 8/20/02), we believe that the dog they saw was Rumble. They saw the dog around August 19. Rumble's human aunt, who owns Noah, Rumble's brother, has notified folks in that area that Rumble may be there or may have passed through there. Noah's photo may be seen in the collage of Rumble's immediate K9 family and in Rumble's Scrapbook.
 

9/24/02 (Tue) – No new sightings.  Yesterday, we visited with the Gladstone folks (see 9/23/02 update above) who saw the dog that looked like Rumble. We took Bita and additional photos of Rumble. After looking at Bita and the photos, they were even firmer in their belief that the dog they saw was our boy. When the dog they saw left, it was traveling north. If the dog was Rumble and he continued north, he would have crossed Rt 60 onto the road that leads to Norwood where the Tye River empties into the James River (see maps). On our way home, we explored some of the back roads off of Rt 56 near home. We became so lost it took us over an hour to finally find the road home. The roads wind around and through the mountains and are intersected by many smaller roads that aren't on our maps. We couldn't help but think that if Rumble travels along any of these roads, it will take him much longer to reach home. Leaving the roadside to travel cross-country may take even more time because of the mountainous terrain.
 

"Hello, First let me say that I don't have any information about Rumble. I don't want you to get your hopes up. I do want to let you know that 400+ elementary students in Richmond are pulling for Rumble. After reading the Times Dispatch piece on 9/14, I photocopied the story and distributed it to all of the teachers in my school. The principal and I thought that it would be a great "springboard" for journal writing as well as for a host of other learning tools (map skills, projections, measurement, etc.). Your website is amazing and the local interest of the events means something to our students. Personally, I am an animal lover and your update is the first thing that I check each morning. I know that it is hard not to lose hope, but hang in there! It is clear that Rumble has a wonderful home to return to, and I'm sure that this is what will keep him motivated to find you too. I bet you never thought that Rumble would become an integrated part of the Virginia SOLs!!"

Needless to say, we are thrilled that the efforts to find Rumble are being used as an educational tool for young people.
 

9/27/02 (Fri) - No new sightings. Saturday, October 5 is the opening day for bow hunting in Virginia. We spent yesterday getting flyers and related supplies ready to take out this weekend to post in areas where bow hunters are likely to enter the woods. Next week, we will be notifying hunting clubs that our boy may be hiding in the woods where the hunters will be. While there is a serious risk to Rumble's safety during hunting season there also is a good chance that a hunter may spot him in the woods. Starting October 5, there probably will be more folks than ever in the woods across Virginia. We're viewing this as a good opportunity to find our boy. We hope Virginia's hunters will help us. If you know a hunter, please tell him or her about Rumble.
 

10/23/02 (Wed) - (This is the report called in by cell phone from the campsite at 8pm yesterday.) No new sightings. Tuesday we revisited all the places Rumble has been sighted in Yogaville.  We know we're focused on our mission, but we had to laugh at ourselves - - When we drove into town from the campsite, someone asked us why we were driving around with a tub of chicken on our roof!  Although Rumble hasn't been seen since last Wednesday (see report of 10/19/02), we're feeling encouraged.  We met with the nice lady who had gotten so close to Rumble last Wednesday that she could touch him.  We had Bita with us so the lady could see first-hand what Rumble looks like since he looks like a larger version of his mom.  (See photo of Bita below and in Rumble's Scrapbook.)  The lady and her family have owned dogs themselves, including German Shepherds and Rottweilers, so she knows large dogs well, and she was convinced after seeing Bita that the dog she had seen was indeed Rumble.  We also visited the barn where Rumble was sighted.  Debbie Hall, our lost dog expert, said that a dog definitely had been staying there, although she couldn't be sure how recently.  We've kept up two food-bait stations, but our main customers seem to be cats.
 

10/24/02 (Thu) - (This is the report called in by cell phone from the campsite at 8pm yesterday.) No new sightings, but we're very encouraged!  Wednesday we returned to the barn where Rumble had been sighted previously, and we saw fresh canine tracks the size of Rumble's!  They weren't there yesterday, and the tracks were huge.  To illustrate, Ranger's front, left paw outline is shown below and in Rumble's Scrapbook (click image to see actual size).  Rumble and Ranger are brothers and littermates, and are very similar in size.  (Ranger's human Mom placed Ranger's foot on a piece of paper and traced around the edges with a felt-tip marker.)   We put a bowl of food and one of Rumble's toys in the barn.  Unfortunately, we've been having memory card problems with the camera, or we'd place it there too.  We'll let you know tomorrow what we find! 
 

10/25/02 (Fri) - (This is the report called in by cell phone from the campsite at 8pm yesterday.) No new sightings, but we're still encouraged.  Thursday we left the campsite for several hours and went home for showers, fresh provisions, and to get the camera repaired.  For days we've left Rumble's human mom's sweatshirt draped over the "x-pen" that we have set up outside the camper.  (It's the same one she's wearing in the photo below and on Rumble's Photos page.)  When we returned, the sweatshirt was lying on the ground!  (There was no wind.)  We don't want to get our hopes up too high, but it's hard not to!  The food and the toy in the barn hadn't been touched, but we refuse to let that discourage us.  Thursday we also met another very nice family who said they had seen Rumble at almost the same time and same location as the other sighting (see report of 10/19/02).  They said he appeared to be looking for food along the road.  On Friday, we plan to remain hidden quietly in the camper and hope to see Rumble approaching it.  We'll also set up the camera in the barn near the food dish.  We feel we're getting close!
 

10/26/02 (Sat) - (This is the report called in by cell phone from the campsite yesterday.) No new sightings that we've been able to confirm.  The food from the barn was eaten and we think there's a good chance it was Rumble who ate it.  We've suddenly gotten sighting reports from several different parts of Virginia.  We still really believe Rumble is in Yogaville, but it has always been our philosophy to "not leave any stone unturned," so we look into all sighting reports.  Until we ourselves see our boy, we can't be 100% positive where he is.  The most intriguing report is from Woodlake (just west of Richmond).  Last summer we received many reports from Woodlake and spent a tremendous amount of time there ourselves.  It turns out there's a long-lost, elusive German Shepherd there who looks similar to Rumble. (We call him the "Ghost Dog.")  We saw him ourselves and can understand how folks could be confused (see report of 7/28/02).  However, the lady who just called says she's well aware of Ghost Dog, and this is not him.  If you live near Woodlake, we'd be most grateful if you could keep an eye out for Rumble.  If you could manage to take a picture too, that would be tremendously helpful!
Rhodie (a cat from Pennsylvania) is wearing a green ribbon for Rumble!  (See photo in our new "Green Ribbons for Rumble" album.)
 

10/27/02 (Sun) - (This is the report called in by cell phone from the campsite at 8 pm yesterday.) No new sightings.  Yesterday marked a week that we've been camping, but we've had enough positive signs that we've decided to stay longer.  There were more paw-prints at the barn again today, and the food was gone!  Unfortunately the camera didn't take any pictures, so we've repositioned it.  Something else we've started doing is using "mug shots" when we talk to people who think they've seen Rumble.  We'll show them pictures of several similar-looking dogs (including Rumble) and ask them to pick out which dog they saw from the "line-up."  So far, everyone who believes they've seen Rumble has successfully identified his "mug shot"!  There's more good news we'd like to share with you.  In case you haven't had a chance to look at Rumble's "Just in Case" page lately, three of the dogs have been adopted or have adoptions pending!  One is "Justice," Rumble's very first "just in case" dog.  We are so happy for them!! 
 

10/28/02 (Mon) - (This is the report called in by cell phone from Yogaville at 8 pm yesterday.) No new confirmed sightings; however, yesterday we learned that Saturday, at about 8pm, a dog matching Rumble's description was seen in Yogaville!  The person who saw the dog thinks it was Rumble, although because it was so dark outside, we won't officially label this as a "sighting."  We're hopeful it was our boy, but we've heard there's also a brown German Shepherd wandering around Yogaville, so we don't want to get our hopes too high.  Yesterday the food in the barn was again eaten.  Some even more exciting news - - we had hung Rumble's toy from a peg in the barn approximately 3 feet off the ground, and yesterday the toy had been removed from the peg and dragged about 8 feet!  (Unfortunately we didn't get any pictures because the glue that helps connect the camera strap had come apart.)  When we called in our report Sunday evening, we were quietly out of sight at the place of Saturday evening's sighting, hoping the dog would re-appear.  We'll let you know tomorrow if we saw anything!
 

10/29/02 (Tue) - (This is the report called in by cell phone from Yogaville at 8 pm yesterday.)  No new sightings.  A man has rented the area around the barn for hunting, so there was a lot of activity there - - riding an all-terrain vehicle, taking down gates, etc.  We're not surprised there wasn't any sign that Rumble had been there yesterday.  We didn't see him when we were watching for him yesterday evening either.  We had spread out bits of meat and were frustrated that the possums kept trying to eat the meat!  However, that gave us a good idea.  Slurry!  We've just made up a "slurry" dish that we're going to use to tempt Rumble instead of spreading around bits of meat.  It's several different meats (including liver) mixed together with canola oil, then whirled in the blender.  We can pour the slurry - - sort of like leaving bread crumbs for Rumble to follow.  Because of its consistency, even if another animal eats it, bits will likely remain that a dog could try to lick up.  The scent will certainly remain!   By the way, several of you have sent us wonderful photos of your pets wearing green ribbons for Rumble.  Thank you!  We invite you to take a look at these super photos in the "Green Ribbons for Rumble" album.
 

10/30/02 (Wed) -  No new sightings.  Yesterday we spread the "slurry" (see update of 10/29/02) in a line all the way from the location of the previous sighting to the camper.  We became instantly popular with local cats!  However, because of the oil base of the slurry, we're not worried.  It should leave a good scent trail even if the cats do eat a lot of it.  By evening it was raining so hard that we couldn't even see out the camper windows, so we decided to go home to Nelson County for the night.  That will also give us a chance to make up another batch of slurry to take to the campsite Wednesday morning.  Several friends of Rumble have written to us with a variety of excellent ideas.  Thank you!  We're also very touched to learn that some of you have been naming pets and other living things in honor of Rumble.  What a lovely gesture.  
 

10/31/02 (Thu) -  (This is the report called in by cell phone from Yogaville at 8 pm yesterday.)  No new sightings.  No sign of Rumble at the barn.  No footprints, and the food and toy were untouched.  We're trying to figure out where Rumble might be!  We've spent days covering the same territory over and over.  Some folks have suggested that someone may have taken him into their home.  Another possibility is that he's moved on, especially since there are now hunters in the area.  We must remember that Rumble was pretty single-minded in his quest to get home until he hit the barrier of the James River.  He's already covered over 100 miles on a virtual bee-line from Chester toward our home in Nelson County.  He was confirmed to be in Yogaville by a trained tracking dog and her owner on August 16th, so we know for sure he's come this far on his homeward-bound trek already.  (See Maps.)  For a dog traveling on foot with no known sources of food and water, that takes an incredible amount of determination!  Perhaps, with all our drives across the bridge, we've left enough of a scent trail that he's finally crossed the Wingina Bridge and is continuing with his quest to make it home.  If there's one thing we've learned about Rumble, it's that we're not very good at second-guessing him!