Alaskan Malamute Duke Lost Hawaii

STILL LOST: Duke, Glenn's Alaskan Malamute -
Updated, September 13, 2009

$100 REWARD - No questions asked!

Where? Originally lost between Kahuku and Kualoa. Could be anywhere on Oahu. Duke was probably taken home by someone.

Numbers to call: 398-6089 or 259-0223.

More Photos of Duke at bottom of page

If you see a dog that might be Duke, and you're not sure, phone us, and try to take a photo and email it to us at emartinez@hawaii.rr.com, with the location where the dog was seen, or even text message me on my cell at 398-6089. I am still trying to turn off predictive spelling on my phone, so I may be slow getting back to you. At this point, you will most likely see Duke in the custody of the person who is keeping him. He will probably not be a lone stray. Even though many of the dogs you might see will turn out to not be Duke, if you think there is a reasonable chance that it could be Duke, please call and we will check it out.

Everyone asks how Duke was lost: Duke was lost on Tuesday, May 19, when he jumped out of the truck when I stopped for a minute to check the horse trailer as I brought it home from Turtle Bay to Waimanalo. Because the trailer was new to me, I stopped in several locations, once up by Kahuku, near Hauula, and again near the main entrance to Kualoa Ranch. Wherever it happened, I saw my dog Bruddah asleep on the front seat of the truck and I drove on thinking Duke was still in the back seat. It was a very busy and intense day when I got back to the farm and it wasn't until later that I realized what had happened. I immediately retraced my route and contacted people in areas where I had stopped. A dog answering Duke's description was seen on the makai side of the highway, by a Kualoa Ranch employee, late in the afternoon on the day he was lost. Intensive searches of the Kualoa area turned up nothing.

Duke's Description
Look at the photo above. Duke looks like a black and white dog, however, he is actually a tricolor dog and has a light tan undercoat under the dark topcoat, and tan areas around the dark markings, also a lovely, fluffy, light tan tail. Malamutes do come in a variety of colors. In Malamute breeder terms, Duke is a sable and white dog. He is about 65lbs in weight but may look heavier because his coat fluffs out. He is neutered and has a microchip. I love the light face mask and the dark velvet trim around the cream interior of his upright ears. Duke has brown eyes.

Pet HUI - OC-16 (July 28, 2009) The Pet Hui team from the OC-16 TV show came out to our farm and filmed a piece on Duke for their new pet detective segment.. I was hopeful that this would get the word out to someone who knows where Duke is, so we could find him and bring him home. Many thanks to the OC-16 team. I think this is a great idea to get the word out about dogs that may have been given a home by someone. Unfortunately, no word so far on Duke.

August 5, Pets Examiner Online - article on Duke by Liz Rizzo
http://www.examiner.com/examiner/x-7744-Honolulu-Pets-Examiner~y2009m8d5-Pet-Decetive-101-Duke-the-Malamute

LIST OF POSSIBLE SIGHTINGS I have searched each area listed below, from early to late, talking to people,passing out lost dog posters. I am getting better at finding the dog that was reported seen. So far, no Duke. Duke is such a beautiful animal that we theorize that he has probably been picked up and taken to a home out of the area. Duke was wearing a collar without his tags (tags get lost on a farm), and he is microchipped.

Maui - November 10, 2009 - confirmed not Duke - T.J., a Husky owner, called and said that a beautiful malamute showed up on his doorstep in Maui. He said it had a tightly curled tail. T.J. forwarded two pictures of the dog to my phone. The dog was clearly a nice, dense coated, seal and white malamute, but not Duke. I'll put the pics up on the page if/when I find the cable. Thanks T.J!
Heeia Harbor Area - Early November - Still unresolved - A woman taking an auto for a test drive said she passed a couple with a malamute and a kayak in the area of the harbor. I will put some signs out along the highway just in case the kayakers are regulars to that area.
Moanalua Dog Park - Early Novembe - still unresolved - Received email that a malamute had been seen at the park that, similar to Duke in appearance. I haven't had a chance to get to the dog park because I have been trying to follow up doing signs in Waianae and also recovering from a centipede bite that went to cellulitis and a cold. . Also, last time I tried to get to Moanalua Dog Park I ended up in the Kaiser Moanalua parking lot courtesy of my GPS. I will get out there in the next week. Chances are the dog in question is not Duke. It is hard to imagine someone would bring him to such a public location, but it's possible. If anyone sees anything, give me a call at 398-6089
St. Louis Heights - Cnr of Oswald St., September 12 - Confirmed not Duke - The two lovely dogs at this location are Huskies. They licked my hand and posed for a photo.

Mililani Dog Park - September 12 - Confirmed not Duke - Photos show the dog has blue eyes, Duke has brown, I received an email that someone had seen a woman with a malamute that they thought was Duke at the Husky/Malamute Play Day at Mililani Dog Park. The dog in question has been clipped from its head to the tip of its tail and except for the facial markings is very hard to recognize as a malamute. When asked where she got the dog, the woman said that she had been given the dog by some boys in Punalu'u, who said that they found it. Since I lost Duke at one of several stops I made between Kahuku and Kualoa, I though it was possible that the dog was Duke. The organizer of the play day sent me some photos of the dog and it is absolutely not Duke. Thanks to all for being vigilant and checking it out. Back to the search.....
University Ave - Ala Wai Canal - July 22 - Confirmed Not Our Duke Received email about a sighting of a dog on the bike/jogging trail by the Canoe Hale next to the Ala Wai. The dog was seen at around 6:30 p.m. It was unlikely that the dog was our Duke, but I went to the location and posted some lost signs. I returned on August 9 at around 6:00 p.m., the time at which the local dog owners frequent the park. I talked to one of the regulars and he said that the big malamute that comes to the park has been doing so since he was a pup, so he is definitely not our Duke. He is also a very large dog. Our Duke is probably 65 lbs.
To the left is a picture of the Ala Wai malamute emailed by the dog's owner (thanks to Matt and his girfriend who gave me permission to display this photo). Coincidentally, he is also called Duke. He is 8 months old, 80 lbs and has one floppy ear and a little snip of white on his forehead. Another difference from our Duke is that Ala Wai Duke has a white undercoat, whereas our Duke's undercoat is light tan. Ala Wai Duke is a beautiful animal. Compare his face with Duke's below.

Ewa Beach - July 21 Still Under Investigation - I received an email from a woman who is new to the islands. She and her husband formerly bred malamutes and huskies, so she is akamai about these breeds. About 8-10 days ago she went to the Pet Depot in Ewa Beach. She saw a loose Malamute in the residential area. She said that the dog looked pretty healthy, just dirty and a little sad. He had a grey/white rope tied around his neck, instead of a collar. On 8-9-2009, I cruised the area and put some posters up on strategic light poles. I talked to a rottweiller owner who is going to keep watch in the area. My heart was warmed when I walked past Animal House Veterinary Clinic and saw that they had two Duke posters on the noticeboard in the waiting room. The people in Petco were very nice and offered to put a Duke poster in their window.
Punalu'u - July 21. Confirmed Not Duke A woman called and told us that a man had told her that he had seen Duke with a homeless woman who is living in her car in the Kahana-Punalu'u area. Follow up: I met the homeless woman and she has two dogs, neither of which is Duke. The dog that has some resemblance to Duke with facial features is shown here You can't see it in the pictures but he has a ruff of white around his neck..

Homeless Woman's Dog

Duke

The homeless woman, Theresa, had seen Duke posters and is watching for him. The woman needs some help, though. Her other dog was injured recently and she doesn't have the money to take the dog to a vet. at the present time. It looked to me as though the dog has a dislocated shoulder. He does not appear to be in a great deal of pain but he can't use that front leg properly. It is clear that she loves her dogs and does a remarkably good job with them. I gave her a contribution towards getting the dog treated. I posted a notice on Craigslist to try to find discount priced help for the dog. Fortunately, someone responded and I have conveyed the information to Theresa.

Maili, Kaukama Rd. - Identify of Dog Still in Question - July 21 Received an email that a resident in the area had seen a healthy, well cared for husky or malamute walking free on Kaukama Rd on the same day. She thought it resembled Duke but that it might have had blue eyes and will let me know if she sees it again.
Kailua - Confirmed Not Duke - July 13, Kaipii St. (700 block) Person emailed that they had seen a dog resembling Duke in this area two days ago. I talked to a dog-owning resident in the area and he said that there is a dog who resembles Duke living across the street, but it is not a malamute and it has lived there for many years. I didn't see the dog but felt comfortable that it was not Duke.

Makaha-Waianae - Two Dog Sightings & A Hoax Call

Hoax Call - July 5 - A caller said he had seen Duke on Fricke St., Makaha near some houses with white picket fences. He said that the dog in question was looking pretty rough around the edges. He gave his name as Kalei and gave me a phone number to contact him. When I tried the number, a different Kalei answered and explained that he was currently in Washington State and knew nothing about the matter. At that point, I assumed that the call was not a real sighting.
Second Malamute in Makaha - July 2 - Identity of Dog Still In Question I received an email that identified a possible Duke around Kea'au Beach Park two weekends ago. That dog was definitely a male. The contact said that the dog was loose, and that he assumed it belonged to one of the homeless people. I did not see this dog in my searches of the areas. On July 3, I passed out over 30 lost posters to people with dogs camping between Kea'au Beach Park and Ahikilolo Ranch.
Female Malamute in Makaha - June 30 - Confirmed Not Duke Stacey from Kapolei called saying she had seen a dog like Duke twice in the past week or so in the 84-700 block of Farrington. Another Craigslist person emailed that, last weekend, they had seen a dog like Duke farther along the road in the same area. Followup: Part of the mystery solved. Part of it is a happy story and part is sad; it wasn't Duke. Today, Friday, July 3, I walked the area again, and at 84-748 I met Savannah, a female malamute. Savannah had been abandoned by a military person who left her at his rented residence when he left the island. The family at 748 adopted Savannah about a month ago. Interestingly, I heard about Savannah's situation a month ago when I was handing out lost Duke posters at our booth at the Haleiwa Organic Farmers Market. It was nice to see that Savannah has been adopted and seems to be making a good adjustment. I have included pictures of a happy Savannah below. She is shorter in stature than Duke, has shorter coat length and does not have the light tan shades around her muzzle and in her tail. I guess you would call Savannah's coat a bicolor and Duke's a tricolor.

SAVANNAH, Happy Female Malamute in Makaha
Savannah at 84-748 Farrington - Female Malamute

Two other happy parts of the story are that in the course of searching Makaha, I met the Friends for Life shelter people (their shelter and adoption program is inspiring), and also I met many kind and concerned people camping on the foreshore. There are many homeless dog lovers camping there and everyone I talked to was sympathetic and helpful.

Kahuku Hoax Call - June 30, 4 a.m. - A person called and left a voicemail that he had seen Duke in Kahuku. I did go out to Kahuku to check it out. When I was finally able to make contact with the person at the phone number given, it turned out that the message had been called in by someone other than the cell phone subscriber. At that point I assumed that the sighting was not real.
Wahiawa - Identify of Dog Still In Question - June 16, boy called and said that he had seen a dog like Duke being chased by a man with a tribal tattoo two days earlier. Location, near Jack in The Box.
Waianae - Identity of Dog Still in Question -June 15, a possible sighting, area not known. Caller said she would try to get a photo of the dog. Nothing further heard.
Laie - Confirmed Not Duke , 2 separate sightings - June 5, near Foodland; and also another caller, June 13 BYU parking lot, young boy on skateboard being pulled by dog on a rope. Boy was heard to call the dog, Alaska.. On the first few search tries, the dog was nowhere to be found. But both callers showed great conviction that the dog existed. The second caller rode his bicycle from Kahuku to Laie just to meet with us. I felt that there was a dog and kept going back to the area to find it. Mystery solved. Alaska is not Duke. I searched the Laie area again on Friday, 6/19 and showed the lost poster to some young girls running an ice-cream stand. It happens that their family lives behind the shopping center and owns a female Husky, Alaska, who often pulls the family's children along on a scooter. She sometimes gets loose and runs around the neighborhood. Alaska is undoubtedly the dog that was seen by both callers. Alaska has a much lighter body frame than Duke, and is a lighter grey color over her head, neck and back. Alaska's face is mostly grey around the eyes and over the nose, with a narrow pale grey strip down her nose and white areas low on both sides of her muzzle. Alaska and Duke are shown below to compare facial shape, markings and color. An interesting phenomenon about this sighting was that there were times when the boy told me that he had just seen the dog run through an area. Minutes later, a number of other people in the same area told me that they saw nothing. When I finally met Alaska's owners they said that she periodically gets out and races around the neighborhood. Apparently, it is possible for only one person to notice a dog. This is useful to know if you are looking for a dog that is likely to be running through an area. It may be in the area, but people may simply not notice it when it runs by.

Alaska

Duke

Heeia- Confirmed Not Duke - June 8, by S.W. King Intermediate (June 8). Followup: On June 21, a Malamute owner from Heeia/King Intermediate area sent me a picture of her 12 year old Malamute. I have included a picture of her dog because facially, he looks so much like Duke that it would be easy to mistake one for the other. The 12 year old Heeia Malamute has one striking difference, he doesn't like his tail brushed, so he has a dreadlocked tail. Duke has a lovely,. fuzzy tail. Per the owner, "There is also another dog similiar in looks that lives just past Heeia school. I think it is a he and is young. I also have seen one on Kam highway on the way to Kahaluu the past couple of years. So there are lots in this area. We all know and look for these dogs as they are escape artists and love to roam!!"
Heeia Malamute
Duke
Kahaluu- Identity of Dog Still In Question - June 14, phone call at 11 p.m., that a dog resembling Duke was by basketball courts, at Kahaluu Elementary. No further sightings reported.
Kahuku High School -Identity of Dog Still In Question, circa June 10, by sports field. No further sightings reported.

SEARCH STRATEGIES SO FAR:

Hawaiian Humane Society - Filed a lost report with Humane Society and periodically checked with them in person and by phone. (Duke's microchip number is on file with Humane Society). Renewed the lost report in June and again in July.
Online

Craigslist Pets section every 2 or 3 days - check Craigslist Pets and Lost and Found sections daily.- CL has brought the most responses.
hawaiisuperads.com -no reponses
http://www.flealess.org/lostpets/hawaii.html - no responses
kikiji.com - no responses
whosyadoggy.com - no reponses
Lost notice kindly posted by Hawaii Dog Foundation on their site at www. hawaiidogfoundation.org
Joined Hawaii Pet Network and posted lost notice in their discussion forum
Had a blog piece on Duke published by Leslie Kawamoto on the Honolulu Advertiser's Blog, Island Tails, at http://islandtails.honadvblogs.com/page/2/

Print Ads:

Ran an ad in Star Bulletin/Midweek for 2 weeks. Followup: This generated no responses at all..
Purchased an ad. in the upcoming issue of Ilio, the Hawai dog magazine

Posted lost signs -Signs seem to get attention and responses.

In stores and roadside stands from the Hygenic Store to Punalu'u, and all the way to Turtle Bay.

At bus stops from Kahaluu to Laie.
At leash-free dog parks around the island. Talked to dog owners.

Lost Posters Distributed:

Gave lost posters to the road maintenance personnel in the Kualoa and Heeia area.

Police: Gave posters and talked to police from Kaneohe to Kahuku

Stuffed posters in mailboxes along the highway in search areas from Kualoa up the Coast.
Veterinarian Offices

Faxed lost poster to all the veterinarians' offices on Oahu. (May, 2009)
Mailed new, orange, color poster to every vet. office on Oahu (6/18/2009)

Gave out lost dog posters at our booth at the Haleiwa Farmers' Market.
We have lots of visitors from all over the island at our farm. We give out lost posts and deputize our customers as new pet detectives every day.

Dead Animal Pickup - Periodically checked with Dead Animal pickup in all areas of Hawaii serviced by C&C and State road crews. (FYI, Many of the City Road Maintenance facilities have a scanner. They scan the remains of an animal they pick up, if it is possible to do so. The animals are turned over to the Humane Society for disposal. The City Dead Animal pickup also picks up deceased animals called in by the owner. For some offices, it is not possible to tell if the animal on their list were road pickups or residential pickups and there may be no description of the animal. The City crews only pick up from"city" streets. The State Road people pick up deceased animals which are found on the Freeways and also on the State Highways, such as Kalanianaole, Kamehameha and Farrington. I believe that State also turns the animal remains over to the Humane Society for disposal. )
On the Ground:

Drove, walked and searched the Kualoa Ranch and Kualoa Park and Highway area repeatedly and talked to many residents in the area.

Followed up on calls of sightings and searched and posted signs in respective areas.

Networking - Ongoing networking with Husky and Malamute owners who would be most liable to recognize a Malamute if they see him in another area. We are also asking Malamute owners to send pictures of their dogs and identify the area they are in so we know which areas are covered.
Vehicle Signs - Attached magnetic lost posters to our farm vehicles.
.Consulted a pet psychic My only previous experience with a psychic was when a friend consulted one to look for her lost dog. When we discovered later that the dog had died in a hidden location on her property, the psychic's information was actually correct, that the dog's spirit was very faint and that it was very close to home. So I thought a psychic might be able to help. The psychic I selected was in Washington State. News stories have been published about animals she has helped to find. The psychic told me up front that she cannot guarantee that the whatever information she conveys is correct. After communing with Duke, she called back and said that:

Duke is alive.
He wants to come home but he doesn't know how.
He is in a place that is maybe 2-3 miles from the location where he was separated from me. He is being fed. He is staying at a house that is mauka of the highway. The house is up a narrow road or long driveway. There are lots of trees. The split level house is tan with a slight greenish tint. There is an enclosed patio or lanai with a wall that is stained or discolored . Duke stays in this area. There is a woman, probably local, maybe 30. She has a cast or bandage on her arm. There is a child, possibly a baby. There is a small yellow car. Somewhere in the vicinity there is a group of mailboxes.
Duke believes that we will find him.

Throughout the search I have talked to lots of people...

Dog GPS Locator Information: I have also purchased a Zoombak GPS dog locating device for attaching to Duke's collar when he gets home. I wish I'd bought it and put it on Duke several weeks ago. I've tested it out and it really does work. I have it on another dog right now just to get the hang of using it. The annual service fee for the online location utility is about $150 per year. That sounds expensive but I've easily spent that much in advertisements and gasoline driving around looking for Duke. I liked the features of the Spotlight GPS product, but it is not yet available for purchase.

I've read some discussion of labeled collars on the Craigslist discussions. I think they are good, and I kick myself that Duke's collar did not have our phone number on it, as I now have with our other dogs. But collars can be taken off. Perhaps a tattoo is a good idea. It's about the only think that can externally identify the dog is the collar is removed.

Back to Duke... Duke is very particular about what he eats. Tidbits that most dogs would snap up, Duke will ignore. He will eat turkey dogs, good meat, or fish, but not breads or most crackers. If you are trying to catch Duke, don't try to grab him by the collar and pull him along. He will fight you. If you clip on a leash, he is easy to handle.

Please watch out for Duke, and if you think you have sighted him, please call Liz at 398-6089 or Glenn at 259-0223.

Our hopes go up every time the phone rings.

Thank you!

Liz Martinez

Photos of Duke are below.

Our new, color lost poster (6/18/2009):
New Orange Lost Poster

And, so you can get an idea of what Duke looks like from a distance, this picture below with Bruddah (white, Husky/German Shepherd, who is not lost). Duke is the dark-coated dog with the cream/buff face, legs and wonderful fluffy tail.
Duke and Bruddah

And Bruddah and Duke in the truck in the Kailua Long's parking lot:
Bruddah and Duke in the Explorer

Also, a photo I found, which I took in April, of Duke out for a walk with Dolcezza, the Arabian mare, and Bruddah
our white Husky-Shepherd mix. Duke is the dog dude on the right with the fluffy jodhpurs and beautiful tail.
Duke out for a walk with Bruddah and Dolcezza

Duke out for a walk with Bruddah and Dolcezza

Return to main

Olomana Gardens