Argyle community comes together to rescue a dog

Millie is a celebrity. The whole Argyle community loves her and celebrates her. This 4-year-old big black mastiff became popular when the entire town united together to find her after she went missing.

The Hundley family’s beloved Millie ran away from home on May 27th at around 9:30 PM. Maury Jo Hundley and the family members were shocked and saddened as they had left for a Florida trip and had no way to help. Maury’s daughter Gracie, the owner of Millie, hired a pet detective, but that didn’t turn out to be helpful. “I was so sad and heartbroken. She is the first dog I have had on my own, and it just made me sick to my stomach,” she shared. Gracie adopted Millie over spring break from a couple who had found her out in the freezing cold at the end of February.

The family was back in the town in the next few days and started a mission to find Millie. Amidst worry and fear, an incredible story emerged.

“Millie was seen earlier today in the woods of Gold Hill and Stone Ridge in Argyle. Please, if you see her or find her, please let me know. She is really scared. She is big but not a mean bone in her body. She is a big black mastiff and has a pink collar. Please message me if you have any information. Thank you!” Maury wrote on her Facebook. The post got widely shared across social media. Locals took it to the Nextdoor platform, where Millie became the talk of the town.

Kelly Tyler, a volunteer Trapping Specialist, came in contact with the family after they reached out to a 501(c)3 street dog capture team, Duck Team 6. Before that, a police officer called Maury at 4:30 am, saying he’d seen millie on 377. He even had her on video.

“I sent Maury suggestions to make flyers more visibly effective and discussed getting large neon poster signs made to help bring in more sightings,” Kelly said. She also suggested alerting people in the community to “ignore Millie” if they see her, “not call out to her,” and “do not approach” because that could cause her to bolt into dangerous roads. Several days passed before another sighting, so Kelly knew this would require more community support to capture her. Maury quickly rallied several kind-hearted community members to help get the word out. The team distributed more flyers.

Meanwhile, there were several posts on Nextdoor and Facebook with Mille’s updates.

A community member, Liz Starkey, went above and beyond in the mission. She drove around trying to spot Millie, sent the rescue team photos of potential hiding areas, handed out flyers, spoke to realtors and police officers, and knocked on doors for days along in the targeted area where the team believed Millie was hiding.

“With Liz and other community members’ assistance, we finally narrowed down which properties she was most likely hiding on to begin capture attempts one week later on June 17th. Even the mail carrier was helping to get the word out after realizing she’d seen the dog several times the week before,” Kelly mentioned.

“Very kind property owners graciously allowed us to set up a trap in the perfect spot on their property and told us it was ok to come and go however needed, including several late nights. After a few failed trapping attempts, when Millie no-showed, she finally walked into the trap the night of June 20th.”

When the mission was successfully accomplished, locals celebrated with the hashtag #MillieMadeItHome!

“I have the most respect and gratitude for the people in Argyle coming together as a community to find some stranger’s dog. And can not say enough uplifting and kind words to my mom who was relentless in looking for my sweet Millie,” Gracie expressed.

“407 Texas BBQ donated several pounds of Brisket Scraps. Truly what brought her into the cage. And then Trophy Club Animal Hospital generously helped her once brought home,” Maury shared. “We learned to continue to have hope and be relentless in helping those who cannot help themselves. Also, how incredible the Argyle community is – strangers all became part of the help.”

“Neighbors helping neighbors is one of the best ways to safely capture an elusive stray or lost dog. If someone sees a stray dog, they should first try to take a photo or video before ever trying to lure the dog to come to them. Always let the dog approach first, not the other way around. Never chase a lost or stray dog. Never give up hope if you have a lost pet! It truly takes a village sometimes.” Kelly said.

Millie is safe and sound. She likes being with the family and the other three dogs. She continues to grow in her social confidence and is much more responsive!