How One Man’s Heroic Efforts (with the Support of His Community) Led to a Lost Dog Making It Home for the New Year

Tony Lynch with Violet today after a week of trying to capture the lost dog. [All photos provided by Tony Lynch]

To our delight, Tony told us this afternoon that our previous article on the lost dog written by reporter Lisa Music and published on Redheaded Blackbelt yesterday, played a crucial role in this happy ending. A reader recognized Violet from the story and contacted the owner, leading to an emotional reunion today.

Violet’s journey back home began when Tony heard her desperate howls early on Christmas Eve morning in the Burnt Ranch/Willow Creek area at the Cedar Flat Bridge near a rest stop on Highway 299.

Violet kept traveling from one end of the bridge to the other, often howling or crying but refusing to let anyone close to her.

Tony told us, “I don’t have good vision but I got great ears. I could hear [the dog] from the other side of the bridge, quarter mile away.”

Even though it was three in the morning on Christmas Eve and cold, Tony drove down and quickly started helping. He used his car to warn people driving by so they wouldn’t hit the scared dog who was moving in and out of the road.

The dog wouldn’t go to Tony when he tried to help it and just walked back and forth, looking like it was waiting for its owner to come back.

A makeshift enclosure provided by Two Rivers Pet and Wildlife Welfare Services was erected to trap Violet.

Over the next week, Tony’s dedication to Violet’s safety was unwavering. Efforts to catch the dog were not successful though many in the community tried to help. Local residents took to social media platforms like Facebook to organize a grassroots rescue mission. But the big white dog evaded all attempts to capture her.

Violet watched as agencies and citizens worked together to catch her.

Tony recounted using a case and a half of safety flares to protect her as she roamed near the bridge at night. “Last night she was active coming down and crossing the bridge from seven o’clock in the evening till 10 o’clock at night. And then she started to again….at five o’clock this morning,” he explained.

Today, when the owner arrived, Tony said he knew where to direct her to look. “We had located [Violet] with [a] drone earlier and knew where she had been laying,” said Lynch. “So I sent [the owner] up ahead of me. She hollered…All of a sudden, I heard her say, ‘There you are.’ And…[Violet] just came out and was all happy–tail wagging.”

Tony expressed his relief at the successful reunion. “This was a hard victory,” he told us. “But it feels so good. I’m torn between screaming and hollering and crying like a baby,” he said.

Now he plans to finally take a well-deserved rest and spend time with his wife, who had been supportive throughout the ordeal. “[S]he had to put up with me missing Christmas,” he explained. “She knows once I get hooked on an animal. I’m as tenacious as Chihuahua on caffeine.”

When asked about people calling him a hero, Lynch dismissed the praise. “I’m not a hero. I’m just one guy,” he stated. “Everybody out there can do this. If they just come together. I have such a wonderful community out here. Everybody reaches out to everybody else.”

Tony Lynch and the support he had from the greater Willow Creek community helped bring a positive outcome in a very difficult situation. Tony wanted to thank Caltrans who provided him with safety flares and a safety vest. He also thanked Two Rivers Pet and Wildlife Welfare Services that brought a large cage that was used to attempt to trap Violet.

He also went on to advocate for all stray dogs, “They don’t need to be this many dogs let loose on the road and running free. There is a person out there for all of ’em. I know there is.”

Two Rivers Pet and Wildlife Welfare Services were helpful in trying to capture Violet. Donations to support their ongoing efforts to help all animals in the area can be made to Two Rivers Pet and Wildlife Welfare Services.

Venmo – Two Rivers Pet and Wildlife Welfare

PayPal – Two Rivers Pet and Wildlife Welfare |

Coast Central Account: 363338

Or snail mail: PO Box 1158, Hoopa, CA 95546

Please note that Lisa Music interviewed Tony Lynch and contributed a great deal to this article on her day off. That’s the kind of folks you support when you donate to Redheaded Blackbelt. Clink link below if you would like to support our freelancers writing more stories.

Earlier: Willow Creek Community Unites in Race Against Time to Rescue Scared Dog on Highway 299