Charter and Tyler / Cynthia Daily photo
The odyssey of Live Oak Charter—the frightened foxhound that escaped from the Virginia Foxhound Show last May, traveled from Leesburg to Middleburg (more than twenty miles as the crow flies), crossed two major four-lane highways, subsisted on whatever food he could find, lost part of his tongue and shattered his jaw—finally ended after six long months in Hollywood’s finest style.
Charter has been adopted by the vet tech that cared for him at Blue Ridge Veterinary Associates. He lives on a hundred-acre farm, sleeps on his new owner’s bed, and runs long distances with him every day. Charter’s survival literally “took a village,” and Live Oak MFHs Daphne and Marty Wood, who supported and monitored the efforts of so many dedicated people from afar, couldn’t be happier.
From May until he was captured in a hog trap on September 6, Charter wouldn’t allow any human to get near him. He was skinny and badly damaged when he was finally secured and transported to the vet. Daphne Wood wrote:
September 6, 2014: Piedmont huntsman Spencer Allen accompanies Charter to the vet after his capture. (Note broken jaw and damaged tongue.) / Nancy Kleck photo“I cannot begin to express my gratitude to the many people who helped with this. First and foremost Piedmont huntsman Spencer Allen who tried to rescue him for many weeks. Spencer spent countless hours and too many miles on the hunt’s truck, thanks to the generosity of MFH Tad Zimmerman.
“Charter developed a significant FaceBook following and thereby caught the notice of Nancy Kleck, his eventual savior. She made catching Charter her crusade and came up with the idea of getting a hog trap, which worked like clockwork. [All previous attempts at catching Charter in conventional cage traps had failed.] He would undoubtedly be dead were it not for Nancy as he was starving to death because his jaw was fractured in four places and half his tongue had been cut off.
“Next enter Dr. Walker, surgeon at Blue Ridge Veterinary Associates. He convinced me that he could repair the jaw, and he did. All of the staff at Blue Ridge fell in love with Charter because he was such a model patient. I got almost daily pictures of them, Nancy or her friend Cynthia Daily posing with Charter who undoubtedly understood that all of these people were trying to help him. Dr. Walker said that had Charter not been unusually tractable, he would not have even attempted the surgery!
“Charter thanks everyone who took an interest in his plight. All at Live Oak look forward to his safe return!”
Charter remained at the clinic under the care of Dr. Walker and his staff for more than two months. He endured the surgery and eventually the removal of the metal pins and the device to hold his jaw in place. He had many broken teeth yet to be removed, but he was finally cleared for travel home early in November! Arrangements for Charter to be shipped from Virginia to Florida had been made and paid for by the Woods, when the affair took its final turn. Tyler Robic, a young vet tech at the clinic, contacted Daphne, told her that he had become very attached to Charter while caring for him, and asked if he may keep him.
Charter ready to go home / Cynthia Daily photo
“After talking to Tyler, we were convinced that this would be the happiest solution for Charter,” wrote Daphne, “so tomorrow he will go home with Tyler and hopefully live happily ever after!”
Live Oak Charter was one of two un-entered Live Oak hounds that went missing at the Virginia Foxhound Show this year. Live Oak Perfect was captured relatively quickly near Morven Park. Click to read one or all of our four previously-published related stories, chronologically in this order: “Missing Live Oak Hounds: Update;” “One Missing Hound Safe; One to Go!;” “Live Oak Charter Still at Large; Posse Closes In;” “Elusive Live Oak Foxhound Is Finally Captured.”
Posted November 25, 2014
A storybook ending / Cynthia Daily photo
EPILOGUE
Wringing Fortune from Misfortune
Charter’s happy ending is reverberating far from the quiet Virginia farm where the hound is now making a safe and comfortable new life with Tyler Robic. As the result of Charter’s good fortune, life will also be happier for some equines—horses, donkeys, and mules—living in the poorest parts of the world. This cascade of benefits is the result of the generous reward paid by Marty and Daphne Wood, MFHs to Nancy Kleck for capturing their wary foxhound.
In addition to a cash reward, the Woods also donated one thousand dollars to a charity of Nancy’s choice. Nancy asked that the money be sent to The Brooke USA, an English-based organization that employs more than eight hundred field workers in eleven countries in Asia, Africa, Central America, and the Middle East. Last year The Brooke reached 1.4 million working animals in impoverished cities and villages where a single equine often provides the brute labor—transporting and hauling—to support an entire family. The Brooke provides veterinary treatment to these animals from fixed-base and mobile clinics, and they train owners on how to care for their animals.
Updated November 26, 2014