Lenny Marietta, OH
Lenny's case began as a rehoming that did not work out. He had been placed in a neighborhood he had never seen before, with a temporary caregiver, in territory that meant nothing to him. When he slipped away on the afternoon of Sunday, April 26, 2026, he was not a dog running from home. He was a dog already away from home, trying to navigate without a single familiar landmark to guide him back. That is what made this case so difficult for so long.
Lenny is timid by nature and entered extreme flight mode after he got loose. He was confirmed by trap camera at approximately 11:30 PM on Monday, April 27, when he calmly approached the smart Missy trap, stepped halfway inside, made eye contact with a cat already inside eating bait, and quietly backed out. He stayed in the area afterward and worked through hot dog pieces scattered around the trap. That was the only confirmed sighting for nearly four days.
By Friday evening, May 1, Lenny had stabilized enough to be spotted on the bank of the Ohio River in Williamstown, West Virginia, playfully chasing geese. That tonal shift mattered. Five days earlier this dog would not fully step into a trap. By Friday he was no longer in pure survival mode and was capable of recognizing what was familiar to him when it appeared. When his owner called his name on a three-way phone call from the staging area, Lenny came out of the bush and walked straight to her. Five days of unknown streets, unknown smells, and unknown people, and the first familiar thing in his world was his family's voice.
- Smart Missy trap deployed at the original last-seen location with Vosker cellular cameras providing live 24/7 monitoring
- Thermal drone search conducted Sunday evening, April 26, in partnership with MOV Drone Workz
- Public alert issued through the PSA Mid-Ohio Valley Facebook page on April 26 with daily morning and evening updates
- Centralized PSA tip line operating 24/7 at 740-206-8831
- Search zone expanded throughout Marietta and surrounding neighborhoods after the Monday night trap visit was not repeated
- Yard signs deployed across the search area, additional trail cameras and feed stations placed at strategic points, reward offered for the tip that brought Lenny home
- Final thermal drone flight conducted in Williamstown, WV, by MOV Drone Workz under proper LAANC airspace authorization due to proximity to Parkersburg Regional Airport, with operators who are Washington County drone first responders
Anonymous Tip Line
