In early October of 2023, The Iowa Capital Dispatch reported, “Iowa court records indicate that in March 2023, Sioux City cited 60-year-old Troy Verdoorn, the owner of Australian Shepherd Stock Dogs, a dog-breeding business based in Sergeant Bluff, with the misdemeanor offense of allowing dogs to run at large. According to police, some of Verdoorn’s dogs were found on the runway at Sioux Gateway Airport, just west of the kennel, in Sioux City.”
The article from Iowa Capital Dispatch reported that the home-based dog-breeding business was shut down. In September, Verdoorn shared on his Facebook page that he was evicted from his property and needed to rehome multiple Australian Shepherd dogs.
This is how Alexa Anderson of Fort Dodge ended up with the pup we all know as Waldo in her care. She picked up Waldo, known as Cowboy to her, along with two other Australian Shepherds from Verdoorn. The trio were matted, covered in fleas, and untrained. Verdoorn shared with Alexa Anderson that at one point in time, he had 40 dogs at his house.
Unfortunately, Anderson only had the infamous Waldo in her care briefly before he got loose. Anderson shared, “If he [Waldo] is anything like the other two, he will make someone a really nice dog. If they’re willing to spend a lot of time bonding and building trust.” She explained that the two Australian Shepherds still in her care were skittish for a long time.
Waldo traveled from Fort Dodge to Clarion, where he made home for the last few months. The pup had certainly gained the favor of a few Clarion residents. In early December the Wright County Monitor shared that a local vet tech and a few community members were trying to trap Waldo along his daily route.
When that plan failed, a new one unfolded, thanks to a Facebook post from Clarion resident Shannon Walker. Walker shared a photo of Waldo across the street from her house, “Is anyone missing a dog? Looks like an Australian shepherd. It is heading west on Highway 3, just before noon,” read Walker’s post on the Facebook Group “Wright County IA Community Events/Notices”.
While no one claimed the dog, it opened the door for all who care for him to share insight. Merri Hansen, who is not originally from Clarion but works in Eagle Grove, shared her experience with Walker and Josh Morris to aid their efforts. “I have been rescuing animals for 40+ years and this group was just wonderful, natural rescuers, they never gave up,” Hansen stated.
The trio created a group chat to stay in touch with each other. “We knew catching the dog wouldn’t be easy, as he is so smart,” shared Morris with The Wright County Monitor.
“We had multiple attempts at capturing him, at times getting very close to him and maybe starting to earn his trust. Other times, he would evade us before we could get anything done. After multiple failed attempts at capturing him, we knew the only way we could get him was to trap him in a fenced-in area so he could not get away. This was coming down to Shannon’s property,” Morris continued.
In the meantime, Morris, Walker, and Hansen worked together to earn Waldo’s trust. The group could be seen around town feeding him, or tracking him. They waited for the day when the right opportunity would be presented to lead Waldo to safety.
Shannon Walker’s property is one Waldo often travels to. Walker strategically placed multiple tins on her property full of meat from Brother’s Market in Clarion. The tins led into her backyard, with the final tin full of the most meat to allow time for Walker to close him into the fenced-in yard.
Walker had refilled the tins about 3 times a day over 4-5 days before she was able to get him to go into the fenced-in portion of her yard. Walked shared, “I had a close call on Christmas Day [of catching Waldo]. But because I was downwind he never went all the way in the fence before he caught my scent and took off.”
“I was shocked when Shannon called me and said she trapped him. I rushed over to her property to help make sure he did not escape before we got a few more people there to help wrangle him up. Once we got a few more people on site, we eased in cornering him, finally getting a leash on him, and loaded up into a kennel so we could take him to a safe place. It took all of us to get him just because he is very quick and smart,” Morris shared of the capture.
Walker shared an update online of the capture stating she was glad Aussies weren’t a known jumping breed. Once the slip leash was put on Waldo, he was loaded into a kennel and taken to Peace Creek Animal Sanctuary and Rescue in the back of Josh and Amanda Morris’s truck.
“He already has some new friends helping him and showing him love and he is taking steps to become a confident family boy not just a kennel stock dog! He will be here at the rescue for a while. Training unsocialized dogs is quite difficult and he is at a high risk of danger to himself but he is so smart,” Peace Creek Animal Sanctuary and Rescue shared of Waldo.
If you’re interested in helping with the care of Waldo, and other critters, please mail donations to Peace Creek Animal Sanctuary and Rescue at 2628 Penn Ave in Humboldt.
This article originally appeared in the Wright County Monitor.
