The search for Gonker

This is the true story of a missing dog with a difference.

Let’s be honest, it has to be any pet owner’s nightmare, they are walking the dog just as they have been doing so many times before and suddenly the dog is distracted, wanders off and just disappears.

At the time this took place, Gonker was a 6-year-old Golden Retriever crossbreed; however, in the movie, Gonker suddenly becomes a Labrador Retriever. There is no explanation for this transformation; however, as I have been involved in the business of working with dogs in this industry, I assume that a suitably trained Golden Retriever cross was not available, and the nearest dog was a Labrador.

His owner was Fielding (Fields) Marshall, who had acquired Gonker to help him get over a great personal tragedy.

The death of his baby daughter whilst undergoing surgery, and the sudden departure of his girlfriend without warning.

Gonker went missing on a walk on the Appalachian Trail, believed to be the longest hiking-only trail in the world, and is situated in the East of the USA It covers around 2,000 miles (3,200 kilometres) and is not for the faint-hearted.

Lost in the wilderness

Searching for a lost pet can take hours, sometimes weeks and even stretch over several months. Some people will spend years looking. In the case of Gonker, it was no ordinary search because, in the case of this missing canine, there was a time constraint. Gonker had to be found in 23 days.

So the search started, and the way it was done is textbook.

A command centre was set up by Fielding’s mother, Ginny, with a map where she coordinated the search and contacted every dog shelter, media outlet, community centre and police station in the area. She also contacted every church community, park rangers and shop. Fielding plastered fliers as far as he could to create awareness, and both he and his father, John Fielding, set out on the trail attempting to retrace their steps in the hope of finding Gonker. To assist them the room another family dog e in the hope the if Gonker was close the two would connect, although in the movie it shows them borrowing a neighbours pet. Again, there is no explanation for this drift away from the fact. On their travels along the trail, they used a megaphone in the hope that their voices would travel further.

More assistance came about when the local newspaper ran the story, bringing the story to a wider audience, and concerned citizens started to become involved.

Finally, in the town of Wintergreen, Virginia, a resident noticed a large dog disturbing rubbish (trash) bins whilst scavenging for food; they alerted the police, who in turn contacted the Fieldings.

It had taken 15 days, during which time Gonker had travelled 111 miles, an average of 7 miles a day. Fielding drove to claim his lost pet and discovered that, apart from his paws being slightly damaged, Gonker was in excellent condition; he had even gained a pound in weight.

The real concern

This was a happy ending, and now I can reveal the time constraint.

Gonker suffered from hypoadrenocorticism, commonly known as Addison’s disease.

This is a disease where the adrenal glands fail to produce the critical hormones that are required for the body’s internal organs to work properly. In order to live with this disease, it is necessary for the canine to receive an injection every month; otherwise, the dog would succumb to its medical condition.

Gonker was found with 8 days to spare!!

Gonker would live another five years before passing away at the age of eleven.