At 1 a.m. near Patterson Park, a shaggy dog rose onto his hind legs and barked at Ron Lee Ward and Kat Bailey. He followed their dogs from a distance but backed away from every human approach. Ward and Bailey recognized him as Kash, missing for seven months.
What followed was not a chase. Over the next two hours, the pair used their own dogs to draw Kash gradually toward the dog park. At about 3 a.m., they finally secured him with a leash.
That patient approach mattered. Kash had repeatedly fled people during recent sightings, even as neighbors tried to help reunite him with Kyla Primas. Lost-dog recovery guidance warns that pursuing a frightened dog can drive the animal away from a familiar area or into danger.
Kash’s disappearance began one day in January. Primas had gone to pick up dinner while her partner, Morgan Hall, took out the trash. Kash slipped through the door. Primas and Hall searched for most of the night. Hall missed work the next day to continue looking and make posters. Then a major snowstorm reached the area during the first weekend Kash was gone.
The escape came after a period of change. Primas had brought Kash home as a Bernedoodle puppy in 2024. In New Jersey, he ran in her yard and remained close while she worked from home. “He would follow me everywhere I went,” Primas said.
In fall 2025, Primas moved to Baltimore to live with Hall and began teaching third grade. Their home near Johns Hopkins Hospital placed Kash amid unfamiliar sirens, yelling and truck traffic. Primas said he became more skittish.
For seven months after the escape, there was no news. Primas kept searching while holding onto the possibility that someone had brought Kash inside. “I prayed that he was with a family that needed him more than me,” she said.
A recent photograph restarted the search
In late August, Primas recognized Kash in a photograph shared with a Patterson Park neighborhood group. The dog was still wearing a collar, but his fur had grown long and matted. She went to the reported location, only to find that he had moved on.
Primas and Hall made new posters using that recent photograph. Soon, neighborhood residents began sending pictures, doorbell-camera images and sighting reports. The information narrowed the search, but direct approaches did not work: Kash ran whenever someone came toward him.
That response is consistent with broader guidance for fearful roaming dogs. Petco Love Lost advises people not to rush, shout at or chase a skittish dog. A distant photograph, accurate location, direction of travel and physical description can be more useful than an attempted capture.
Keeping reports organized also helps turn scattered glimpses into a usable pattern. Owners can record the place and time of each sighting while continuing to distribute clear flyers and alert local shelters, veterinary offices and animal control. Official lost-pet guidance from New York City recommends searching during both daytime and nighttime and continuing for months when necessary.
Fearful dogs may avoid direct eye contact or retreat when someone closes the distance. Best Friends Animal Society recommends slowing down, approaching from the side rather than head-on and allowing the dog to choose whether to come closer. If an animal appears aggressive, sick or injured, people should avoid physical contact and call the appropriate local authorities.
Another calm dog can sometimes help attract a lost dog, as Ward and Bailey’s dogs did with Kash. For animals too frightened to approach safely, a humane trap may be an option, but it should be selected, placed and monitored with help from an experienced animal rescuer.
Kash recognized home
After securing Kash, Ward and Bailey took him home, gave him food and water, and spent more than three hours removing some of his matted fur. They contacted Primas, who reunited with Kash later Monday morning.
Ward said the dog who had been shy became playful when he saw Primas. Ward and Bailey declined her offers of a reward or a meal. A stranger had once returned Bailey’s missing cat, and they wanted to pass that kindness along.
A veterinarian found Kash healthy apart from fleas and being somewhat skinny. A groomer later removed the rest of his matted coat. His seven months away remain unexplained. Back with the person he once followed from room to room, Kash cannot answer the question Primas still asks him: where he had been. Have you ever adopted a dog with a story like this? Share it in the comments.
By Jake Patterson — Freelance feature writer and former animal-shelter volunteer focused on rescue, adoption, and second-chance dog stories.
