Dayton man searching for lost friend

When Toni the hunting dog was found two years ago in the desert outside of Tonopah she was thin and sick.

But since then, the German shorthaired pointer has gained weight and her owner Jim McGifford of Dayton has formed a bond with her.

Until she ran off in late July.

McGifford said he and Toni, an adult female, have been going to work together at McGifford's shop, Western Nevada Bullets for about a year.

"I'm a one-man show and she's my companion," he said. "She lets me know when it is time to go home. I let her out the front door and she goes to the truck. One day she ran past the truck and off into the brush. She saw a rabbit across the street."

McGifford has been looking for her ever since. He put up posters in Carson City that got some calls.

"Ten days after she took off I got the first report," he said. "The people happened to see an ad in the paper. I missed her by a half hour. She's kind of skittish."

In one case, a family had Toni for a day but she got away before McGifford could come pick her up.

"There have been at least a dozen sightings since then, but no one has caught her," he said.

Toni may be living down by the Carson River and has managed to fend for herself, despite having seizures.

But, McGifford is worried that once winter sets in she won't be able to fare so well.

She was found in the desert near Tonopah.

"She was coming off the desert and was in really bad shape," McGifford said. "Since I've had her she has put on quite a bit of weight."

Toni was saved by Robin Orloff, who is in charge of German shorthaired pointer rescues.

Each of the major breeds have their own rescue groups and Orloff deals specifically with the breed.

Rhonda McCalla, who volunteers with Orloff, said she loves her two rescued pointers.

"Roxie came to us housetrained and over her puppy stage," she said. "She is an awesome dog. If she had been bred, I would have paid $600 for her.

McCalla, whose husband Bill is a Reno oral surgeon, said she nursed Toni back to health and was the one who discovered her seizures.

"I really wanted Toni, but Robin said she didn't really fit my needs," McCalla said.

Orloff works with the German Shorthair Club of Reno, a very small group that helps people adopt dogs of the breed.

You can help

Call Jim McGifford at 246-3968 or 246-5011