CAMBRIDGE - The classic cartoon catchphrase, Scooby Do, Where Are You, reverberated across Cambridge area social media for eight days after a visiting pup took flight from the sound of neighborhood fireworks on July 5.
To the relief of the many folks following the gripping saga of a missing dog in a strange town on Nextdoor Historic West End App, the escape caper concluded happily when Scooby Doo was finally spotted inside a trap set up near Pennsylvania Avenue, about five miles from his starting point on Radiance Drive.
Scooby Doo’s human mom and dad, Blanca Sullivan and Taylor Cleveland had traveled to Cambridge from their Frederick, Maryland home to spend the July 4th holiday with Sullivan’s parents.
The Radiance Drive house where Sullivan’s mother moved during the Pandemic had been her grandmother’s home, holding fond memories as a favorite summertime gathering spot. Cleveland had returned to Frederick for work, with Sullivan and Scooby Doo scheduled to follow when this year’s happy holiday get-together took a frightening turn the evening of July 5th.
While Scooby and Sullivan were inside the house, a blast from nearby fireworks startled the one-year-old German Shepard/Labrador mix pup, who bolted out a door momentarily left ajar, into the night.
With no luck, Sullivan, her mother, and siblings searched the surrounding area for hours.
They set out and in excessively hot temperatures, frequently monitored about twelve food stations and a scent trail but were still unsuccessful, Sullivan said.
Cleveland made the two-and-a-half-hour return drive to Cambridge to assist with the Scooby search, and the family put up photo posters of the missing pup online and around town.
“We posted a video of him on Instagram and TikTok, paying to boost circulation,” Cleveland said.
They also reached out to Dorchester County Animal Control, who helped set up a trap several days later when personnel were available.
When they posted his picture on Pawboost.com and especially Nextdoor App’s Historic West End threads, Scooby sightings multiplied from behind the University of Maryland Medical Center at Cambridge Marketplace, to Washington Street, then near Appleby and Race Street—there was even a 2 a.m. phone call. One woman reported seeing him in her yard on Pennsylvania Avenue, coming as close as her deck.
Sullivan, Cleveland, and family members posted messages urging people to report sightings instead of chasing Scooby, who they had rescued from a kill shelter in Tennessee in December 2023.
While the couple had both been raised with family dogs, Scooby was the first they’d adopted on their own as adults. Not actively looking for a pet, Taylor spotted Scooby’s picture on social media, was immediately smitten, and they put in their application.
Before being adopted, Scooby Doo a shy but lovable puppy, known as Joe, one of three “Jonas Brothers” siblings, Sullivan said.
Sadly, the Animal Control trap had no better luck than the food stations, so they purchased their own, a cougar trap sold by Tractor Supply, soon transporting it to the Pennsylvania Avenue location.
Combing the area and noticing a pathway leading out of a cornfield, Cleveland and Sullivan’s sister staked out the spot for several hours, sitting in wait and also searching in the brush, where she became mired in soggy quicksand-like soil, he said.
While buoyed by the outpouring of community support, as time wore on, the stress and fear mounted.
“Sadly, a few scammers tried to fool us and get money,” Cleveland said.
Mistaken identity sightings, a nearby shooting incident, and the arrival of the area’s first major bad thunderstorm added to the stress as the days turned into a week with Scooby missing.
Starting to lose hope on day eight, at 7:30 a.m. Sullivan decided to visit the trap one more time,
“As I pulled up to Pennsylvania Avenue and spotted the trap, I saw something brown inside. I prayed to God that it was him, parked the car, got closer, and saw Scooby!” Sullivan said.
Calling Cleveland and her siblings to help, they decided to transfer the trap containing the frantic, disoriented pup by car to Sullivan’s mom’s other home on Glasgow Street.
“It took him a little while to realize who I was, and he cried for a good five hours,” Sullivan said.
Amazingly, other than numerous tics (which prompted a bath), Scooby seemed in good physical condition, and within a day, was back to nonstop tail wagging and giving endless rounds of kisses to the couple.
By Sunday, July 14, the harrowing Scooby saga had reached a happy ending back home in Frederick, with another bath and a vet visit.
As news of Scooby’s safe return was posted on Nextdoor and Facebook, Sullivan and Cleveland received a flood of messages expressing gratitude and relief.
The couple can’t say enough about the Cambridge community’s response and how much it helped, both logistically and to keep their hope alive.
Cleveland posted this reply to one of the more than fifty post rescue comments received.
“You guys are so wonderful! I really don’t think any of this would have worked without you ALL. Every step of the way, you guys have been invested and have gone above and beyond for us, really reminding us how beautiful life really is. Thank you again from the bottom of my heart,” he wrote, later adding an additional thought.
“This community’s response to our missing dog has been incredibly heartwarming and unifying. People of all ages and all backgrounds were helping me online and in person. The community came together to help a lost pet they didn’t even know, showing compassion and unity,” he wrote.
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