Search for missing rescued war dog continues

Jack Gdeshka is a dog with an extraordinary story. He was born on a foreign operating base in Afghanistan and raised by Canadian and American soldiers.

Jathan Chicoine was one of the soldiers who patrolled with Jack overseas. When Chicoine returned to rural Iowa, northeast of Ames near the Skunk River Greenbelt, he rescued Jack and took the war dog home with him.

Jack went missing on Dec. 5. Since his disappearance, he traveled at least 40-plus miles. The last confirmed sighting of Jack was in mid-December near Highway 14, just north of Newton.

Social media played a crucial role in bringing awareness to the lost dog.

“I wrote something on Facebook, and my original post was shared over 4,500 times,” Chicoine said.

Jack’s presence in the Newton area was confirmed by Jasper County Animal Rescue League and a dog search team. This was refreshing news for Chicoine.

“That was probably the best thing in terms of saying, ‘OK. He is alive, and he does seem to be moving,’” Chicoine said.

Sightings of Jack have been popping up over the last few weeks, but it’s a challenge to sort through how credible the leads are. Ideally, Chicoine would like someone to take a photo of Jack to confirm his location.

“Once we get a visual confirmation, there are so many people willing to volunteer, that we can just focus our energy on a certain area,” Chicoine said.

Chicoine is not worried about Jack finding food, water and shelter. His main concerns are Jack running into hunting traps and other human-related threats.

“Jack’s a remarkably resourceful dog,” Chicoine said. “He’s smart, and he’s survived. He grew up in a combat zone and figured out how to find food.”

From the moment Jack went missing, Chicoine knew he was going to do everything he could to find him. The dog’s owner said he is hyper-vigilant all the time. When he is driving, he scans the roadsides, keeping an eye out for Jack.

What started as a simple Facebook post transformed into a community of people engaged in helping to find Jack. “Bring Jack Gdeshka Home” has more than 2,000 followers, and each update receives hundreds of shares. Chicoine said his posts are being seen by more than 80,000 people.

Stephanie Fenton, of Newton, was one of the people who found Jack’s story on Facebook.

“I started following it, and I couldn’t stop looking at it every day,” Fenton said. “It just broke my heart. I just wanted to do something.”

Fenton reached out to Chicoine and offered to purchase an ad to be placed in the Jasper County Advertiser. While Fenton said social media is “huge if it reaches the right people,” she also thought the ad might reach people in rural areas who are not connected to Facebook.

Chicoine is grateful for the kindness and compassion people have shown in communities across central Iowa.

“The Newton community has been super supportive,” he said. “It’s been awesome.”

Through Facebook, people are providing support and suggestions to aid in finding Jack. Several people gave recommendations for dog search teams, and community members donated to a crowd-funding campaign to help fund the search.

Chicoine said many people connect with dogs in a really profound way. He stressed the importance of his relationship with Jack. The dog’s transition to life in rural Iowa went incredibly well. Before he went missing, Jack spent much of his time on a farm running around with other dogs.

“In some ways, it doesn’t surprise me that he’s got this much attention,” Chicoine said. “I think you have to be a special dog to find your way out of the situation he was in and end up here in the rural Midwest.”

Because of Jack’s patterns in Afghanistan, Chicoine has a hard time believing the dog is actually lost. Jack was one of two dogs that would go on patrol with the troops twice a day.

“He would go out and do his rounds, and every once in a while, he would stay out at an outpost,” Chicoine said. “Four days later, he would come back.”

However, prior to his December disappearance, Jack was never gone for such a long period of time. Ultimately, Chicoine said, it is Jack’s journey. He made the decision to take off.

Chicoine said Jack might be following the Skunk River and appearing near roadsides from time to time to scavenge for food. It’s difficult to track Jack’s movement because of how quickly the dog can cover ground.

“Visibility is key because we want to keep people engaged,” he said. “The more people that are aware of Jack’s story, the more people that might cross paths with Jack. That’s essential.”

You can stay updated by visiting www.facebook.com/JackGdeshka.

Contact Justin Jagler at 641-792-3121 ext 6532 or jjagler@newtondailynews.com