Two weeks after a pair of huskies went missing from their Orcutt home, sightings remain mysteriously elusive despite a small army keeping an eye out for them.

Crystal, 6, and Maya, 4, went missing from their home in a neighborhood off Foster Road on Nov. 1, worrying their owners, Ron and Heidie Hensic, plus a wider community of animal lovers.

The huskies were last seen near Righetti High School heading westbound toward a busy intersection with Highway 135 about 4:45 p.m. Nov. 1. 

“We have followed up on every single husky spotting since that has happened and just nothing,” Hensic said while checking out another report of a husky sighting Thursday. “Nobody has actually seen our girls. They just vanished.”

Social media users have rallied to help. One promising report about a pair of exhausted huskies in a Tanglewood yard west of Orcutt ended up being different dogs. 

He fears somebody recognized how “friendly and awesome” Crystal and Maya are and decided to keep them, instead of taking them to be scanned for microchips. 

Found dogs should be reported to Santa Barbara County Animal Services and not just kept by the finder. In at least one case, a dog who went missing was located a handful of houses away after the finder improperly decided to keep the canine. 

The Hensics rescued Crystal from the county Animal Services shelter and in her first year with her new family she had medical issues.

“She died in our laps at the Pets Hospital, and we paid to have surgery done and she was saved,” Hensic said. “So we literally saved her life.” 

Described now as a “super sweet dog,” Crystal was emaciated and appeared to have been abused in the past, he said.

She’s also a hero.

On a walk with Heidie Hensic and Maya, Crystal fended off an attack by a loose Rottweiler that had charged at the trio. Crystal put herself in between the attacking dog, saving Heidie Hensic and Maya. 

Crystal took the brunt of the attack on the hind section, needing stitches.

“She possibly saved my wife’s life and Maya’s life. She just jumped in front. She didn’t hesitate,” Hensic said. 

They acquired Maya, the runt of the litter, as a puppy, sparking a change in Crystal as she gained a playmate. 

With a second husky in their household, the Hensics moved to a home with a bigger backyard so the inseparable siblings had room to play. 

“Anytime we would go somewhere, if I loaded Crystal in the truck first, she would freak out,” Hensic said of Maya. “It’s very unlikely that they would separate on their own, but that’s not to say that they couldn’t get separated somehow.”

Both female dogs have been spayed and have typical husky coloring of gray, black and white fur. While Crystal has two crystal blue eyes, Maya has one all-brown plus one half-brown and one half-blue eye. 

“They’re healthy, happy, wonderful, fun-loving dogs. They’re not aggressive at all. After going on their mischievous romp, they would easily probably jump in someone’s car,” he said.

The Hensics work for law enforcement agencies, so the pair of huskies have provided therapy after especially hard days on the job. 

Search efforts have included flying in a small plane above the Santa Maria Valley and deploying a drone in hopes of spotting the dogs. 

“We’ve got a small army out looking for them,” he said, adding they fear the dogs have fallen prey to wildlife or had been picked up and taken out of the area.

The effort includes volunteers, like Debbie Warren and Geoff Clinton, who often help rescue scared dogs on the run in the Santa Maria Valley.

Administrators of social media groups focused on lost and found pets also have helped spread the word about Crystal’s and Maya’s plight.

“I couldn’t imagine if it were me,” dog lover Patricia Sly-Feighner said. “Our community is so amazing at finding lost animals. How can two dogs disappear into thin air?”

The Hensics have offered a reward but haven’t released the amount. Scam calls soon followed after they released the first fliers. 

Sadly, the efforts to keep people aware of the missing dogs also have attracted knuckleheads.

“I have voice messages of people calling and barking on my voicemail,” Hensic said. “Not cool.”

Otherwise, the community, including family, friends and strangers, has rallied around the Hensics and their missing dogs — support the Hensics appreciate.

“We’re at a loss. We’re trying everything. We’re trying not to give up, but it’s been 15 days now,” he said. 

Another lost dog story should give hope to those worried about Crystal and Maya. One social media group member recently shared about a lost dog found after 21 days. That dog had a small wound and weight loss but was otherwise healthy. 

With the words “Bring our girls home. We will never give up,” Hensic has put together an emotional slideshow of pictures, available here, set to the song “Rescue” by Lauren Daigle.

Anyone with information about the dogs whereabouts can call 805.363.0489 or 805.478.8052.