Shadow, a black lab

If you go to the source page for this story, you can read the comments, of which there were many. Sadly, a lot of them focused not on the feel good ending with a reunion, but on the fact that this lost dog's owner had been carrying the dog in the back of her pickup when she was lost. That bummed me out after reading a nice happy ending story, but I suppose that if the commenters' emphasis on this practice -- which is a bad one, to be sure -- results in some folks to stop doing it, then I'll take it.


Lost dog's tale has a happy ending
01:21 PM CST on Thursday, December 11, 2008

Sometimes you find the best stories in your own back yard. Or, in this case, in your own back parking lot.

More than a year ago, a stray dog took up residence in the parking area behind the newspaper building.

It's so unusual to see a dog running loose in downtown Dallas that the black Labrador retriever mix caught everyone's attention.

But the poor thing was so skittish that you rarely got more than a fleeting glimpse of her as she cowered down and scurried away. Because no one could get anywhere near her, some kind souls here made do by putting out food and water each day.

But that couldn't go on forever. Someone remembered a story we had run about Capp Evans, a local fellow who has success catching wary strays when no one else can.

His help was enlisted, and the dog some were calling "Belo" was snared on Saturday. A wonderful dog sanctuary in East Texas, Straydog Inc., agreed to take the poor old mutt in. And on Monday, as is routine with all new arrivals there, she was taken to a veterinary clinic in Athens for spaying and medical care.

Bill Arnold, the president of Straydog, said he couldn't believe his ears when the vet called to say the dog was in good health, was already spayed and ... had a microchip implanted! A microchip ID was the last thing anyone expected from what appeared to be a hard-knocks street dog.

Using information from the chip, a call was placed to James Tubbs of Cedar Hill. He's the father of the dog's owner, 28-year-old Alisa Holmes of Dallas.

Alisa said her father scared her when he called.

"He said, 'You're not going to believe this. Are you sitting down?'

"I said, 'I am now. What?'

"He said, 'They found Shadow.' And I screamed."

Shadow's sojourn goes back to Thanksgiving weekend of last year. She was riding in the back of Alisa's pickup. Somewhere between Cedar Hill and Alisa's apartment in North Dallas, Shadow disappeared.

You can spare her the lectures on dogs in the back of trucks. To say she grieved is putting it mildly.

"I have never felt a sadness that deep," Alisa said. "I'm fortunate. No one in my immediate family has died. The closest thing to me that I ever lost was my dog."

That night and for weeks after, Alisa retraced her path, searching for Shadow. She distributed 200 fliers, visited animal shelters and scoured lost-pet Web sites.

She had rescued Shadow as a newborn pup five years before. Shadow's mother, a street dog, gave birth to the litter beneath the broken pavement of an abandoned service station in Arlington.

Shadow suffered from periodic seizures. Alisa theorized that her beloved dog must have had a seizure during the trip home that night and fallen from the truck.

When Alisa got the incredible news on Monday that Shadow was found, it was too late to get to Athens before the clinic closed.

But she and her father were there two hours before it opened Tuesday morning. Alisa hadn't slept all night.

"I smiled so much my cheeks were hurting," she said.

Folks around the newspaper have been smiling, too, as word has spread about the happy outcome for the poor old parking-lot dog.

Alisa said Shadow snored loudly her first night back. What deep, sweet sleep that must have been – home again.

And an update from Alisa after this article ran, found among the dozens of comments about the story:

Hello and Merry Christmas to you all!

To update you all on Ms. Shadow... she has settled in well. She sleeps so sound now! She never used to snore this much! :o)

She loves going with me (in the car). A little stubborn on her food though, I think she is praying for the DMN people... she seems to have been "spoiled" while she was there. Thank you again guys, for taking such great care of her. She is in great health, great spirits, and a true joy to come home to. Shadow, My Dad, and I are going to hand food out to the homeless on Christmas Eve. I hope we can provide some happiness and hope (even if for a moment) to those who need it the most. That will be our first good deed to do together since our reunion. The DMN feeding her for a year! We can do it for a night (at minimum). Take care and best wishes to you all this Christmas Season and safe travels.

If any of you would like pictures, email me at AlisaHolmes@hotmail.com and please put SHADOW as the subject.

Questions? Feel free to ask away.

Sincerely,
Alisa and Shadow (Flash/Midnight/Belo... and all her other nick-names)

Resource: http://www.dallasnews.com/sharedcontent/dws/dn/localnews/columnists/sblow/stories/DN-blow_11met.ART.Central.Edition1.4a2e309.html