Couple's West Highland terrier recovered in Visalia after disappearing March 3
By Dylan Darling
Saturday, March 15, 2008
Perhaps it was the pressures of parenthood that prompted a young pooch to skip town.
Maybe little Archie caught a whiff of something he just had to chase.
Or perhaps somebody scooped up the white 1½-year-old West Highland terrier from his Redding neighborhood and took him to the far end of the Central Valley.
Just how Archie emerged in Visalia -- 375 miles south of Redding -- late this week after running away from home on Snow Lane off Quartz Hill Road on March 3 is a mystery.
His owners, Phil and Jackie Carr, got the call Thursday from the Valley Oaks Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals.
"It's good news, bad news -- We found your dog, but he's in Visalia,'" said Phil Carr, a planner for the city of Redding.
The couple left Friday night to go to Stockton, where they planned to stay before finishing the trip to Visalia today to claim their dog.
Last seen on the night of March 3, Archie scampered out of an unwatched, open front door.
"He'd gotten out the front door before," Jackie Carr said.
But he'd never gone far. This time was different.
His collar carried a tag with his name. The Carrs blanketed their neighborhood with fliers and checked the local pounds -- but there was no sign of him.
At 3 a.m. Wednesday, he appeared collarless, scratching at the door of a woman's home in Visalia, Phil Carr said. She let him in and let him sleep in her laundry room before taking him to Valley Oaks.
What happened in between only Archie knows. "My best guess is someone stole him, took him to Visalia and he got away from him because he is an escape artist," Phil Carr said.
Workers at Valley Oaks were able to identify Archie, whose full name is Archibald McDonald, because of a microchip in his shoulder.
"It helps immensely," said Lisa Hutchenson, Valley Oaks office manager.
She said pet owners should have their animals chipped so they can be identified even if they lose their collars.
While Jackie Carr also said she thinks someone stole Archie and that he then escaped, it could have been changes to his home life that caused him to leave.
The Carrs' other dog, a 2½-year-old cockapoo named Elle, had a litter of puppies -- of which Archie is the father -- just before he disappeared.
"So he's a deadbeat dad," Phil Carr said. "His wife had eight kids and he split."
Source: http://www.redding.com/news/2008/Mar/15/lost-dog-found-375-miles-from-home/
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