Angelnina's Cottage
August 13, 2008 at 6:36 am
Mark and I jumped into the minivan on Saturday and headed for the mountains. We usually throw in the sleeping bags–just in case we wander too far. We ended up driving more than two hours looking for a place to eat lunch. We veered off the main road and took a winding dirt road which we followed for another forty minutes. I’m somewhat picky–must have mountain view, sun, no people close by, and a river.
We sat here and stared for quite a while. I did a little meditation and then I heard a commotion behind me on the dirt road. I saw a car driving by, then noticed the car was slowing down to a stop. I saw the passenger open her door and then I realized she was staring at me and then at something on the side of the road. I stood up, and the car drove off. Then, I saw the dog. It appeared to be a Yellow Labrador.
I knew there were no other people around, so I whistled and called out. The dog ran toward me, and she appeared exhausted. She was wet on one side of her body and she was making an odd coughing or wheezing noise. She looked weak and scared. There was no tail wagging. Something felt wrong.
After a few minutes of exchanging our “What do you think we should dos?”, we loaded her up into van and started driving. We were looking for people who appeared to be looking for a lost dog. We spotted a few Jeeps driving slowly down the side of the road, the men in the Jeeps were looking back and forth from one side of the road to the other.
I shouted out, “Hey, did you guys lose something?”
“Why, what did you find?”, came the smiling response.
“A dog.”
The guys kind of laughed and shouted out to the Jeep in front, “Hey, did one of you lose a dog?”
I wasn’t about to let this go on, so we drove off. I knew the Yellow Lab we found was well trained, and a dishonest person might claim her for their own. She was wearing tags with a veterinarian phone number, and she was currently licensed. Somebody would be missing her terribly. We decided to drive the two hours back to our home, and contact the vet as soon as possible.
The vet was closed, so I left a message. I found the vet’s office online and sent an email as well. I never received a response that night, so after feeding the dog, we plugged in a heater to warm the cottage, and gave her a queen sized comfortor to sprawl out on. She was exhausted. The cough was still there, and I was starting to become more concerned. I wondered if she was ill and needed medication, and I wondered if her owner/owners were in trouble somewhere in the woods. My intution told me she was simply lost, but when I went to bed that evening, the dog started to howl. It was a sad and lonely howl.
Sunday morning, Mark and I were cooking pancakes, when we received a call from the vet! Aw, her name is Roxy (What is it with me and animals named Roxy?) , and she’s four years old! The vet gave me the details– owner’s name, address, and phone numbers. The vet had tried to reach the owner to no avail. I tried as well. No answer. I left a message and waited. Roxy waited too…
Mark played ball with Roxy. Sean and Olivia came over and met and played with her too.
As the day wore on, I started to second guess myself. What if the dog belonged an injured hiker? Should I call the police? I even threw a few tarot cards. Everything looked to moving along well. It seemed clear we’d have contact by that evening.
Around 7 PM Sunday evening, Roxy’s owner called. He is a single man, father of two, and a very relieved owner of one missing female Yellow Labrador He drove two hours to pick her up in the city. The reunion was emotional.
Happy Reunion
Her owner looked so relieved. He was very grateful–an all around nice guy. We visited for a bit before they left. He took full responsibility for what had happened. He was camping with a group of forty-five people, and thought somebody was watching Roxy when he drove off, but unbeknownst to him, she gave chase, and eventually lost him. He and his fellow campers searched and posted signs to try and find her. He hadn’t thought of checking messages when he went to town to post signs, but Sunday evening, he checked, and heard my message. YAY!
He asked if he could do anything for us–he was overwhelmed and teared up, at which point I asked if I could give him a hug. We asked that he just keep taking care of Roxy. I have no doubt that she is very loved. The two of them are obviously a team. Roxy jumped up in her king cab pickup truck and made herself comfy. Mark and I gave her a few pats and hugs to say goodye.
I love a happy ending.
Source: http://angelninascottage.com/2008/08/13/mountains-lost-dog-and-a-happy-ending
Note that the original version has more to it; I cut out the parts of the blog entry that weren't about the story of finding the lost dog.
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