By Nancy Pasternack/Appeal-Democrat
2011-01-15 00:31:46
She hadn't turned up at a local animal shelter, or been spotted during neighborhood searches, or found dead on a highway.
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| Nevada, a seven-year-old black lab was reunited with the Poland family after being missing from Dec. 9 to Jan. 8. Savannah, 9, from left, Bailee, 13, Melissa, Samantha, 8, and Cody, 15. Cody is holding Miley. Photo taken Friday, Jan. 14, 2011, at the Poland's Yuba City home. |
Nevada, a 7-year-old, gray-muzzled, black Labrador retriever, had wandered from the southwest Yuba City yard of her owners — a family with four kids — and had not been home in four weeks.
"She doesn't like to be away from us," said Melissa Poland, who, along with her husband, exhausted themselves searching and worrying, and eventually, resigning themselves to the likely fact that she was lost forever.
Meanwhile, in northwest Roseville, animal control officers had been frustrated in their attempts to trap a shy, graying black Lab that had been spotted by a driver on Dec 9 — a mere three hours after Melissa Poland first began to get the word out that her dog was missing.
On Friday, a skinny, freshly bathed Nevada relaxed in her Yuba City living room, surrounded by her favorite pack of humans.
Her constant canine companion, Miley the Chihuahua, nuzzled her and settled in nearby.
The mystery of how Nevada wound up in Roseville, and the gratitude over her return still is overwhelming for the family, said Melissa Poland.
"I think she got in the back of somebody's truck," said Samantha Poland, 8, who, like everyone else in the family, has considered a number of scenarios to try and resolve the question that is unlikely to find resolution.
One of Samantha's sisters suggested someone might have taken Nevada deliberately.
During the dog's absence, the parents tried to convince them — and themselves — that someone had simply fallen in love with Nevada and had taken her to a new, loving home.
Miley "was very sad and depressed," in Nevada's absence, Poland said. "She hid under the kitchen table. She didn't want to go out. She had been Nevada's shadow."
Her 15-year-old son, she said, was devastated.
He had received Nevada as a puppy to keep him company after difficult surgeries related to his cerebral palsy.
"Cody was the most upset of all," said his mother.
But three weeks after Nevada left home, the situation seemed hopeless. The family's search for her, after all, had been epic.
They had posted photos and descriptions and checked Craigslist and Petharbor.com., scoured all nearby neighborhoods almost obsessively, and checked local animal control.
Melissa Poland also called the office of the veterinarian where Nevada had first been microchipped to provide an updated address and telephone number.
In the end, it was one stranger's determination to find Nevada's owner that got her home safely.
On Jan. 7 — four weeks to the day since she left home — the dog was successfully trapped.
Hungry and exhausted, she had finally given in to the temptation of food in a baited cage.
Though the dog was no longer wearing her collar, Roseville Animal Control Officer Laura Morin knew she had a home, according to Melissa Poland.
She checked the frightened animal for a microchip — a move that met with success and relief.
But a call to the Yuba-Sutter Veterinary Hospital, where Poland had recently updated her dog's address, produced nothing of value.
"They told Laura that the dog had been chipped there, but that they had no idea where the owners could be located," Poland said.
Undaunted, Morin scoured the Internet for a match, and that did the trick, Poland said.
"She kept Nevada with her the whole time. She even fed her KFC for lunch," Poland said.
The family had been at a birthday party in Lincoln when they got the call.
Skepticism led to joy when they arrived at the Roseville Police Department and saw their long lost dog.
"We were shocked that she survived," said Poland. "She's spent her life indoors, and she's such a home body."
There were smiles all around on Friday, one day after Nevada finally seemed caught up on sleep and showed a hearty appetite.
"She's the dog with nine lives," Poland joked. "If only she could talk."
Source: http://www.appeal-democrat.com/articles/gray-103107-southwest-animal.html
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