Charlie, chihuahua

Missing Chihuahua reunited with owner
By Clare Huddleston
Jun 20, 2012

A missing Chihuahua has been reunited with his owner. Charlie survived ten days wandering the streets of downtown Birmingham looking for food, water, and shelter.

Charlie (L) and Chip happy and back together

Laird Foret says Charlie went missing Friday, June 1. 

"He went missing from an office party on Beacon Parkway and we chased him on foot. Me and my employees chased him as far as we could go but he ran down some hills and into some woods," said Foret.

Days later Foret got a phone call from a woman who said she saw Charlie running towards George Ward Park. In fact, she told Foret two men in a pickup truck stopped traffic on Greensprings Highway so Charlie could cross safely.

Foret searched that area, but couldn't find Charlie. The next Charlie sighting came in Glen Iris.

"He actually went into the Idle Wild Circle area and some people tried to feed him and approach him but he's shy and so he's not easy to approach but they described him as a small white dog who was visibly shaken," said Foret.

Visibly shaken and hungry. Maybe the smell of barbeque lured Charlie to his next sighting at Dreamland. After that he made his way towards UAB and that's where police cornered him in some bushes until Foret arrived and coaxed Charlie into his arms. It's something he'll never forget.

"I didn't realize how connected to these two little animals I was. They're my family. They just happen to be dogs," said Foret.

Charlie's brother, Chip, was also devastated when Charlie went missing. Forest says Chip would search the house looking for his brother, only to be disappointed. Foret says he too would have been disappointed had it not been for help from complete strangers.

"It's a story about the kindness of strangers and the community at large that came together through prayers, words of encouragement, their stories and helpful tips. I never would have been able to recover Charlie on my own or by myself," said Foret.

Foret hopes no one else has to go through what he went through with Charlie. That's why Foret wants his software company, Isotope Eleven, to develop an app that would alert you on your cell phone if there's a missing animal in your neighborhood.

Source: http://www.myfoxal.com/story/18841078/missing-chihuahua-reunited-with-owner

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