Riley, beagle

Riley's Story
October 3, 2014
Find Riley (on Facebook)

Thank you all so much for the overwhelming support, both when Riley was missing and again today now that she has been found! Here's the story:

As I posted yesterday, it had been a week and we (Steve and Chelsea) had yet to hear any news of her whereabouts. We went searching every day and just posted new bright signs last night. We went to bed sure that we'd go another day without seeing our puppy.

Around 12:30 a.m. we got a phone call saying that someone saw our dog outside her building. We quickly gathered the supplies we needed: flashlights, treats, squeaky toys, a blanket, and her leash. 

The sighting was just down the street from our house, along a path Riley's dogwalker regularly took her, so we had a lot of hope that we'd see her! Unfortunately, after searching the immediate area thoroughly, we didn't see her and went home. Even though we didn't get her back at that moment, we felt a new optimism at our first sighting! If you saw the post, you probably could tell how excited I was!

Eventually we were able to fall back asleep, only to be woken up again around 4:30 a.m. from a neighbor to come outside immediately because he was pretty sure he saw Riley behind our building. This time we had left some of the things we needed in the car, but we didn't waste time and immediately ran out.

The next hour is a little bit of a blur, but here's what I remember. Riley had made her way back to our apartment building but was staying hidden in some thick forest/brush up high on a hill. I climbed up the hill as Steve and the neighbor stayed on the street to try and find her. The trees on the hill were too dense and there was a fence blocking much of it. I could hear her tags jingling, though, so I knew she was close! 

I ran back down onto the road in time to get a flash of her peeking out of the trees. She seemed like she recognized us but was a little scared. Eventually she made her way down the side of the hill and onto the street. 

That probably would have been the end of the story, but there was a locked gate standing between us and her! I tried to climb the gate but it was too high to jump down on the other side. I called to her and she came over, but someone walking across the street spooked her and she ran away again. I couldn't believe I had been so close to catching her only to see her run off.

Steve and I decided to stay out and wait. We are so thankful we did, because eventually she came back out of the trees. Steve sank down onto the ground and she ran down to see him and (basically) into his arms. 

I've already taken her to the vet and it looks like she is lucky - no major problems except weight loss. Lucky girl gets to eat extra for a few days!

THANK YOU EVERYONE for liking and sharing this page. We had so many eyes looking for her and without the help of our neighbors and friends we might not have had such a happy ending. I'll keep the page up for a few days so that everyone can see the good news. She's hooooooome!!!!

Source: https://www.facebook.com/WheresRiley