Lost Yorkie Found

The author lays out some great lessons here, but it’s a wonderful story even if you miss the lessons. I LOVE the resourcefulness of the animal hospital worker, Debbie, that took the call. Enjoy the story.

Lessons from a Lost Dog
Vicki Rackner
June 15 2007
Mercer Island, WA

The return of a lost dog is hardly front page news. But as I considered the part I played in the return of a frightened Yorkshire Terrier to her grateful owner this week, I felt compelled to write about it. In fact, this might be the most important story of my year.


As I pulled out of the driveway to get my son to school, a teenager flagged me down. He asked if I could find the owners of the lost dog he held in his arms so he could get to class on time. He said it should be easy, pointing to the dog’s collar that held practically the dog’s weight in tags. I agreed.


My son and I laughed as the teenager passed this creature smaller and lighter than my cats through the driver’s window. The dog was shaking with fear. My son and I assured her, “Don’t worry, we’ll find your owner.”


I dropped my son off, and headed home to do just that. I offered the dog food and water, and she seemed to understand I had good intentions. Elvira, my own lab even contributed to the rescue by not eating our guest.

I looked though the lost dog’s tags. None contained the dog’s name, or the owner’s name or number. The only leads I had after five calls were the dog’s name, the owner’s first name and an off-island local phone number that had been disconnected. I assumed that the owner recently moved to the island, and in the confusion the dog was lost.


I tried to think like someone who had lost a dog. The vet! They might call the vet. I called the first vet in the phone book and explained that I had a lost lap dog and I was trying to find her owner. I expected the vet employee Debbie to take my name and pass my number along should the owner call. Debbie had a different plan.


“I’ll call the owners of all the dogs in our practice with the lost dog’s name.”


Sure enough, she found the owner, who was within a block of my house. I was treated to the owner’s look of joy as the little dog returned to her rightful place in her owner’s arms.


This happy outcome was the result of the combined efforts of strangers. The teenager could have walked right by this dog without noticing it was lost; he could have headed off to school, assuming that someone else would take the responsibility for finding its owner. The vet employee could have just taken my name and waited for the owner to call her. Both of these people jumped in to help a stranger and a lost dog because they knew how much it mattered.

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