Rynnet, JRT/fox terrier mix

In this story, the dog's whereabouts were known but capturing her was what was difficult. An unusual technique was used, and it's not the answer for every case. Definitely a vet's care is required (even though the people here didn't have a vet present). Give it a read and see what you think about it. Enjoy the story.







Lost and found
By ANGIE ALVARADO
The Palestine Herald

PALESTINE— Where one man’s search for his family’s missing dog began months ago, it ended Wednesday afternoon.
“That’s her, Daddy! That’s her!” an excited Colton Frazier said as he laid eyes on a small white and tan terrier mix.

Eight-year-old Colton Frazier, left, and his brother Cory Frazier, 6, right, are happy to have Rynnet, who was missing for more than three months, back home. The boys’ father, Timmy Frazier, said the Jack Russell-Fox Terrier mix is the smartest dog the family has ever owned.

“I looked for that dog every day,” an emotional Timmy Frazier, Colton’s father, said Wednesday after recognizing Rynnet, the family’s pet that had been missing from their home in Elkhart since March 9. Colton, who was Rynnet’s constant companion, was hurt and devastated when he realized his beloved dog was missing. Although the family had another dog, Rynnet and Colton were best friends, Frazier said.

“They did everything together,” Frazier said about Colton and Rynnet. “She slept in his room on his bed. They went squirrel hunting together all the time. Wherever he’d go, she’d go.” Not knowing if someone picked her up or if she just wandered away from home bothered Colton’s young mind.

“I prayed every night for her to come back home. My prayers have finally been answered,” he said as he stared at his long-lost friend standing in the middle of the parking lot at the Herald-Press. Ironically, the long overdue reunion was taking place outside the newspaper office where Timmy Frazier began his search for their dog in March.

As 8-year-old Colton kneeled and called her name, the Jack Russell-Fox Terrier mix stood frozen, a look of confusion on her face. After being away from home and apparently living on the streets for more than three months, the young dog was scared and untrusting. Instead of running toward Colton and Timmy Frazier, she kept backing away all the while watching the people who called her by name. For most of the afternoon, the Fraziers and a couple of volunteers tried to catch the skittish dog.

“I’ll stay out here all day if I have to until I catch her,” Frazier said. “You can’t replace Rynnet. She’s the smartest dog we’ve ever had.” At least now the family knew Rynnet was alive and well. In a matter of hours, she’d be home, they thought.

“I prayed every day,” Colton said again unable to take his eyes off Rynnet. “I knew she wasn’t dead. I knew she’d come home.”

A Long Way from Home

Rynnet’s long journey began in early March when Frazier went to the hospital for the birth of his fourth son with his wife Janie. His parents, Paul and Adell Frazier, stayed home to “dog sit” the family’s pets. Rynnet, who had been an inside pet, was let outside to relieve herself. When the Fraziers could not locate her 30 minutes later, they knew something was wrong.

Fearing the worst but trying to remain hopeful, Frazier placed a “lost dog” advertisement in the Herald-Press on March 9. The ad contained a picture of the 18-month-old dog the family had adopted four months earlier from BARC, the Humane Society animal shelter. After the ad ran multiple times, people started calling the family with information on the dog’s whereabouts.

“She was spotted at Cartmell (Home for Aged) looking through the windows,” Frazier said. “She was spotted behind the hospital, at the movie theater and other places.”

For more than three months, Rynnet walked the busy streets of Palestine. The spunky little dog also was spotted all over the downtown area including on Magnolia, Lacy, Elm, Mallard and other streets. For the past month at least, she rested her weary paws at the Herald-Press, sleeping underneath parked cars or sunning in the parking lot.

When severe afternoon storms drenched the area a few weeks ago, she found shelter nestled in the flower beds against the newspaper office. Some people who worked in the area would leave food and water out for her. Others suspected she lived nearby and was just roaming the streets.

Patience is a Virtue

As Wednesday afternoon turned into evening, efforts to catch Rynnet were suspended. The Fraziers did not want to scare her and cause her to run off. But Frazier had a plan. After all, they had waited for Rynnet for months, another night without her would be tolerable.

Thursday morning, Frazier talked with a local veterinarian who gave him a tranquilizer to mix in with some moist dog food hoping that Rynnet would eat it and her reflexes would be slowed enough to allow her capture.

Karen Martin, a Herald-Press employee who was instrumental in reuniting the dog with her family, put the sedative in the dog food and the unsuspecting Rynnet ate every bit of food. After the sedative kicked in, Martin, one of several Herald-Press employees who had befriended Rynnet, coaxed her to come toward her, allowing Frazier to sneak up behind her and capture her.

At first, the dog was terrified but as soon as Frazier called her name while holding her, she just relaxed in his arms. Surrounded by his sons and his parents, Frazier hugged the family pet, tears of joy running down his face. Those watching could do nothing but be touched by the moment.

“I think she was ready to go home,” Martin said.

Other than fleas, Rynnet seemed healthy; perhaps a couple of pounds heavier than her picture in the “lost dog” ad. She was taken to the animal shelter where she was dipped for fleas and then bathed. Frazier then noticed she had a cough and carried her to a local veterinarian’s office where she was checked out and treated for an upper respiratory infection. While there, she also received antibiotics, worm medicine and was checked to make sure she was not pregnant. “She’s going to be fixed on July 2, so we had to make sure she wasn’t pregnant,” Frazier said.

After hearing the tale of Rynnet’s three-month ordeal, the veterinarian said “she’s a little warrior,” a delighted Frazier stated.

Home at Last

“As soon as we pulled up in the yard at home, her ears went up,” Frazier said in a telephone interview Thursday afternoon. “It’s like she knew she was home. As soon as she got in her environment, her tail started wagging.”

There to welcome Rynnet was her best friend Colton and his brothers, 6-year-old Cory, 2-year-old Chase and 3-month-old Colby, in addition to the rest of the family. Rynnet seemed excited and happy to be surrounded by her family and to see the family’s other dog, a black Labrador.

“She acts like she never left,” Frazier said. “She’s laying in my lap right now. I’m so glad she’s home.

“As soon as I call her name, she comes and jumps in my arms and licks my nose. “It’s funny that she was found right where I started looking for her, at the newspaper office,” Frazier said.

One of the newspaper employees who watched the tearful reunion said, “It’s almost like she knew where to come to be found.”

A somber Frazier said that during the whole experience, he learned a big lesson from his oldest son.

“At times we thought she was dead and gone. But not Colton, he’d say ‘No Daddy, she’s not dead. God will answer my prayers,’” Frazier said.

“He (Colton) has taught me patience,” the father stated.

At last, the little boy with unwavering faith had his best friend back.

Source: Palestine Herald
http://www.palestineherald.com/homepage/local_story_174021303.html?keyword=leadpicturestory

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