Asia, chow chow

Dog reunited with family after getting lost on the Eisenhower Expressway
By Rosie Powers, Digital Editor
Tuesday, April 30th, 2013

Before the phone rang during their second night of vacation in Cancun, the Pulido family had no idea that their dog, Asia, was lost.

They also didn't realize that she had escaped on to the Eisenhower Expressway.

Joseph Pulido and his family greet their dog, Asia, a 10-year-old Chow Chow, after finding her at the Animal Care League in Oak Park.

The call came from their grandmother on April 4, who said the 10-year-old rescue Chow Chow had escaped during a walk and was nowhere to be found.

"She's always been there, we've had her since I was a kid," said Joseph Pulido, 24, of Berwyn.

After receiving word that she had gone missing, the family immediately flew back on April 5 to start looking for Asia.

"We didn't know if she got stolen or hit by a car," Pulido said.

Shortly after Asia's escape — and unbeknownst to the Pulido family — she had been spotted by drivers along the Eisenhower Expressway in Forest Park. Multiple IDOT trucks, local Samaritans and the Forest Park police collaborated to safely capture Asia from the highway and brought her to the Animal Care League in Oak Park.

Robin Akers, Animal Care League volunteer, said the ACL has a contract with local police departments to hold lost animals for three to five days, after which they become responsible for the animal.

"It took us several days to get in kennel with her because she was very scared," Akers said. "We ended up having her for nine days."

After returning from vacation, the Pulido family tried to locate Asia based on a list of local shelters they had received from police, but with no success.

"As soon as we got back from vacation, we started looking around neighborhoods, asking people, went to animal shelters -- but no one had seen her," Pulido said. "We had given up hope."

But on April 12, Pulido and his brother checked the Animal Care League on a whim. Pulido said they were only in the area to retrieve his brother's car, which had gotten booted.

"We knocked on the door and asked to see if she was there," Pulido said. "I walked in and she was right there!"

Although Asia had a collar, her identification was missing and the Animal Care League soon determined that she had no microchip, which made locating her owners difficult.

"If [the animals] don't have a microchip or lost their collar, a lot of them don't get claimed, so she was very lucky," Akers said.

Pulido returned with his mother the next day, on April 13, to bring Asia home.

"It was a really exciting moment because I could tell she was sad for being lost for so long," Pulido said.

Source: http://www.oakpark.com/News/Articles/4-30-2013/Dog-reunited-with-family-after-getting-lost-on-the-Eisenhower-Expressway/

Doudou, pekingese

Blind pet rescued from well
By Zhou Wenting (China Daily)
2011-11-28

A blind dog that became trapped in an uncovered well has been reunited with its owner more than two months after going missing.

Meng Shasha emerges from a sewer drain in Qingdao on Nov 10 with her pet dog, Doudou, who had been missing for two months. The animal had been trapped underground for almost 20 days

Doudou, a 2-year-old Pekingese, had survived on food scraps thrown down to him by people living and working nearby who heard his barking.

"Although born with severe sight problems, Doudou always made it home after going for walks alone," said Meng Shasha, who adopted the dog from a friend in 2009. "Sometimes I'd find him at the door when I got back from work."

The 26-year-old finance worker was on a business trip when the animal went missing in October. She had left her pet with a friend.

"I searched for him in the streets and posted messages on the Internet," Meng said. "I burst into tears whenever I saw his picture. I thought it was hopeless."

A short while later, Wang Bin, a Peninsula City News reporter, received a call from a reader about a dog trapped in a well for almost 20 days.

"We went to the site with a veterinarian. We tried to hook him with a rope and a box, but it didn't work," said the journalist, whose story about the dog was published the next day and attracted comments from more than 200 readers.

Meng saw the report on Nov 9 and called Wang the next morning. He gave her the address of the well, which was outside a gas station and not far from Meng's home in Qingdao, a coastal city of Shandong province.

"Doudou started barking as soon as he heard my voice," Meng said. "He was excited and wanted to jump up."

The well was one of more than 10 in close proximity. Each was 2 meters deep and interconnected by pipes about 20 cm in diameter. None of the wells had covers.

Meng climbed down, causing the animal to initially flee. "Maybe he was scared by the loud voices of the people circling above ground," she said. "In the end, I just reached out my hand for him to sniff. He instantly recognized me and licked my hand."

After being pulled from the well, Doudou was given a quick health check and a shower, and was back home the same day.

"He's very active these days and follows me everywhere," Meng said. "Before he went missing, Doudou wasn't allowed in my bedroom. Now I have a mattress next to my bed for him to sleep in."

Source: http://www.chinadaily.com.cn/m/qingdao/2011-11/28/content_14176853.htm

Cheyenne, sheltie

Hard work, KFC help reunite dog with owners
Sheltie back home after more than a month of searching ends in live trap baited with chicken
By Justin Glawe of the Journal Star
Aug 18, 2011

Cheyenne the Sheltie

PEKIN — After more than a month of sightings, stakeouts and a Kentucky Fried Chicken lure, Dwight and Connie Morgan finally have their dog back.

Judith Schmider of Groveland, who owns Aunt Jude’s Pampered Pet Care, reunited Cheyenne, a skittish 3-year-old Sheltie, with the Morgans.

Cheyenne was found in a humane animal trap about 7 a.m. Wednesday, a month and three days after disappearing.

“I’m just a pet lover. I was never going to quit, this is like a child to me,” Schmider said.

Dwight Morgan, 80, of Morton is happy Cheyenne is finally home and back to her habit of waking him up every day at 5:30 a.m.

“When we let her out of that cage in my backyard, she jumped almost three feet in the air to get to me,” Morgan said. “She’s been at my feet ever since.”

The Morgans left Cheyenne with Schmider to attend a family reunion in Florida.

“Usually, we leave her with a family member, but all our family was down there,” Morgan said. “The next reunion is going to be in the Peoria area.”

The dog’s stay with Schmider didn’t last long. Shortly after taking possession of the dog, Schmider pulled into her garage and let Cheyenne out of the car without realizing the garage door was still partly open. The dog bolted through the opening and began its monthlong hiatus.

After more than 50 sightings, according to Schmider, she and other searchers were at wit’s end until they talked to Annette Long, 72, of Normal, at Central Illinois Sheltie Rescue in Bloomington.

“You’ve got to use K Fried Chicken because of the odor. Dogs are drawn to it,” Long said Thursday. “And it’s just common sense to use a live trap.”

The trap was provided by Tazewell County Animal Control. The Kentucky Fried Chicken was provided by Schmider.

“Something kept telling me we were going to get her,” she said. “So, all day Tuesday, every two hours I would put a fresh piece of chicken in the trap.”

Early the next day, Schmider arrived to find the door of the trap closed.

“At first, I thought it was a small animal in there,” she said. “When I saw it was her, I fell to my knees sobbing.”

Cheyenne is believed to have survived on scraps from area restaurants as well as the food being left out by Schmider. The dog was taken to a local veterinarian who found that she had lost three pounds, had fleas and bruised paws and was, of course, very dirty.

Dwight Morgan praised Schmider.

“This lady put up signs all over the place, and we had nine or 10 people that said they spotted her and I’m sure more than that called in,” Morgan said. “When she (Schmider) found her, she was crying, she was just so elated that she had finally found her.”

“We’re going to have a welcome home party for her,” Schmider said. “There’s so many people that helped out and they want to get a chance to finally pet this dog.”

Source: http://www.pjstar.com/news/x27458657/Hard-work-KFC-help-reunite-dog-with-owners

Hurley, Bernese Mountain Dog

Family 'whole again' after reunion with lost dog
Darcy Wintonyk, ctvbc.ca
Fri. Apr. 8 2011 5:44 PM ET

A North Vancouver, B.C., family says they are whole again after being reunited with their missing dog, who spent more than two weeks wandering the North Shore mountains lost and hungry.

Hurley, an 18-month-old Bernese Mountain Dog, was saved by search crews in a dramatic long line helicopter rescue just south of Capilano Lake on Thursday.

The dog was spotted by a fellow Bernese owner, who was among the hundreds of volunteers and community members who have given their time to search for the beloved pet.

"We couldn't be happier, our family really wasn't complete without Hurley and we were feeling that, all of us," Darwin Schandor told CTV News from his home just hours after he brought the dog home to his family.

"We now know what he means to us, our family. He's one of us," his wife Tracie said.

It has been an emotional two weeks for the Schandor family.

The couple and their two children, Hudson and Kiana, were on vacation in Maui for spring break when their pet sitting service called on March 24 to say that Hurley had wandered away during an outing on the Baden Powell Trail. The dog was supposed to be outfitted with a GPS collar, but the agency, Embark Dog Centre, decided not to use it because they felt the dog was well behaved.

That was the last time Hurley would be seen for two weeks.

The family spent up to 15 hours a day searching the rugged terrain near their home for any clues, but to no avail. A Facebook group, now 600 members strong, was launched for community members to report any possible sightings, and to tell others where they were searching.

"What kept us going was how many people volunteered their personal time to help find this member of our family. Even complete strangers," Darwin said.

"We may live in a big city but this is a small community."

The family even commissioned a helicopter to scour the area by air as a last-ditch effort. Tracie said her children, aged eight and 10, cried every day that Hurley was missing.

"We did start preparing them, and telling them there's a possibility he might not come home and those are some pretty tough conversations to have," she said.

The dramatic rescue

Members of North Shore Rescue quickly launched into action Thursday afternoon after receiving word the dog was spotted on a trail near Mosquito Creek.

Tim Jones said he had a hunch the dog would be near the water.

"When you can't find a person in a ridgeline or a trail system, they're in the creek," he said. "We felt the best way to get it out safely was through a long line rescue."

Two members were flown into the area by chopper, slowly lowered down into the rocky gully by a 200 foot long cable.

Rescuer Jeff Yarnold said Hurley wasn't thrilled to see searchers -- at first.

"He's a big dog. Once the leash was on him he was like ‘take me home,' and then he was thrilled," he said.

Hurley survived for two weeks with minimal food but lots of water. The dog is 20 pounds lighter, but otherwise okay, according to a veterinary assessment after his rescue.

Back at their North Vancouver home, Hudson and Kiana described the elation they felt when they saw their missing dog.

"It was so amazing. I just couldn't wait to pet his fur," Hudson said.

"I missed him a lot. It was really sad, but it turned out happy like him too," Kiana added.

Tracie said Hurley has free run of their home now -- and that their family has learned a valuable lesson.

"He's a bigger part of our family that we ever knew he was," she said.


Hudson added: "Never, never, never give up."


Accountability

Meanwhile, Embark Dog Centre said this is the first time it has lost a dog in its care.

Paul Riley, who spent many hours alongside the family searching for Hurley, describes the employee that was with the dog when he disappeared as one of their most experienced.

Riley said staff spent a lot of time assessing Hurley before they deemed it okay to let him walk off-leash.

"A Bernese Mountain Dog is not a flight risk. So for something like this to happen it makes you rethink everything," he said.

A sign posted on the door of the centre Friday said the business would focus on more training in the future.

Riley said they are rethinking their business model after what happened.

"With animals, you can read body language, but accidents like this can happen," he said, adding that he's just grateful the Schandors found their missing pet.

"If I have a business that's great, but if I don't, the kids have a dog and that's the main thing."

The Schandors say Embark has offered to pay a portion of the rescue costs.

Source (includes video): http://www.ctvbc.ctv.ca/servlet/an/local/CTVNews/20110408/bc_hurley_home_110408/20110408?hub=BritishColumbiaHome
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Luna, American Bulldog Mix

At last, Luna safe at home
Missing dog, owners are reunited after 9 days
By Carol Demare, Staff Writer
Tuesday, January 12, 2010

COLONIE ­-- After nine days on the lam, Luna, the deaf bulldog mix who broke out of her boarding pen at a veterinary hospital, was back in her owners' arms Monday, a few pounds lighter but none the worse for wear.


Luna, the American Bulldog Mix that has been missing from the Shaker Veterinary Hospital since Jan. 2, was found in good health today. Here, she greets reporters during a visit with her owners, Shelley and Ralph Rataul

Officials at the Shaker Veterinary Hospital on Maxwell Road, from where Luna escaped at 4:30 a.m. on Jan. 2, said it's possible the dog ate food left out by concerned dog lovers throughout Latham and Loudonville, drank water that wasn't frozen and may have found shelter in old barns and a vacant greenhouse during freezing temperatures.

Luna lost about 12 pounds, said Ken Wolfe, assistant director of the veterinary hospital. She weighed 65 pounds when she pushed open the door to her crate and took off.

As Luna looked at the cameras and showed her friendly side at an afternoon news conference at the veterinary hospital, her rescue was detailed by Wolfe and her owners.

It began about 12:30 a.m., when dogs started barking inside a home on Springwood Manor Drive which runs alongside the property of State Police Troop G headquarters on Route 9 in Loudonville.

Family members looked out and saw Luna in their partially fenced-in backyard. They recognized the dog from a story that appeared in the Times Union on Sunday, said Shelley Rataul, one of the dog's owners.

They tried to get the dog in the house but Luna barked and wouldn't go in. So, they called the veterinary hospital and from there Ralph Rataul, the other owner, hurried to the Springwood Manor Drive home.

Source: http://www.timesunion.com/local/article/At-last-Luna-safe-at-home-553552.php
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Another version of the story, with video, is at: http://capitalregion.ynn.com/content/top_stories/492769/missing-deaf-dog--luna--found-safe/

Daisy, sheltie

The Ultimate Christmas Gift: A Lost Dog, Found!
Summit residents and dog lovers join together to save a lost dog and deliver the ultimate Christmas present to one local family.
By Michelle Colandrea (New Providence Patch)
February 7, 2011

Nothing brings a community together quite like a shared mission and just before Christmas, Summit residents young and old found themselves unified on such a quest in search of a lost dog named Daisy.

Susan Grates is happily reunited with her dog Daisy who went missing for three and a half days in December but was miraculously found on Christmas morning.

You might remember having been in your local coffee shop or grocery store during the days leading up to December 25 and seeing a lost dog flier posted on the door. Or maybe you received the e-mail that showed up in countless inboxes that described the details of the dog’s possible whereabouts. Or perhaps you read a breaking news alert advising locals to keep their eyes open for the Blue Merl Sheltie on your town’s Patch homepage.

However you heard about the search for one of Summit’s four legged residents, we hope you also heard about her miraculous Christmas morning rescue. Read on for the heartwarming tale of a lost dog, the spirit and support of a New Jersey community, and a very happy ending.

On December 22, Summit resident Susan Grates, along with her husband and their three grown children and their families, were enjoying a holiday vacation in relaxing Puerto Vallarta, Mexico when miles away in chilly New Jersey, the Grates’ dog Daisy had just escaped from her sitter’s New Providence home.

“That breed (of dog) really wants to be in their home,” Grates said. “They want to defend their own property. (Daisy) wasn’t home, and she wanted to get home!”

For the next 48 hours or so, the Grates would be completely unaware of the devastating event that would soon gain the attention of residents and authorities in New Providence, Summit, Berkeley Heights and surrounding towns.

The Grates family had agreed to remain relatively “unplugged” from their electronic devices during their vacation save for the wireless internet access provided at their hotel. According to Grates, the family members didn’t own international cell phones, they hadn’t lugged their laptops along with them, and they hadn’t left their contact information with anyone back home in Summit.

“We’re never under the radar, and it’s kind of a nice thing to be unplugged,” said Grates of what could have been a relaxing vacation away from daily phone calls and e-mail messages.

But 2,278 miles away in New Providence, Daisy’s dog sitter and family were chasing after the Grates’ dog.

“When she’s scared, she runs surprisingly fast,” said Grates of the 23-pound dog which she and her husband have owned for more than six years.

Having had no luck apprehending the speedy canine, the searchers immediately contacted the Summit and New Providence police departments and eventually informed the authorities in Berkeley Heights as well. Grates had left the contact information of family friend and neighbor Tine Mikkelsen in case of an emergency and she was soon alerted of the news.

Mikkelsen played a crucial part in spreading the word about the missing Daisy. She sent out alerts through Facebook and Craigslist, posted fliers, called area veterinarians, and sent out an e-mail that eventually reached Patch staff inboxes.

“She was perseverance personified,” said Grates of her friend.

Other area residents also joined the search effort including a neighbor's son Matt who assembled some friends and used his new Christmas flashlights to look for the missing furry friend. Even Paw, the Mikkelsens’ golden retriever helped to search for her canine companion.

“In this neighborhood especially, most everyone cares about the dogs,” said Daisy’s owner.

On Christmas Eve, the news finally reached the vacationing Grates via a family member’s Smartphone internet connection. Shortly after they were informed, Susan decided to make the trip back to New Jersey to assist Daisy’s search team.

“I figured, ‘I’ll never be able to find (Daisy), it’s a needle in a haystack,’” said Grates of her thoughts on the decision to head home and help with the search.

As luck would have it, Grates wouldn’t even have to step foot in America before her beloved Daisy was discovered.

According to Grates, the final rescue effort began on Christmas morning in nearby Berkeley Heights. A happy family (who have yet to be identified) were opening their Christmas presents when the mother spotted Daisy through a window. The woman had received the chain email the day before and seen the lost dog flier posted in her local Dunkin’ Donuts, telling of the missing sheltie.

“She said ‘That looks like that dog!’” recounted Grates of the story she’d been told. “So what do they do? They stopped opening their gifts, they dropped what they were doing, and the man got in the car to follow Daisy.”

Meanwhile, the man’s wife made the necessary phone calls to let searchers know the dog had been spotted. Soon, a team of dog lovers, family friends including the Mikkelsens and Paw, and neighbors who heard the news were out of their homes and on the streets to do what they could to get Daisy home.

The story ends in a Berkeley Heights neighborhood near Summit Medical Group where a fellow dog lover had cornered Daisy on his front porch and was keeping her captive through the skillful use of doggie treats.

“So then there’s this crowd of people Christmas morning descending upon Daisy!” said Grates of the scene when Daisy was finally found.

Altogether, Daisy had traveled at least three miles and spent three and a half days without any reliable source of food or water.

Less than 24 hours after the dog’s discovery, a record breaking blizzard would sweep through New Jersey and those involved would call it a miracle that Daisy was found in the nick of time.

“Our friends never gave up searching daily along with their children and dogs, putting food and water on our porch and checking our yard and property several times a day in case she found her way back home," Grates said, calling the efforts of those involved “tireless” and described them as “an outpouring of love.”

Since Daisy’s return, the Grates and their dog’s unlikely search team have continued to receive congratulations and well-wishes from friends and town residents.

“Our visit to the Murray Hill Vet's office was more an exhilarated family reunion with stories of Daisy sightings than a regular pet check-up," Grates said. "The MHV staff congratulated us, expressed their concern, and informed us of the many well wishers who had contacted their office."

Grates said repeatedly that she would like to thank all of those who took part in Daisy’s rescue.

“It was heartwarming; we were very moved by it. I think that it brought people together, it really did. I think it goes beyond just the love of a dog. It speaks to people wanting to help each other out in these three communities.”

Source: http://newprovidence.patch.com/articles/the-ultimate-christmas-gift-a-lost-dog-found-2

Neiko, Havanese

Little Lost Dog...
LA Reid

Lost Dog is the true story about the day Neiko ran away. Finding a missing pet is worse than looking for a needle in a haystock. Needles don't know how to hide - dogs do. And they do it so well.

Neiko was soon to become a miracle dog - the hard way. He was just over one year old and I was going out of town for the day. A friend took him overnight and was going to drop him at my office in the morning. I was driving back home when I learned Neiko was not at the office. I called my friend and she started crying hysterically. She couldn’t even talk. Not a good sign. Fear gripped me immediately. I knew it was about Neiko. Was he dead – what had happened? I called my daughter and asked her to find out what was happening.

In seconds, my cell phone rang. My daughter said my friend’s husband left a door open and Nieko ran out. He had been gone for over six hours. They lived close to the interstate and all streets in their area were very heavily trafficked. My heart sunk. I knew how hard it was to find a run away dog. I had previously owned one and it was a nightmare. Perhaps that experience prepared me for what I needed to do.

I drove as fast as I could, probably faster than I should have but there were only a few daylight hours left. After dark it would be impossible to find him. If Neiko was still alive, he would never survive overnight in that area. It was full of swamps and alligators. The "if he was still alive" was pounding in my head. It would be dark in three hours.

When I arrived at my friend’s house, I was told they saw Neiko go straight down the street. I went to the nearest neighbor’s houses, literally begging them to please watch for him and call me if they see him. I needed flyers quickly. I really needed help so I called my son-in-law. He and my 11 year old granddaughter joined in the search. She made flyers and posted them throughout the area. They stopped cars, talked to walkers and knocked on doors.

I also stopped every car that I could. One person said they had seen him around noon, heading down a very heavily trafficked street about a mile away. I went to the first subdivision off that street, knocked on doors, talked to drivers and walkers. Then I went to the second development. Two young girls were riding on a golf cart. They stopped in a driveway and went into the house. I knocked and went inside. I explained the situation to their mother and the girls said they would ride around the area and let me know if they found him. Time was slipping by too fast and there were no real leads.

My daughter, Bo's mom, worked long distance. She started calling all the homes in the neighborhood. Every effort was made to find Neiko. The sun started to set and my heart was pounding so hard I could barely breathe. There were only minutes left. I called the girls who had the golf cart and asked them if they could please take a drive around again. They said they would. By then I was crying and everything seemed so hopeless. There were huge fields of underbrush where he could lie down and disappear forever. Traffic, miles of roads and wild animals. He was just a tiny baby, lost and afraid. Lost dogs tend to run on the streets then hide. The success rate is very low in situations like this.

Then my cell phone rang. The girls said they spotted Neiko and a friend of theirs was trying to catch him. They gave me directions and I headed to the area. When I got there, no one was there. I called them again, and they said Neiko had run away from their friend but he was still trying to catch him. Then I heard screams. They had found him! I was praying so hard that it was Neiko and not some other dog.

As I sped down the road, I knew this was my last chance. If it wasn’t him, he probably would never be found. As I pulled up to their house, a boy was holding what looked like a scraggly brown dog. I jumped out of the car and ran toward him. It was my baby. Filthy, bleeding and crying, but alive. The thanks yous for saving his life would never be adequate. I gave them what cash I had as a reward and they seemed as thrilled as I was just to have found him.

I drove home while holding him tightly. I bathed him very carefully. He had worn the pads completely off his feet and could not walk. His fur was matted with mud, burrs and sticks and he smelled terrible. But he was alive.

The next morning he went to the vet. They ran blood work and checked him from stem to stern. His feet had to be bandaged and treated for infection. His bandages made him look like all four legs were broken. He needed antibiotics, more pills, powders and lots of TLC. For the next two weeks, he hobbled on his little sore feet. The medication kept him sleepy and he had no energy but it was amazing how well he adjusted. It was about two months before he fully recovered and the experience made us even closer than ever.

Update June 2009. I received a phone call from AKC. The operator was very excited when she told me someone had found my dog. At the time, Neiko was sitting next to me so I drew a blank. The AKC operator gave me the name and phone number of the person who thought they had my dog. When they said Apopka, Florida I had just been in that area a few days earlier and my daughter lived near there.

I called my daughter and before I could explain what happened, she was crying and said Bo, her little dog ran away and she thought he had been killed. I told her no he hadn't, realizing the dog reported to AKC was Bo, but she hung up before I could tell her. So I called the people who thought they had Neiko, they said someone just came to their house - it was my daughter. I thanked them profusely, as did my daughter. Bo was safe and AKC came to the rescue. I highly recommend obtaining an AKC identification for your dog. They have operators on duty 24/7 in case you lose or someone finds your dog.

Source: http://www.rhinestonepuppydog.com/lost.html

Jesse, yellow lab

GOING TO THE DOGS: ‘Tail’ to tell after being lost.
By Jerry Elsden, GateHouse News Service
Posted Oct 27, 2009 @ 08:00 AM

Lewkowski, the Rhodesian Ridgeback, left, found Jessie, the 12-year-old yellow Lab, right, 16 days after she became lost in Wompatuck State Park on Oct. 14.

Hingham — What’s better than a miracle, long after you’ve given up hope finding a lost dog?

On Wednesday, Oct. 14, we found Jessie, a 12-year-old yellow Labrador retriever, who has cataracts and mast cell cancer tumors on her body.

Jessie was found alive 16 days after she had vanished east of the parking lot opposite the Wompatuck State Park Visitors Center on Monday, Sept 28, around 3:15 p.m., near the N2 side trail.

I’ve been Jessie’s dog walker since 2003. So, I was looking for her body when I took four Labs and a Rhodesian Ridgeback named Lewkowski (who I walk only on Mondays and Wednesdays) into Wompatuck on the same trail I had last seen Jessie. I remember thinking that her beautiful body would be more visible as winter approached. The “lost dog” posters that I had taped everywhere were a sad reminder of the horrific day she disappeared. I was no longer calling out for “Jessie.”

I took the dogs on the paved road past the waterfall and toward Triphammer Pond, onto the old gravel railroad bed (from when Wompatuck was the Naval Ammunition Annex). On that trail Accord Brook runs swiftly through a culvert on its way to the pond. Over the last two weeks I’d walked that trail several times looking for Jessie, as did many others, calling her name, and whistling.

Suddenly, the Ridgeback hung back, sniffing the ground and air. She barked as if to say, “Pay attention here.” This dog has never barked with me when I walk her. Something was up.

Lewkowski rushed down the 45-degree sloped underbrush area and I followed, hanging on to Sonny’s leash. Leila and Tango barked. I saw a yellow Lab body, knew it was Jessie, and my heart leaped. Was she dead, or barely alive?

Jessie raised her head, and tried to recognize me, but couldn’t, her old eyes glazed. The Labs licked her face. She could not stand up. I thought her leg was broken, but a nasty long briar stem had twisted around her belly. I wished I had my jackknife, but instead broke the stem with my prosthetic right foot. She didn’t even whimper. I clipped a leash on her collar but it slipped off, she had lost so much weight. I think I grabbed the back of her neck, and got Jessie up the slope onto the trail. I was so overjoyed I thought I was dreaming. That dog actually walked back to the car, although I was prepared to call the park ranger to open the gate and get her. The other dogs pranced around, knowing she was OK, especially Lewkowski. Jessie drank lots of water in my car, and at my house she ate some kibble. God only knows what she ate for 16 days. The rainfall kept her from dehydration, which is worse than hunger for any creature. I wanted to grill her a steak, but knew her tummy had to have what the vet recommended.

After contacting Jessie’s pet parents by cell phone, I whisked her off to Roberts Animal Hospital in Hanover for what the vet called “a head to toe” check-up. Her pet parent’s daughter met us there. Jessie weighed 60 pounds, down from 76 pounds in June. That’s a pound for each day she was lost. Other than some scrapes and scratches, and a few ticks, the old girl was stable and could go home, after the tech gave her some subcutaneous fluids and a de-wormer. We took home special canned food and medicated shampoo. I cherished that reunion of Jessie’s to her home. She was safe, warm, fed and happy. The next day she went to Doggie Style Salon in Quincy, where Ryan Lamb, of Hingham, removed 12 more ticks and gave her a professional grooming. “She earned it,” said Lamb, whose family has been in the insurance business in town since 1952.

Sept 28 was a beautiful early fall day, the sun was drying up the rain from the day before. I took the dogs to Wompatuck because the tide was low at Bare Cove Park, which was business as usual. Jessie hung back from me and the dog pack, which she often does, and I called to her to catch up. She did, but she had a crazy look on her face. My black Lab Duchess had picked up an apple that someone had thrown on to the trail, and she was playing with it. I thought it cute, looked back for Jessie about 15 seconds later, and she was gone. I turned around and called Jessie’s name, went to the parking lot, walked other trails, yelled her name until dark (6:30 p.m.) I called her pet parent. By this time I had corralled the other dogs into the car with water and biscuits. I notified Hingham Police. It was around 60 degrees.

The next morning I was in the park with cooked bacon, searching for Jessie, for about five hours, near the N2 trail. I consulted a dog physic who told me she was alive but west of where I last saw her. With Jessie’s pet parent and other volunteers, we searched that area, near Woodpecker Pond, to no avail. The daytime temperatures were around 60 degrees and nighttime temps were around 45 degrees, in Jessie’s favor.

A friend owns a bloodhound, so I took Jessie’s blanket (so painful to gather) to have the hound sniff if and off she went. But bloodhounds must be trained to find people or dogs for it to work. My daughter helped with the search. I banged a stainless dog dish with a spoon as I walked everywhere on day three. The temps remained warm, giving us hope. We told everyone about Jessie, to look for her. The Wompatuck Park Rangers were really helpful, and sympathetic.

Sept 30 and Oct 1 were search days, but we were getting discouraged. Fellow dog walkers from Bare Cove Park came in to look for Jessie. I printed posters and dropped them at houses all along Lazell Street. I met some nice people.

Saturday, Oct 3 it rained all day. I was losing hope, as did Jessie’s pet parents. A woman called me about a yellow Lab seen near the High School. I printed more posters and taped them all over Hingham Center. I offered a $100 reward.

As the days dragged on with no sign of Jessie, we all assumed she had died. The notion set in that maybe her mast cell cancer had spread and she was feeling awful and wandered off to die. People told me to stop beating myself up, which fell on deaf ears. I took the dogs to Bare Cove Park, could not deal with Wompatuck. Her pet parents took down Jessie’s crate.

But in the back of my mind stuck the words of a woman who walks her Bassett Hound at Bare Cove every day. Her name, ironically, is Jessie and she said “dogs have been lost for weeks in that park, and coyotes are not really a problem.”

The lesson here of course is that Jessie should be leashed always, which I do in parking lots and on her street to the car.

Jessie, you have a new lease on life, thanks to your buddy Lewkowski. And I think, the Dog God.

Jerry Elsden is a below-the-knee amputee who was involved in a serious automobile-pedestrian accident. She is a dog walker, freelance writer and former editor of The Hingham Journal. The names of the dogs in this column have been changed to protect the identities of their owners.

Source: http://www.wickedlocal.com/hingham/news/lifestyle/columnists/x665149614/GOING-TO-THE-DOGS-Tail-to-tell-after-being-lost

Archie, toy poodle

Poodle reunited with owner after epic journey
By Liam Sloan
Friday 28th January 2011

FOR 18 months, Chris and Julia Moran had no idea whether their poodle Archie was alive or dead.

Julia Moran with Archie the toy poodle

The toy poodle vanished without trace from a garden in Heybridge, Essex, in July 2009, and had not been seen since... until he turned up two days ago in Oxford.

Yesterday, 549 days on, the couple were reunited with tiny Archie, more than 100 miles from where he went missing.

The 2ft-long dog was found yelping, lost and alone in Abingdon Road by a member of the public on Wednesday.

When Oxford City Council dog warden Ken Williams discovered the dog was microchipped, he traced the owners back to Corringham, Essex, and broke the news on Mrs Moran’s 47th birthday.

Mrs Moran, a pre-school teacher, said: “It is the best birthday present I could ever have.

“When we heard the news, we thought we were in a dream, because when we lost him it was like being in limbo.”

Archie went missing from Mrs Moran’s sister’s garden in Heybridge, near Maldon, on July 27, 2009, while the family were on holiday in France.

When she phoned with the news, the family cut their trip short and sped back to Essex to look for the dog.

Mr Moran, 52, said: “We searched for days and days, and came back every weekend for several weeks.

“We put up posters all over Maldon and in the supermarkets, and there was a newspaper article in the local paper.

“We put him on Dog Lost and the Missing Pets register.

“You name it, we did it.

“We went to every effort possible but he had disappeared off the face of the earth.

“We either thought he had been knocked down and he was in a ditch somewhere, or he had gone off with somebody. It was like losing a member of our family.”

Daughter Kelly, 17, said: “When Dad told me Archie had turned up, I thought he was joking. I can’t believe it.”

Archie’s missing 18 months remain a mystery.

He was dirty but not malnourished or injured when he was found, suggesting he had been looked after.

Mr Moran said: “We don’t know how he ended up here. Maybe he came up to Oxford to study for a degree.”

Mr Williams added: “Something like this makes the whole job worthwhile.”

Source: http://www.oxfordmail.co.uk/news/8818230.Poodle_reunited_with_owner_after_epic_journey/
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Sage, shepherd mix

Dog lost for 32 days became Loudoun woman’s Christmas miracle
by Alex Withrow, Times-Mirror
Thursday, Jan. 6

Part of the team that helped find Sage, who was found secure after 32 days on the lam

Carrie Reilly-Greiner had already touched down in Florida when she received a call that would drastically change the course of her holiday season.

On Nov 23, just two days before Thanksgiving, Reilly-Greiner, who was in Florida with her siblings, received a call from Shadow’s Retreat dog boarding facility in Leesburg. Sage, Reilly-Greiner’s 13-year-old Shepherd mix, had jumped two fences surrounding Shadow’s Retreat and was nowhere to be found.

“I was a little confused as to how an elderly dog could jump not one but two 4-foot tall fences, when she can’t even jump 25 inches up into my car,” Reilly-Greiner said.

Officials with Shadow’s Retreat said they were just as shocked as Reilly-Greiner to find that Sage had gone missing.

“We’ve never had any dog jump our fence,” said Carla Robey, who works at Shadow’s Retreat. “We show every dog owner the fence that lines our perimeter and ask them if they think their dog would be able to jump it.”

Reilly-Greiner boarded a plane back to Virginia. Once in Loudoun, Reilly-Greiner, who volunteers with Loudoun County Animal Care and Control, began the necessary motions to find Sage.

“We created a new plan every day,” she said. “A dog tracker identified an area very close to the facility that Sage left from, so we went off that. We had a huge search party, two trackers, dozens of volunteers and their families. The community effort was really quite humbling.”

Despite the countless hours contributed by every Animal Control volunteer and officer on staff, Sage remained lost.

After several days, Reilly-Greiner switched the perspective of her search.

“I became convinced that we needed to change the focus from active search to more of an outreach,” she said. “That’s when we went very heavy with putting up flyers in the area where she was lost.”

But after weeks of snowfall, harsh winds and freezing temperatures, Reilly-Greiner still had no leads.

Then, on Dec 23, Reilly-Greiner received her first message of hope in more than a month. She received a call from a woman who lives in the area where they were searching.

“She told me that her son and a friend had seen a dog matching what they saw on the flyer,” Reilly-Greiner said. “After speaking with her for a few minutes, I knew they had spotted Sage.”

Shortly after 10 am on Christmas Eve, while patrolling near Route 15 and Trail Race Road, Reilly-Greiner spotted Sage feeding on a deer carcass. Despite gentle calls to her dog, Sage did not respond to her owner.

“She didn’t recognize me or my voice,” Reilly-Greiner said. “The wind was blowing against me, so she couldn’t pick up my scent, either. There was no recognition. I was a stranger to her. I called Animal Control, who came out and set up a few humane traps. By 7 pm, no one had seen her.”

After 32 days of no solid leads, Reilly-Greiner was aggravated but inspired by her fleeting moment of hope. Hours later, at 10:30 pm on Christmas Eve, Reilly-Greiner received what she calls her Christmas miracle.

“I got a call from Amy at Animal Control, telling me they had found my baby girl,” Reilly-Greiner said. “It only took me a few seconds to get out the door. Once I was in front of her, a very strange thing happened. Dogs have serotonin in their brains, which makes them act domesticated. And when that serotonin dissipates, as it does very rapidly when a domesticated dog is out in the wild, they revert to survival mode. Once I was reunited with her, I could literally see the serotonin kicking back in. She began to lick me and cry and wag her tail. It was quite a remarkable moment.”

According to Animal Control staff, Sage and Reilly-Greiner’s reunion was heartfelt for everyone involved.

“I honestly don’t remember too much about making that call to Carrie. I think I was in such a state of shock,” said Amy Seymour, who found Sage on her day off. “Everyone, especially Carrie, put so much hard work into this search. And to see Carrie and Sage reunited, it made it all worth it. It was really very special.”

Animal Control Officer Chris Brosan said the reunion was something he’ll never forget.

“Sage had been gone so long, and at her age … you start wondering what her fate is,” Brosan said. “But the moment the two of them were reunited was just incredible. It truly was unforgettable.”

Minutes after locating Sage, Reilly-Greiner called Tom Jones of Ashburn Veterinary Hospital, who opened his doors at 11 pm on Christmas Eve to treat a very malnourished Sage.

“Her lab results came back with her having a very common parasite, which is easily treatable,” Reilly-Greiner said. “She lost 32 percent of her body weight, but she’s getting back on track.

“I rescued Sage when she was 3 months old,” she said. “I know her, and I honestly think I would’ve felt it if she was gone. I wasn’t able to accept that she was gone – I knew she was still here. Owners looking for their dogs just need to follow their instincts. Be realistic and don’t give up.”

A week after her rescue, Sage confidently pranced around the grounds of Loudoun Animal Control, secured by a fluorescent-colored pink leash held tightly by her owner. It was the first time Sage had been reunited with many of the people who spent a month searching for her.

After catching up with Animal Control staff, Reilly-Greiner looked down at Sage, who was standing obediently by her side. As she patted Sage’s head, she said the same thing to her as she did during their reunion.

“Come on, baby girl,” Reilly-Greiner said. “It’s time to get you home.”



Source: http://www.loudountimes.com/index.php/news/article/dog_lost_for_more_than_a_month_became_loudoun_womans_christmas_miracle123/

Piper, tan dog

Kingsport family's lost, sick dog returns for Christmas
By Phillip Murrell
Published: December 24, 2010

A Kingsport family has been searching for their sick dog since Saturday.

The Nelson family went on vacation, leaving Piper at her local animal hospital.

While an employee walked her, she accidently slipped off her harness.

The Nelsons and the animal hospital have been looking for Piper, hoping to find her so she could get her medicine for her illness.

She has a disease that causes inflammation of her spinal chord.

Thanks to dozens of flyers and a helpful neighbor, they found her.

Larry Lyon looked through a wooded area in his neighborhood of Preston Forest, and found Piper laying down at the bottom of a hill.

An 11 Connects crew captured the moments leading up to a Lyon finding her.

"Oh...Merry Christmas to the Nelson family. This is great! I've got to call everybody," exclaimed Marsha Nelson.

Piper is doing well tonight - she's set to receive chemo treatment for her illness on Monday.

Watch the video above to see the amazing reunion.




Source: http://www2.tricities.com/news/2010/dec/24/kingsport-familys-lost-sick-dog-returns-christmas-ar-735553/?referer=http://twitter.com/&shorturl=http://tricities.com/ar/735553/

Fred, bassett hound

Microchip helps reunite dog with its owners
By David Olson, the Press-Enterprise
Monday, June 11, 2007

Nearly six months after Fred the basset hound disappeared from a Moreno Valley family's former home in Arizona, the dog will come home in style: on a private jet to Palm Springs.

Fred, a basset hound that disappeared from his family's home in Paulden, Ariz., will be returned to the family in Moreno Valley.

Tammie Gomez, 30, and her children, Julia, 9, and Jonah, 7, will greet Fred at Palm Springs International Airport on Tuesday, six days after the dog wandered into the parking lot of the Northern Arizona Second Chance Center for Animals near Flagstaff, Ariz.

A veterinarian at the center is a pilot and will whisk Fred to Palm Springs. Shelter staff found the Gomez family through an identification microchip implanted in Fred's neck.

"It was just chaos in the house," Tammie Gomez said of when they discovered that Fred had been found Thursday. "Everyone was screaming and crying. It's like we won the lottery."

The Gomez family last saw Fred in December, when they left Paulden, Ariz., to haul some of their belongings to Moreno Valley. They left Fred in a fenced dog run with a golden retriever and asked a neighbor to take care of them.

When the family returned two weeks later, Fred was gone. They don't know how he got out. The golden retriever was still in the dog run, and the gate was closed.

As the weeks passed, Gomez told Julia and Jonah that Fred was probably "living the good life on someone's couch." But, privately, she believed that Fred had probably been killed by one of the wild animals that inhabit the countryside near Paulden.

Then, on Thursday, Lyn Pierce, office manager of the shelter, called Gomez to tell her that Fred had walked into the shelter parking lot. It's unclear whether someone had dropped him off there earlier, Pierce said.

"She was speechless," Pierce said. "She kept having to stop the conversation. She didn't believe we had found her dog."

When Gomez hung up the phone, she tearfully told Julia and Jonah the good news.

The center veterinarian, Dr. Paul Fink, is certain that Fred did not walk the nearly 80 miles of mountainous terrain from Paulden to Flagstaff. He was healthy when he arrived at the center, and the bottoms of his paws are not scraped-up, Fink said.

No one knows what Fred has been doing for the past six months. Gomez believes someone must have picked him up, because his collar -- which held his dog tags -- was gone.

The Gomezes had lived in Riverside before they moved to Arizona two years ago. They had the microchip installed in Fred's neck about seven years ago, after they adopted him from the Riverside County animal shelter.

Gomez said she probably wouldn't have ever seen Fred again were it not for the microchip.

"I wish I could microchip my kids," she said.

Source: http://www.pe.com/localnews/riverside/stories/PE_News_Local_D_lostdog11.3ea8afc.html

Codi, spaniel-poodle mix

Finding Codi: Family reunited after 11-day Ridge search for missing dog
By Allison Espiritu, Snoqualmie Valley Record Reporter
Feb 19 2010

Codi, a 16-month-old Cocker spaniel-poodle mix, was reunited this past Monday with his Seattle owners after wandering alone on Snoqualmie Ridge for nearly two weeks. The dog was found trapped in a Ridge construction site.

Lost on Snoqualmie Ridge, a spaniel-poodle mix dog named Codi searched for a friendly face for for 11 days and 10 nights before being reunited with his owners.

Owners Ken and Veronica Williams of Seattle dropped off the 16-month-old "cockapoo" at the Ridge home of Ken's sister Laureen Williams on Friday, Feb. 5. Codi's owners were headed to Florida to attend a birthday celebration, and didn't have a worry in the world that their dog would go missing.

But when Ken called his sister during a layover in Dallas that afternoon, his brother-in-law, Hector, told him that Codi had bolted and was missing.

Hopping on the next flight to Seattle, Ken made it back by midnight and began an 11-day search for the dog. Ken believes the dog was searching for him at the same time.

"When he left, he didn't leave for spite, " Ken said. "He left because he was looking for me."

Bicycling around the neighborhood, Ken spotted Codi several times on the Ridge. However, Codi always ran away from Ken, making him realize how elusive and scared the dog was.

"I figured I could get him, but he just wouldn't come," Ken said.

Hanging flyers and talking to residents, Ken was surprised at the number of calls he received from Ridge residents who had seen the traveling cockapoo and tipped him off to where Codi was last seen.

"People were so good. That's what really amazed me about the community up there," Ken said. "What they have is something they don't want to lose."

Ridge neighbor Cindy Deibler assisted Ken throughout the nearly two-week search.

"Cindy was there from day one," Veronica Williams said. "She never gave up hope and afforded both Ken and I with much-needed encouragement."
Finding Codi

Last Monday, Ken and Veronica were heading back to Seattle — Ken hadn't been home since the Ridge search began — when they decided to go back one more time and wait until 4 p.m. that afternoon. If Codi wasn't found, they would let him go.

"We got out there around noon, and said if we came home with him, that day we'd believe in miracles," Ken said.

After buying some teriyaki and camping out where Cody was last seen, the Williams got the call they had been waiting on for days. Codi was found trapped in a construction site in a Ridge resident's backyard, adjacent to a golf course where Codi had been seen various times.

"They had a sunken backyard with a concrete fence that was too high to jump over," Veronica said. "They sweetly called Codi's name. After he came they took him inside and called us."

Ken assumes Codi was familiar with the hammer and saw sounds of construction, since he had traveled with their family as they built a home in Eastern Washington.

"That's the only thing he really knew in that area," Ken said. "He couldn't find his way back because it wasn't his home."

Overjoyed, Ken and Veronica reconnected with their dog, now five pounds lighter.

Upset that he had put Codi in a situation that he was not capable of handling, Ken said this has been a learning experience. He now realizes Codi is a dog with serious stamina.

"He's still a little shocked within himself, because he's still in that fleeing, survival mode," Ken said. "It will take a little while to get him back to normal, but all in all, he's healthy and still wants to play."

Until you nearly lose a pet, "you don't realize how much you love your dog," Ken added. "This dog is a prince of a dog. It shows by his survival. He's a special dog, and has got the strong blood to survive. We got lucky with this one."

Ken is thankful to the Ridge community.

"I didn't know there was that much goodness in that percentage in such a small area," he said.

Source: http://www.pnwlocalnews.com/east_king/svr/lifestyle/84817937.html

Max, a sheltie

Girl, dog reunite
By Terry Karkos , Staff Writer
Monday, June 15, 2009

DIXFIELD - A young Dixfield boy's birthday wish and a truck reunited a Shetland sheepdog named Max with its Sumner owner 51 days after the lovable sheltie was lost in the Maine woods.

Shetland sheepdog is reunited with its 11-year-old owner after being lost 51 days in the woods of Maine, then hit by a truck.

Six days after the reunion, late Friday afternoon at Towle's Corner Store in Dixfield, Tina Hicks of Sumner and Zachary Brown, 11, of Dixfield, hugged each other.

Hicks thanked Brown for finding Max; Zach thanked Hicks and her daughter, Riley Hicks, 11, for the thank-you card, cash reward, and other gifts they gave him.

"You're a hero, man. You rule," Tina Hicks told the boy, who sat back down beside Max and petted him.

"Thank you for finding him," Riley Hicks told Brown, whose birthday wishes on June 5 were simply to find Max and get a spaghetti and meatballs dinner.

"He didn't ask for anything material," Maria Brown said of her son. "All he wanted to do was find this dog."

"That's so sweet," Tina Hicks said. "If he hadn't have done that, we wouldn't have found him."

On April 16, the day the Hicks family left on a Florida vacation, Max chewed through a rope and escaped from the Dixfield home of Ben and Rebecca Skibitsky. Rebecca, who is Tina's daughter, was dog-sitting.

Last month, Max was spotted near Welch's field off Route 142 in Dixfield.

"There were no sightings of him for three weeks and then there were sightings every day," Tina Hicks said. Several Dixfield residents, including the Skibitskys, searched daily for Max, left food for him and tried to trap him.

But Max evaded capture, twice escaping from Havaheart traps.

On June 5, Maria Brown took Zach looking for the 2½-year-old dog and returned the following day to refill a feed bowl they'd left for Max.

As they approached the bowl on June 6, Brown said her son heard Max there.

Max heard them, too, however, and bolted, darting onto Route 142, where he was immediately struck by a braking truck.

"We heard the crack, crack of Max running and then the (screech) of tires," Maria Brown said. "Three vehicles stopped and pulled over. The dog rolled off the road, got up and took off."

The Browns gave chase.

Despite suffering a fractured pelvis in two places, collapsed lung, pierced liver and ruptured spleen, Max ran 1,000 feet before collapsing in a yard. He had porcupine quills entangled in fur around his face and was covered in ticks.

Maria gently picked Max up and carried him to her Jeep.

"It was a bittersweet moment," she said. "I was so happy we'd found him and yet so sad that he got hit."

She drove to a utility pole on which the Hicks had posted a flier about their missing pooch, tore it down and called the number on it.

When she took the call, Riley Hicks burst into tears, her mother said.

"Riley was crying, 'They have Max! They have Max!' and I thought, 'Nobody has Max. He's like lightning,'" Tina Hicks said.

"Shelties freak out when they get lost," she said. "They don't even come to their owners."

Max, who suffers from night blindness, had been given up for dead.

"It's bad enough that he got to live in the woods for 51 days and then he gets hit by a truck," Tina Hicks said.
Shortly after the call, Hicks' son-in-law, Ben Skibitsky, arrived to get Max.

When they finally got him back, Tina Hicks said she didn't think Max would live through the night. But he did. A veterinarian revived and mended the family pet, but his collapsed lung has yet to refill.

Still, despite many injuries, Max is expected to make a full recovery.

The vet said we have to punch two holes in Max's nine-lives' card," Tina Hicks said.

As for Zach, whose sheltie "Tickles" died of old age a few years ago, he was just happy to help reunite Max with the Hicks family.

"It's pretty cool," he simply said.

Source: http://www.sunjournal.com/story/322049-3/RiverValley/Girl_dog_reunite
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Arnold, a black dog

As you can see from this story, there are times when no amount of spreading the word about a lost dog will do, and it just takes going out and looking. Since this dog was lost on a walk from home, his dad looked at places they would sometimes go on walks together (in better weather). Good thing he did! Enjoy the story.

Debbie Harmer of Jacksonport pets her dog, Arnold, who was found outside by Debbie's husband, Ron Harmer. The couple was on vacation in Las Vegas when they learned Arnold was missing. The dog survived a week outdoors without food.

Dog, owners reunited

Arnold back home after week outside in cold

By Kristen J. Kubisiak
January 24, 2009

A Door County couple recently experienced what they believe to be a miracle. Ron and Debbie Harmer of Jacksonport were reunited with their beloved dog Arnold, who endured a week without food and harsh winter conditions.

Arnold went missing Jan. 6, when the Harmers were out of town visiting relatives in Las Vegas. Arnold and the Harmers' other dog, Bogart, were in the care of a dog sitter during their absence.

Arnold wandered off when the dog sitter slipped on a patch of ice. By the time she collected herself, he was nowhere to be found. After five hours searching for the dog with her friends and family, the dog sitter called the Harmers.

"We were at dinner when we got the call," Ron Harmer said. Shortly after she learned Arnold had gone missing, Debbie Harmer had a heart attack.

"I had a feeling when we were leaving in December that something bad was going to happen," Debbie Harmer said. Arnold, at 15 years old, was already past his prime, and he had an assortment of problems, including a recently diagnosed heart murmur and hearing loss.

"My worst fear was that Arnold would die cold and alone," Debbie Harmer said. Although friends and family were doing everything in their power to find the old dog, days went by with out a sign of him. After his wife was discharged from the hospital in Las Vegas, Ron Harmer decided to return to Jacksonport to look for Arnold himself.

His first day back home, Harmer spent three hours wandering out in the cold looking for Arnold. He searched until it was dark; then resumed searching the next day. On Jan. 13, he put on his snowshoes and headed out onto a trail he and the dogs frequently traversed in the warmer months.

"I didn't know where else to look," Harmer said. "I just prayed to God to let me find him." Harmer's prayers were answered. About 150 feet off of the trail was a dip in the snow, where Arnold lay, covered in ice and snow, unmoving. Harmer said he held his breath, then said the dog's name.

"I said to him, 'Arnold?'" Ron Harmer said. "He turned and looked up at me, and I knew he was alive."

Although Arnold couldn't stand, Harmer said he didn't appear to be injured. Harmer removed his coat and warmed the dog until help arrived. Friends loaded Arnold into a snow mobile-drawn sled and wrapped him in blankets. They drove him to the nearest road, where they moved into a vehicle bound for the Animal Clinic of Sturgeon Bay. Veterinarian Lois Kurschner met Harmer and Arnold at the door.

"Arnold is a remarkable dog," said Kurschner. "Somehow he was able to maintain himself until they found him."

When he arrived at the clinic, Arnold had a skin infection from laying on the cold wet ground, and he lost about 14 pounds, Kurschner said. "He couldn't stand for a couple of days, and we took some X-rays because we thought maybe he was bumped by a car, but we couldn't find anything medically wrong," Kurschner said. "We thought maybe he was just weak."

Arnold stood for the first time after his rescue the following day, when Ron Harmer and the family's other dog, Bogart, 10, came to visit.

"When Ron came back with Bogie, Arnold came to life," Kurschner said. "It was a magical moment. He absolutely needed that connection for things to turn around. His family had a real commitment to find him, and the reunion was sweet." Arnold's survival, Kurschner said, was nothing short of amazing.

"Any geriatric dog would have a hard time surviving out in the elements," Kurschner said. "It's truly amazing that he was able to fend for himself. Arnold is remarkable, and so are his owners." Debbie and Ron Harmer are happy to have their dog home and believe their story is a testament to the power of faith and friendship.

"You should never give up," Debbie Harmer said.

Source: Greenbay Press Gazette
http://www.greenbaypressgazette.com/article/20090124/ADV01/901240448/0/ADV&theme=ADVNEWS

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