I found this story on a French Bulldog Meetup page; apparently the author and the person named Pavla are volunteers with a French Bulldog rescue group in Miami. The man who either found the dog, or if the dog was stolen, recieved the stolen dog, had written to the local french bulldog rescue group's main email number when he had a question. As the author points out in the first paragraph and the last, there were a lot of elements that needed to come together for this one to have a happy ending. Enjoy the story.
MIAMI FRENCHIES HELPS RESCUE 2 STOLEN DOGS
Tatiana
Posted Apr 11, 2008
Miami Beach, FL It's just too incredible to be true, but 2 STOLEN French Bulldogs that were reported on Miami's Craig's List several weeks ago are back at home, safe and sound, and happily reunited with their family - and it's all thanks to Pavla Gibson and the wonderful marvels of modern-day cell-phones, emails and search engines...
The victims of a home invasion returned to find that they'd been robbed of personal effects and that their 2 Frenchies were gone... I'd found their ad on Craig's List several weeks ago and stayed in touch with the dog owner via email and on the phone, on and off, trying to encourage her not to give up hope of finding her precious pets...
Talking to Pavla the other evening, she confided that she'd received the oddest email from a man saying: "My family and I have a female French Bulldog. She is heated up. Can you help us? Try to reply back when you can." Amused, at first, Pavla jokingly responded by asking: "What do you mean heated up?", to which the man then wrote: "She is currently having her period, we need a male dog so that she can have puppies. thanks" The man then called Miami Frenchie's number and Pavla asked polite questions about the age of the dog and her provenance, and whether she'd been shown in conformation, whereby the man then claimed that he'd been "given" the dog for free and Pavla quickly realized that there was something awfully suspicious and sordid about the entire discussion as she quickly tried to explain that French Bulldogs required costly pre-natal examinations and C-sections, ending the conversation and calling me up to share the laugh...
We were giggling hysterically about the man writing "heated up" when it occurred to both of us that no one gets a Frenchie for free and this man was genuinely clueless about the care and well-being of these very special dogs... And then I reminded Pavla about the two stolen Frenchies on our local message board...
Pavla had managed to save the man's phone number on her mobile phone and she sent me copies of his emails where the (idiotic) man had signed his name... [And it's here that we have to pause for a second and nominate this man for a Darwin Award]. When I googled the telephone number - which coincidentally had exactly the same first three digits of the dog-owner's number - also displaying the address only a few blocks away from her home...
Pavla and I put two and two together and surmised that either the people had found the dog wandering around the neighborhood, or that the thieves had either given or sold the dogs to this man, so I called the lady and passed her all the information that Pavla and I had managed to gather...
And to make a long story short, the lady called the police this afternoon and armed with a copy of the emails this man had sent to Miami Frenchies, along with the phone number that matched the address that we'd Googled, the officer knocked on the door and was greeted by two barking Frenchies... The dog owner was then contacted by the kind officer and told that her pooches were both at the office of a veterinarian and that they were both perfectly fine.
We're all ecstatic as you can imagine... We're especially thrilled that Inky and Bossy are back home with their real family... And to put an end to this public bulletin, we thank the world wide web, Craig's List, Pavla Gibson's mobile phone and email, Google and the Miami-Dade Police Department while reminding all owners of pets to either micro-chip or tattoo your dog, keep current photos on hand, spay or neuter them responsibly, and please follow all the steps listed at FBRN'S MISSING DOG LINK to ensure the retrieval of your lost, missing or stolen dog.
Source: http://frenchbulldog.meetup.com/boards/thread/4515660
Saturday, July 11, 2009
Thursday, July 9, 2009
Kobe, a small poodle
Lost poodle reunited with family after picture published
By Courtenay Edelhart, Californian staff writer
Posted on August 28, 2009
A lost dog has been reunited with his family with a little help from East High football players photographed with him for Thursday's Californian.
By Courtenay Edelhart, Californian staff writer
Posted on August 28, 2009
A lost dog has been reunited with his family with a little help from East High football players photographed with him for Thursday's Californian.
A photographer was on the practice field earlier this week taking pictures for the newspaper's annual high school football preview when a dirty, mangy poodle wandered over.
Staff photographer Henry A. Barrios snapped a photo just as junior varsity quarterback Austin Charles reached down to scratch the little guy's head. The image made the front page.
Team members couldn't bear to just leave the dog on the field, so they queried one another about taking him home. No one was in a position to accept the dog, so they reluctantly took him to the Bakersfield Animal Shelter on Mount Vernon Avenue.
That's where he was about 6:30 a.m. Thursday, when Mike Martinez's phone began ringing off the hook.
Friends who recognized Kobe the poodle (named after that Kobe, from the Lakers) were breathlessly telling him to get a copy of the paper. Wasn't that Kobe on the front page?
Martinez and his family had arranged for his mom to dog sit before going on vacation to Morro Bay a couple of weeks ago.
"He might have thought we abandoned him and was trying to make his way home," said Martinez, 38, who works in sales for the wine industry.
The family, including three children ages 14, 10 and 1 1/2, was devastated to return home and learn Kobe was missing.
"He'd already been gone for a couple of days, so we didn't know if we'd ever find him," said Martinez's son, 14-year-old Michael Jr.
Kobe usually wears a collar, but it had been removed just before the trip because it had a bell on it that was bothering people.
A cloud hung over the household with Kobe gone, Martinez said.
"Michael was waking up early to go look for him, and you know it's bad when a teenager wakes up early on a Saturday over summer break," he said.
They put up fliers all over the neighborhood and visited local shelters.
There were heartbreaking false alarms, calls about found pooches who turned out not to be Kobe.
Then, 15 minutes of fame.
It wasn't Kobe's best shot, to be sure. He was scrawny, filthy and matted from having spent a week outside. But East High isn't far from where Martinez's mother lives. He knew the minute he saw that picture and was at the shelter as soon as it opened Thursday.
"Kobe was so excited to see us," Martinez said. "And the kids were ecstatic."
Plus, Kobe got a free grooming out of it. Platinum Paws heard of his ordeal and donated a bath and haircut.
"He's all fancy and pretty now," Martinez said.
Source: http://www.bakersfield.com/news/local/x538994305/Lost-poodle-reunited-with-family-after-picture-published
Source: http://www.bakersfield.com/news/local/x538994305/Lost-poodle-reunited-with-family-after-picture-published
Sunday, July 5, 2009
Tequila, a miniature poodle
One of the reasons that lots of lost dogs are never found is because their owners give up the search, thinking they can't have survived being out on their own. It's an understandable stance to me, but it's often wrong. This is one of many stories that offers proof. Enjoy the story.
Small dog survives 30 days in Wyoming wilderness
Ryan Vogler, the Beacon
June 4, 2009
The Wyoming wilderness can harbor some harsh conditions, especially against small animals. Common sense and logic would argue that any helpless lapdog wouldn't survive alone for more than a few days. But, obviously, Tequila, didn't get that message
Tequila, a 10-year-old miniature poodle raised primarily as a breeding dog, recently spent more than 30 days in the wilderness, braving cold temperatures and snow and fending off a slew of predators.
It was quite a change for an animal that had been accustomed to spending a lot of time enclosed. "When a dog is held in a small space like (a kennel) for so long, they can become kennel crazy," said Windsor resident Eika Haas, Tequila's owner.
"Tequila actually developed OCD because of it. She would always walk around in a figure eight even if she was out in an open space."
When she became too old to breed anymore, Eika was more than happy to adopt her and take her into her home. Tequila immediately became attached to Eika and rarely left her side.
"She preferred my lap over anything else," Eika said.
Taking into account how loyal and attached the poodle was to Eika, she and her husband, Steven, believed that they could bring Tequila, along with their other two dogs, Blaze and Emma, with them on a recent camping trip to Wyoming.
Eika and Steven Haas' annual camping trip takes them to a remote part of Wyoming near the small town of Dubois.
Having owned Tequila only for a short time, this would be the first time the Haases would bring her along.
Everything went fine, Tequila always at their side, until halfway through the trip when Eika went out on a kayak to go fishing in a nearby lake. Only two minutes had gone by until they realize that Tequila was nowhere to be found.
"We figured that she was worried that she wasn't by my side, so she ran around the lake to try and find a way to reach me," Eika said. "Even at home, she will run all over the house to try and find me if I walk out of the room."
They immediately began searching for Tequila and continued until nightfall, staying up as late as they could, but were not able to find her.
"We started a campfire and stayed up long past the stars, hoping that Tequila could hear us or be drawn in by the warmth of the fire," Eika said. "She had to be cold and scared."
The dog was obviously in no condition to be out on her own. She had never been in a position like this and had no outdoor experience.
"She had no survival experience," Steven said. "She practically screamed, 'Eat me!' "
Eika and Steven had stayed out there for four additional days, spending most of the time looking for Tequila. Unfortunately, she never turned up. Discouraged by the odds against her, they decided to pack up and face the facts that the likelihood of Tequila surviving was minimal.
"Even as we packed up camp, we kept calling her and hoping that she'd come running back as if she had only been gone a few minutes," Eika said.
As they returned back home, they settled back into their regular routine which helped ease the sorrow of her disappearance, although never able to fully recover from their loss.
About 30 days had gone by since the vanishing of Tequila when they received a phone call from an unrecognizable number. It was Midge Dandridge. She explained how she and her partner Dick Woltering had found their dog out in the forest and had brought her back.
"All I could think about was a pile of fur, bones and a ripped up collar," Eika said. "I pretty much just assumed that they found her dead body."
Eika assumed that if anyone was going to call about Tequila, it would be about how someone had found her carcass.
Thinking that the dog was only missing for a day or two, Dandridge spoke like there was no problem and explained how Tequila was just sitting on her lap. Eika was shocked, to say the least.
"Of all the dogs, we thought that Tequila would be the least likely to survive," Steven said. "There was no reason that she should be alive." During this time in the Wyoming Mountains, there were wolves, coyotes and bears everywhere and it had also snowed.
Excited by the good news, Eika left her house an hour later and was able to reach the Dandridge house in Dubois early the next morning. When Eika was reunited back with her dog, she was amazed by the fact that Tequila had very little wrong with her, aside from the malnutrition. Tequila had lost approximately 38 percent of her body weight. She had gone from 16 to 10 pounds over the course of about 30 days.
"We supposed that her diet included grubs, worms, grasshoppers, grass, seeds or even a mouse," Eika said. "Who knows for sure?" Eika had her examined by a veterinarian and had her put on a special diet to help her gain her weight back and build back her muscle mass.
"Although she was emaciated, slightly dehydrated and covered in burrs, Tequila had survived almost a full month on her own in the wilds of mountainous Wyoming with no injuries or illness," Eika said.
Since her return, Tequila has returned to her old self and has actually improved a bit. Being forced to travel, she now has reduced her OCD problems and has become less skittish.
"You'd never think a poodle could survive," Steven said. "There still must be some instinct in her after all. She has grown from the experience." Thankful and amazed by Tequila's story, Eika now calls the poodle her "miracle dog."
The Haases have agreed never to take Tequila camping with them again. The next time they go back to Wyoming for their annual trip, they will leave her with her saviors, Dick Woltering and Midge Dandridge to babysit her.
"If it wasn't for them, we wouldn't have her," Eika said. "We are more than happy and willing to let them take care of Tequila for us."
Source: http://www.coloradoan.com/article/20090604/WINDSORBEACON01/906040334/1131/WINDSORBEACON01
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Small dog survives 30 days in Wyoming wilderness
Ryan Vogler, the Beacon
June 4, 2009
Windsor resident Eika Haas hugs her miniature poodle Tequila. The dog recently spent 30 days alone in the Wyoming wilderness.
The Wyoming wilderness can harbor some harsh conditions, especially against small animals. Common sense and logic would argue that any helpless lapdog wouldn't survive alone for more than a few days. But, obviously, Tequila, didn't get that message
Tequila, a 10-year-old miniature poodle raised primarily as a breeding dog, recently spent more than 30 days in the wilderness, braving cold temperatures and snow and fending off a slew of predators.
It was quite a change for an animal that had been accustomed to spending a lot of time enclosed. "When a dog is held in a small space like (a kennel) for so long, they can become kennel crazy," said Windsor resident Eika Haas, Tequila's owner.
"Tequila actually developed OCD because of it. She would always walk around in a figure eight even if she was out in an open space."
When she became too old to breed anymore, Eika was more than happy to adopt her and take her into her home. Tequila immediately became attached to Eika and rarely left her side.
"She preferred my lap over anything else," Eika said.
Taking into account how loyal and attached the poodle was to Eika, she and her husband, Steven, believed that they could bring Tequila, along with their other two dogs, Blaze and Emma, with them on a recent camping trip to Wyoming.
Eika and Steven Haas' annual camping trip takes them to a remote part of Wyoming near the small town of Dubois.
Having owned Tequila only for a short time, this would be the first time the Haases would bring her along.
Everything went fine, Tequila always at their side, until halfway through the trip when Eika went out on a kayak to go fishing in a nearby lake. Only two minutes had gone by until they realize that Tequila was nowhere to be found.
"We figured that she was worried that she wasn't by my side, so she ran around the lake to try and find a way to reach me," Eika said. "Even at home, she will run all over the house to try and find me if I walk out of the room."
They immediately began searching for Tequila and continued until nightfall, staying up as late as they could, but were not able to find her.
"We started a campfire and stayed up long past the stars, hoping that Tequila could hear us or be drawn in by the warmth of the fire," Eika said. "She had to be cold and scared."
The dog was obviously in no condition to be out on her own. She had never been in a position like this and had no outdoor experience.
"She had no survival experience," Steven said. "She practically screamed, 'Eat me!' "
Eika and Steven had stayed out there for four additional days, spending most of the time looking for Tequila. Unfortunately, she never turned up. Discouraged by the odds against her, they decided to pack up and face the facts that the likelihood of Tequila surviving was minimal.
"Even as we packed up camp, we kept calling her and hoping that she'd come running back as if she had only been gone a few minutes," Eika said.
As they returned back home, they settled back into their regular routine which helped ease the sorrow of her disappearance, although never able to fully recover from their loss.
About 30 days had gone by since the vanishing of Tequila when they received a phone call from an unrecognizable number. It was Midge Dandridge. She explained how she and her partner Dick Woltering had found their dog out in the forest and had brought her back.
"All I could think about was a pile of fur, bones and a ripped up collar," Eika said. "I pretty much just assumed that they found her dead body."
Eika assumed that if anyone was going to call about Tequila, it would be about how someone had found her carcass.
Thinking that the dog was only missing for a day or two, Dandridge spoke like there was no problem and explained how Tequila was just sitting on her lap. Eika was shocked, to say the least.
"Of all the dogs, we thought that Tequila would be the least likely to survive," Steven said. "There was no reason that she should be alive." During this time in the Wyoming Mountains, there were wolves, coyotes and bears everywhere and it had also snowed.
Excited by the good news, Eika left her house an hour later and was able to reach the Dandridge house in Dubois early the next morning. When Eika was reunited back with her dog, she was amazed by the fact that Tequila had very little wrong with her, aside from the malnutrition. Tequila had lost approximately 38 percent of her body weight. She had gone from 16 to 10 pounds over the course of about 30 days.
"We supposed that her diet included grubs, worms, grasshoppers, grass, seeds or even a mouse," Eika said. "Who knows for sure?" Eika had her examined by a veterinarian and had her put on a special diet to help her gain her weight back and build back her muscle mass.
"Although she was emaciated, slightly dehydrated and covered in burrs, Tequila had survived almost a full month on her own in the wilds of mountainous Wyoming with no injuries or illness," Eika said.
Since her return, Tequila has returned to her old self and has actually improved a bit. Being forced to travel, she now has reduced her OCD problems and has become less skittish.
"You'd never think a poodle could survive," Steven said. "There still must be some instinct in her after all. She has grown from the experience." Thankful and amazed by Tequila's story, Eika now calls the poodle her "miracle dog."
The Haases have agreed never to take Tequila camping with them again. The next time they go back to Wyoming for their annual trip, they will leave her with her saviors, Dick Woltering and Midge Dandridge to babysit her.
"If it wasn't for them, we wouldn't have her," Eika said. "We are more than happy and willing to let them take care of Tequila for us."
Source: http://www.coloradoan.com/article/20090604/WINDSORBEACON01/906040334/1131/WINDSORBEACON01
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Saturday, July 4, 2009
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.
“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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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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