I saw my neighbor’s faded red truck parked along the side of the road and I wondered about the course of his search. Twelve days before we had seen the first of the signs, “Lost Dog”. The next day the signs were everywhere - mail boxes, power poles and fence posts. Like all “Lost Animal” signs I wished for a swift search and happy reunion. It always makes me sad to see the signs linger on and falling off their attachment points and always make me wonder as to the outcome.
We watched his truck drive slowly up and down the road night after night. We were ever mindful of the missing dog when we’d take Gryphon for his daily forays, watching for any sign. Friday came and it had already been a week, but every day, morning and night, we see our neighbor’s red truck lumbering down the shoulders of the asphalt. “B” left ahead of me on Friday morning and as I pulled down the driveway a few minutes later I saw her out of her car and standing in the middle of the road. “There is the dog!” and she pointed down the road to the dog about 100 yards away. I whistled and it stopped for a moment, looked back and then continued on its course - a dog on a mission. I was already late for a doctor’s appointment, but “B” was already on the phone with the owners and she sent me on my way.
I saw the red truck again that night so I knew they hadn’t found her yet. Saturday morning Gryphon and I were on one of our much longer weekend walks and saw the red truck stop just up the road and the man got out and tossed something on the side of the road. Puzzled, I just stood there watching as he got back in and slowly started toward us. I realized he was towing what turned out to be the dog’s blanket along the shoulder of the road. He stopped and told me the whole grim story.
Their dog was 11, mostly deaf (though she still responded to whistles and such) and was somehow spooked and ran off. One thought they had was that she may have been ill and just went off to die. Another was that she was just confused and couldn’t find her way back. He did say that after “B’s” call they got another one from just a few properties away. He was cautiously hopeful.
We ran into to him several more times during the weekend, but I could tell that he was tired. By Sunday it was day 10. He’d been leaving bits of food along the road as well as pieces of dog bedding hoping that she would stay close to some familiar smells.
Tuesday is when I saw his truck by the side of the main road and then I noticed that most of the signs were down. I could only hope for a good end. Wednesday I saw him on the main road again and this time I stopped. By the smile on his face I knew it was a happy ending. He said she was in the cab of the truck. My neighbor across the road had called him Tuesday and apparently the dog was hanging out amongst some equipment and logs on her property. I went over to the cab to meet the Chow and could only feel glad for that family that their Christmas was going to have its joy back.
So often we see the signs go up and sometimes come down, but without involvement other than peripherally. Just that chance sighting of their dog put us into a connected place that we wouldn’t have had otherwise and we both feel, frankly, blessed to have been contributors to the outcome.
Today, we noticed that there were “Thank You!!!” signs in place of the “Lost Dog” signs. THAT made us smile!
We watched his truck drive slowly up and down the road night after night. We were ever mindful of the missing dog when we’d take Gryphon for his daily forays, watching for any sign. Friday came and it had already been a week, but every day, morning and night, we see our neighbor’s red truck lumbering down the shoulders of the asphalt. “B” left ahead of me on Friday morning and as I pulled down the driveway a few minutes later I saw her out of her car and standing in the middle of the road. “There is the dog!” and she pointed down the road to the dog about 100 yards away. I whistled and it stopped for a moment, looked back and then continued on its course - a dog on a mission. I was already late for a doctor’s appointment, but “B” was already on the phone with the owners and she sent me on my way.
I saw the red truck again that night so I knew they hadn’t found her yet. Saturday morning Gryphon and I were on one of our much longer weekend walks and saw the red truck stop just up the road and the man got out and tossed something on the side of the road. Puzzled, I just stood there watching as he got back in and slowly started toward us. I realized he was towing what turned out to be the dog’s blanket along the shoulder of the road. He stopped and told me the whole grim story.
Their dog was 11, mostly deaf (though she still responded to whistles and such) and was somehow spooked and ran off. One thought they had was that she may have been ill and just went off to die. Another was that she was just confused and couldn’t find her way back. He did say that after “B’s” call they got another one from just a few properties away. He was cautiously hopeful.
We ran into to him several more times during the weekend, but I could tell that he was tired. By Sunday it was day 10. He’d been leaving bits of food along the road as well as pieces of dog bedding hoping that she would stay close to some familiar smells.
Tuesday is when I saw his truck by the side of the main road and then I noticed that most of the signs were down. I could only hope for a good end. Wednesday I saw him on the main road again and this time I stopped. By the smile on his face I knew it was a happy ending. He said she was in the cab of the truck. My neighbor across the road had called him Tuesday and apparently the dog was hanging out amongst some equipment and logs on her property. I went over to the cab to meet the Chow and could only feel glad for that family that their Christmas was going to have its joy back.
So often we see the signs go up and sometimes come down, but without involvement other than peripherally. Just that chance sighting of their dog put us into a connected place that we wouldn’t have had otherwise and we both feel, frankly, blessed to have been contributors to the outcome.
Today, we noticed that there were “Thank You!!!” signs in place of the “Lost Dog” signs. THAT made us smile!
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