Hi Debbie,
My husband and I wanted to express our thanks for the work you’ve done in building and maintaining your website. We have a two-dog household, and our younger dog Vinnie disappeared after being spooked on Sunday night this past holiday weekend. He was staying with friends out in the country, about 50 miles away from our home in Chicago. He has stayed there many times but was always on leash and had never had the chance to explore beyond their large yard. He backed out of his collar on Sunday evening and took off running. It was a special “Canny” collar, which is supposed to prevent a dog from slipping it, but the situation built the perfect storm for an escape.
My husband arrived just as Vinnie ran off and he became part of the crew trying to call him back and follow. Vinnie is speedy like a Greyhound and his every step was fired by adrenaline. After three hours trying to catch him, they called me to announce he was missing. I was about an hour away and drove to their house with our other dog Paulie, so I could join the search since I have the closest bond with Vinnie. The crew spent the balance of Sunday night and Monday driving around rural Marengo. We called out to Vinnie, hoping to coax him out of hiding, and hoping he was still in the area and alive. It being a holiday, it was difficult to do things we’d do on a regular day, like print fliers and speak with police/sheriff/animal control. We were, however, able to talk to many people working in their yards and we also cast a wide net by spreading the word via emails and social networking.
Vinnie hadn’t been seen since late Sunday night but we stayed in Marengo another night so we could print fliers and posters and place an ad in the local paper the next morning. I was awake around 4AM, as was Paulie, and then the motion-sensor lights at our friends’ house went off. It was probably deer, but I got up to look on the off chance it was Vinnie, and in fact it was. I grabbed Paulie’s collar to keep him from charging towards Vinnie and possibly scaring him away. Then I slowly slid the glass door open a bit and called to him in a low pleasant voice. He approached tenuously, and then when my husband woke up, he started to call too.
I put my hand up to stop him because Vinnie much prefers women, and I thought a male voice could freak him out. Because of your site, I was aware that even my calling could cause him to run off. But he came to me, I got him inside, Perry closed the door behind him, and I just hugged Vinnie close.
We were blown away that he found his way back and so soon! We were very afraid his general panic would prevent this. In truth, it was the longest 36 hours of our lives. We had put items with familiar scent on the front porch, including dirty T-shirts from me and Perry, and a stinky pair of Perry’s shoes that Vinnie seemed to be attracted to. We also put his bed out there, with food and water bowls. Paulie helped by leaving a little deposit outside before we went to bed, so the area had to smell pretty darn familiar.
Vinnie seems little worse for the wear. The Vet says he looks fine – some soreness evident, likely from running all night through woods and fields, and some small cuts on his feet, otherwise unscathed, and all told, in decent shape.
Both Perry and I feel extremely lucky – it was a terrible 36-hour period with us trying to push worst-case scenarios far from our minds. We are exhausted given the little sleep we got over the last few days. As I’ve posted our story and heard about others with lost dogs, I’ve been spreading the word about your website as I think it is very helpful in a moment of crisis. I also passed it along to Steve Dale who does a pet-oriented blog and radio show on WGN-AM, a superstation based here in Chicago.
Again, thank you. I am attaching a picture of Vinnie in case you want to share his story.
Teri and Perry