Lost Dogs (sort of)

Quest

Spirit

This story took place over ten years ago -- Spirit is now 12, Quest 11 -- but some recent Facebook posts and e-mail messages regarding "what do do when your dog is lost" brought back the memory of this day.
  
 
The sad preface to the story is that in January 2006, just one week after her first birthday, HiJinks (aka Jinksy) got out of her owner's yard and, tragically, was never found. Jinksy was from the first litter I ever whelped and raised.  Mere months later, when this event occurred, Jinksy was still very much on my mind...
  
I came home from a trip to the store and let all the dogs out. After the groceries were put away, I opened the door to let the dogs back in the house. The two young ones (almost-2-year-old Spirit, and 7-month-old Quest) didn't come in. Assuming that they were busy playing and didn't want to come in yet, I went out to get them. ????? Where were they???? How did they get out of the yard??? There was one spot between my garage and my neighbor's garage, but it wasn't big enough for them to get through--or was it??? 

After running back in the house to grab a couple of leashes, I ran out to search for them.  These were two dogs that I never really had to teach to come when called, because they just did--always. So I really thought that they would come running as soon as I went out the gate and called them, but they didn't. 

I walked around and didn't see or hear any sign of them. After asking someone if she had seen my missing dogs (she hadn't), and trying to describe a Belgian Sheepdog and a Belgian Tervuren, I realized I should have brought a picture with me. Screaming their names, walking blindly down the street crying, I went home for a photo and then headed back out in the other direction.  I reached the end of the street and came back around the other side of the block. There was no sign of them. No one had seen them. I was heartsick. 

Everything I knew to do when you have a lost dog seemed to have fallen out of my brain. Only three thoughts repeated in my mind: (1) Jinksy got out and had been missing for five long months; (2) worry that they had been hit by a car; (3) these two are so friendly that they'd probably go with anybody who stopped the car and opened the door. 

As I walked back down the street, uncertain of what to do next, I decided to call their breeders. Quest's breeder was out of town for the weekend, so I called Spirit's breeder. I got as far as "Hi, it's me," before I broke down, sobbing that Spirit and Quest were missing. God Bless her, she got me calmed down and suggested that I call someone to help me search. 

It seemed that everybody I knew that could/would come help was out of town that night. Finally I was able to reach my friend, Bonnie, who said she and her sister would be right over. Thinking that it might be a good idea to take one of the other dogs out on the search, and also thinking that Bonnie and her sister should have leashes in case they spotted Spirit and Quest, I went back home.  

For some reason all the spare leashes lived in the van, so I went down to the garage... 

...AND.... 

...Spirit and Quest came bounding out of the garage!!!!! I didn't know whether to hug them or strangle them!! All that calling their names, and they never barked or scratched at the door to give me any indication they were home all the time! 

I called Spirit's breeder back to let her know, and we had a good laugh.  She told me to go take a few deep breaths.  I said that I was going to go take a few deep drinks of something strongly alcoholic! 

Thankfully, this story had a happy ending.  But you never know...  Hug your puppers often!

Quest on his first day in his new home with me.
(Not a good-quality photo, but one of my favorites anyway because of the cuteness factor :-)