Has anyone lost their beloved dog before? :(

[Jules in MI]

I normally post on the curriculum board, but wanted to share a heartache tonight so please be praying for our family. I know it is not as serious as some posts I have read here before.

 

We have lost our dear dog Buddy, for the first time since we've owned him for 9 years. Around dinner time, he somehow got out of our fenced yard and ran by the busy road by our house and someone apparently opened their car door and he jumped in and away he went with a stranger. Another motorist saw it and stopped and asked if we were missing a white dog and then told us someone in a silver car coaxed him in and kept going (we live near a busy country highway). MIND YOU, they were saving his life and I'm sure did it out of care for him (I would to!), since it is a busy road, but WHY wouldn't they immediately stop by nearby homes and try and find the owner????!!! It was right by our house!! Like an idiot, I didn't have his collar on w/ his ID tag since I bathed him a couple of days ago...we live in the country, so I don't worry about it much.

 

Please pray that we will find Buddy, our boys will be crushed if he is gone forever. I have had this dog since before my kids were born and love him like a member of the family, I just can't believe he is gone, it happened so fast. Do you think someone stole him with the intention of keeping him, or just are holding him until they can report him to the local animal shelter Monday?? To make my worrying worse, he is on a special prescription diet and needs daily arthritis medication and this person who took him WILL NOT KNOW my dog has special needs.

 

I was so upset tonight I couldn't eat dinner and can't stop crying, you'd think my kids were missing. :( Thanks for listening, I'm just so upset about this.

[RhondaM.]

I am so sorry this has happened! I hope they put an add in the newspaper. I'd call all the vets in the area, put an add in the paper and signs all over too!

 

I sure hope you get your dog back....SOON!

[Danestress]

I can see doing exactly what these people did. I probably wouldn't knock on doors of someone I didn't know - just as a security issue. And I would definitely pick up a dog loose on a busy street. So my guess is that you will get Buddy back - that whoever took him will take him to the pound or started checking the classified ads and start looking for his owner. Don't despair! I'm really sorry you are having to endure this.

[Kelly on the prairie]

I'm so sorry! I am a huge dog lover. We once lost our old bassett hound while we were gone on vacation. Our housesitter accidently didn't close the gate and out he went. He wasn't in great shape and we were sure he got lost in the thick woods and died. We prayed. We mentioned it to one other person and do you know a few days later they called because they thought they had spotted him a country block away wandering down the side of the road. We found him that afternoon a full week later.

 

Hang in there and pray. If someone was good enough to pick him up bacause they thought they were saving him, they will be likely to call the local shelters. I'll say a prayer for you.

[Sue G in PA]

Oh no! Praying Buddy comes back home safe and sound. How very difficult it must be for you and your children. :grouphug:

[elegantlion]

I'll say a prayer. Yes, we have lost our dog overnight before. We had a siberian husky who was found 4 miles from our house through a busy part of town.

 

I say give the motorist a benefit of the doubt. If it is a busy road, they may have been an animal lover. Was it getting dark? I wouldn't have felt comfortable going door to door by myself, maybe it was woman by herself and they will return later.

 

Do call the shelters and vets as soon as possible. If you have an emergency clinic in your town call there as well, tonight.

 

Print out some signs and put them up first thing in the morning, maybe that person will come back through your neighborhood. Be highly proactive, even check your paper, sometimes they will run ads for free on lost pets. make sure you mention the event specifics that will help.

 

I am sorry you are going through this, our fur babies are family. :grouphug:

[Kathleen in VA]

(((((Jules))))) I am sooo sorry you are having to go through this - it is heartbreaking. I lost a dog when it was hit by a car right in front of my house. I know how you feel. It's a horrible sickening feeling in your gut and you just feel so very, very saaaaaad. :(

 

I will say that folks who will stop to pick up a dog on a busy street are very likely the kind of folks who will call the pound and ask if anyone has lost a dog or put a "Found" ad in the paper. I found a dog once and checked the paper everyday for about two weeks to see if anyone had placed a Lost ad. I suggest posting a flyer with your dog's picture on it around the neighborhood. I also kept my eyes out for those. The dog I found was wandering along the center line of our windy country road and I was sure it would get hit if I didn't pick it up. I tried very hard to find the owner so I'm thinking the folks that "rescued" your dog will do the same.

[Jen500]

It sounds like the person was trying to help Buddy. When we lost our dog, I printed photos of him and made some small posters and put them all around our neighborhood. It worked. I really hope you get Buddy back soon.

[Spy Car]

I'm thinking the chances are far better that a good-hearted dog-lover scooped up Buddy with the idea of keeping him safe until he could be returned you, than someone merciless stole him.

 

I sure hope so. Best wishes on having Buddy home soon.

 

Bill

[Rose in BC]

This happened to our family in March. Our two year old Bernese mountain dog was spooked and took off. I was sure she would wonder home quickly, but no. We searched all evening until dark. I went to bed sure she would be home in the morning. Nope. We searched all the next day (and when I say we I mean my family and many, many friends and strangers in our small town). Nothing.

 

That night we talked as a family. I warned the children that likely she was gone forever, I mean two days had passed. As I despondently walked past the back door preparing to go to bed I decided to take one last peek out the door and screamed when I saw her leaning against the door. It was a true miracle.

 

I will pray for this miracle for your family as I can feel the pain you are enduring tonight.

 

My suggestion would be to get poster/fliers out in the morning, preferably with a photo. I also sent an e-mail to all my acquaintances (I live in a small town so my dog could have been anywhere in the whole town.) I was surprised that then my acquaintances fanned out my e-mail and many, many, people knew of her disappearance and were looking out for her.

 

I am really, really sorry for your pain tonight.

[Remudamom]

Don't lose heart. Get posters up and take out an ad. Whoever picked him up will probably be looking for you.

[Only me]

You'll definitely be in my prayers. I know how dogs really are members of our family. Last year when our dog was 9 he got out of the yard. We have a 4 foot fence. The gate was closed and there was no way that he could jump over (at the time he was close to 130 pounds). We found out later that a neighbor boy (16 at the time) was purposely opening the gate and letting him out.

 

Luckily we were able to find him within an hour or two but for that short time I couldn't believe how much pain we felt. He had never gotten loose before and but apparently he just went for a walk in our subdivision. Luckily a family found him and kept him in their yard and called the police.

 

I'm sure that the family who found your dog was just trying to keep him safe. I don't understand why they wouldn't stop at the houses near where he was found but since it was a busy road perhaps they felt it would be better to just contact the police tomorrow.

 

I'll send good thoughts your way. Please keep us posted!

[Remudamom]

Is there a local radio station that does lost dog announcements?

[Soph the vet]

Even if he is on a prescription dog food, he can have dog chow or whatever they feed him for a little while, same with arthritis meds. He might be a little sore when you get him back but you'll get him back on track. I'm sure it wasn't a dog napper if it really happened all that fast, they were probably just having a "knee-jerk" reaction to seeing a dog loose on the busy road.

[sleepy]

This is just heartbreaking. I'm sure whoever has him is taking good care of him, and I hope you have him home soon.

[Jenny in Atl]

Hopefully he will be back with you all before the day is out.

:grouphug:

[kalanamak]

I am a dog finder. If it doesn't have a collar with a number to call (usually the vet's number) or it if is out of hours, I take said critter home, feed, check out it's health, and then, in hours, call the pound, the police etc. I can usually tell if it is a housed or a stray.

 

I don't feel comfortable stopping at stranger's houses by myself with a tale about a dog. People around here might think you are scoping out their house to rob....

[Denisemomof4]

I kept scrolling down, wanting to see your news of having been reunited. I'm SO SORRY!!!! Dogs ARE like a family member.

 

What I would do if I were you is to make signs to post with his picture, and put a LARGE one in front of your house by the road, hoping the one who took him will see the pictures and return them. Put them in the center of town, posted everywhere you can!

 

Just today before church our dog Buddy ran away! I also live in the country, but my Buddy is a greyhound and I was told if he saw an animal, he'd run to get it, and keep running and running and running and we may never see him again. He's gotten away a few times but we've always gotten him back.

 

PLEASE update us. I'm SO SORRY!!!!!

 

Denise

[CactusPair]

Oh my gosh! I am so sorry for your family. In additon to placing an ad in the newspaper, I would call all the shelters, pounds, humane societies and animal foster/rescue groups in the surrounding counties as well as the vets. Posting signs and pictures and advertising on the computer should help, too.

 

Sometimes the foster groups will put an ad on their sites for you.

 

Also signs at the various vets' offices and pet supply stores might be a good idea.

 

I hope your dog comes home very soon! I lost my own today for just a brief time and I was frantic.

 

Prayers for a safe and quick return!