For the Love of a Pet

Years ago, I had 4 wonderful dogs, which I loved very much. Though, at times, they drove me crazy, always following me, trying to break the rules and were noisy with their barking; they were also very loving, friendly and affectionate. No matter what, I was never bored being around them. They were a constant source of companionship and entertainment. I loved watching them play with each other.

The one thing my dogs loved, more than anything else, was being outside. They couldn't wait to see the leash, or see me head to the door, calling for them. And, though for the most part, they would listen to me, there were the occasions when they would try to see what they could get away with, just as small children will try to push the boundaries. If I wasn't careful, they would try to run out the door, completely free. Because of this, I was super vigilant when taking them out. I made sure they were always secure before they got near the open door.

This one particular day, right before winter officially started, I wasn't home to let the dogs out. I was visiting a neighbor up the street. While there, my son called. He said "Pierre" got loose and ran off the property". Pierre was my Papillon. He weighed about 15lbs, which was large for that breed. He had lots of fur and was full of energy and spunk. Out of all my dogs, he was the one who constantly pushed the envelope.

I went home right away. I looked all around the yard, calling out to Pierre, but I heard and saw no sign of him. I started walking through the development, calling out his name. In a distance, I could hear his bark. I loudly called his name again, and again I could hear him barking, but it was faint. I knew he was quite a distance away. I walked toward the direction of his barking, searching the entire area for him, constantly calling his name, hoping and praying he would hear me and come toward my voice. Sadly, after a few hours of searching, I didn't hear him anymore and nobody saw him. I finally gave up for the night and headed back home. On the way home, it started to snow. It troubled my heart thinking of Pierre being out there alone and in the snow, no less. I told myself, "he'll be back tomorrow. He'll be okay".

Tomorrow came and there was still no sign of him. It was still snowing, but now, it was snowing heavily. The ground was completely covered with a few inches of snow, and the temperature was dropping. It was forecasted that the temperature would dip down to zero, with the wind chill factor at 30 below. My heart sunk! How could my dog ever survive such freezing temperatures? Little did I know that the snow and the freezing temperature would be a blessing in disguise.

Later that morning, my sister called to see if there was any sign of Pierre, or if he came home. I told her, "no...no sign of him." She said she would print out fliers to post in the development. and that she would bring them over as soon as they were ready. While I waited for her, I called the animal shelters to see if they had Pierre. But no, the shelters didn't have him, but at least they were on the look-out for him and had my information in case someone dropped him off there. My sister finally arrived, and we both got into her car with the stack of fliers, and made our way through the development, stopping at every pole, every community mailbox, and many trees to post a flier. It took us a few hours, for the development was huge, consisting of 600 homes. After we were done, we returned back to my place, both of us exhausted and worried, but at the same time, feeling a sense of hope. At least we were working on a plan to find him. I didn't feel as helpless as I did before.

The fliers were a great idea! The next day, I received a phone call from an elderly gentleman, who saw Pierre. He said he saw Pierre in the fields, bordering the development and he offered to pick me up and take me to where he saw him, for the fields were huge!! I was thankful, though a bit leery. I didn't know this man at all. I called my sister immediately and she came over to my place, so we could both meet this man. He came to my house and picked me up, while my sister drove behind us. We arrived at the field and he showed us exactly were he saw Pierre. Though, Pierre was no where in sight, his paw tracks were in the snow. We started following his tracks. Even the kind, elderly gentleman was searching with us, which wasn't easy. The fields were plowed into rows, which made them bumpy, and if you didn't watch your step, you could twist your ankle or worse.

The man searched with us for about an hour. But, because of the temperature and wind, he couldn't do it any longer. When he left, he wished us well, and we thanked him profusely for his help. My sister and I kept searching, for Pierre, for the next 2 hours. We finally had to stop and go home. The cold air and wind was doing us in. Although we didn't see Pierre, I felt more at peace with it, for at least we had a starting point and I knew Pierre was still alive.

The next day, my sister came over and we searched for him again. Thank goodness, because of the freezing temperatures, the snow didn't melt, and it preserved Pierre's tracks. We made sure, that when we followed his tracks, we didn't step on them, we walked beside them. By doing this, we could keep track of the tracks we followed and those we didn't. We were also hoping that Pierre would smell his own tracks, follow them, come across our tracks and find our scent.

We followed his new tracks for hours that day, but still no sight of Pierre. We both headed back home, cold and exhausted. Once I was home, I soaked in a hot tub, trying desperately to warm myself up. It didn't work. I was chilled to the bone and my body was still shivering. Apparently, from being out in the frigid, cold temperatures, for hours at a time, my core body temperature had dropped. The next day, when we started our search again, my sister and I made sure we dressed as if we were in Alaska. We searched the whole day, saw new tracks, but still, no Pierre. This continued for a week, new tracks all over the place, but no sightings of him. We saw his tracks leading to a drainage pipe, where he probably slept at times; to backyards, where his tracks led to a shed, then back to the fields. We could tell by his tracks, that he was eating corn cobs and such. Although we still didn't find him, we knew he was trying eat, he was trying to stay warm and was still alive. It was frustrating though! We always seemed to be one day behind him.

About a week and a half of Pierre missing, I got a call from a church secretary. The church was nearby and bordered the field at the south end. She just saw Pierre, but when she called to him, he ran. I quickly went to the church, asked her what direction he ran, and she pointed in the direction. By this time, my sister arrived and we both crossed the busy, 2 lane highway, heading in the direction Pierre was traveling. It led us to a used car lot. We saw his tracks in the snow, and then suddenly, we saw him! We called out to him. He stopped and look at us, but in his eyes, I saw confusion. He didn't know who we were, and we could tell he was looking for a way of escape. My sister and I split up as we tried to get close to him. Pierre was scared and nervous and bolted right past us, out of our reach. We tried to follow him, but it was fruitless.

The next day I called Havaheart. They specialize in humane traps for live animals. I explained what was going on, and they agreed to help me. They came out to my home, showed me the trap and explained how to use it.They also suggested using a net, which would make it easier to catch him, if we spotted him near us. My sister and I bought rope and spent a few hours making a net, then off we went in our search for Pierre. The temperatures were still below zero.

We kept searching, day after day, in the freezing cold temperatures. We carried with us the net, along with blankets from home, leaving them where his new tracks were, again hoping he would recognize the scent. Sadly, no sign of him, only his tracks. By this time, he was missing for almost 2 weeks. But, I still had hope and I knew he was still alive.

By day thirteen, I looked for him all day, into the night. That night, I drove to the church and parked, sitting there with my headlights on, hoping to catch a glimpse of Pierre. There was no sign of him. So, after two hours, I headed back home. While driving slowly on the road, next to the fields, I spotted his paw tracks leading into my development! I pulled over and stopped. I followed his tracks to a woman's house. I looked all around while calling out his name. The woman heard me and came outside. I told her what was going on and she said she'd keep an eye out for him. I gave her my phone number, thanked her, and went home.

The next morning, I was up early, around 5 a.m. I grabbed some fliers and posted them in the area I saw Pierre's tracks the night before. This time, I walked there with my dog Precious, who was a Miniature Schnauzer and was Pierre's favorite playmate. The two of them were extremely close. I figured, if Pierre is still in that area, he would smell Precious' scent and follow it back home.

I returned home, and within minutes, I was getting phone calls from people who saw Pierre. I got into my car and drove back down there. I talked with them, and they told me which direction he went. I went searching for him, but I didn't see him. So back home I returned. Again, within minutes of returning home, I received more phone calls saying they saw Pierre. This time, he was spotted under a modular home. They gave me the address and off I went. This time, my husband went with me. We took the Havaheart cage, along with tuna to lure him, and the net. We arrived at the house, set the cage up and waited inside the car.

We saw Pierre come out from under the house. He wouldn't leave the opening of the skirting though. He sat there barking, as if protecting his property. He looked over at the cage, for he could smell the tuna, but he just wouldn't go to it. I was getting frustrated. I was so close to him, but I knew he wouldn't come to me, and he wasn't going to the food inside the cage. He just sat there barking. Then, after a few minutes, he would disappear under the house. He kept doing this for 20 minutes. I knew I couldn't wait much longer. I didn't want to take a chance of him running off. I slowly and quietly got out of the car. I made sure not to close the car door. I didn't want any noise to startle him and make him run.

As I stood outside the car, I walked slowly toward the house. Pierre came out again and I stopped. I stood frozen, careful not to move. He looked at me, and at the moment, I said his name "Pierre". When he heard me, he dashed back under the house. I quickly went to the the hole in the skirting, while calling to my husband to get the net. Once I was at the opening, I started to crawl under the house. I asked my husband, to check all around the skirting to make sure there were no other openings. Thankfully there wasn't, there was only one way in. I crawled through the small hole and was completely under the house. I called out to Pierre. I kept calling his name softly until, finally, I saw him down at the other end. I kept gently calling his name. But he just stood there staring at me, with this dazed and confused look in his eyes, his eyes completely black and huge. I then turned my head toward my husband. I told him to put the net at the opening, in case Pierre tried to escape. As I turned my head back toward Pierre, he was right there in front of me! But as I moved, he started to walk away, so, by habit, I said "Shhhhhh". This is what I said to the dogs, at night, if I had to go into the laundry room. That is where their dog cage was when they slept at night. Saying "Shhhhhh" let them know they weren't coming out and that they had to stay quiet. As soon as Pierre heard "Shhhhh", he stopped and looked at me a bit differently. There was a flicker of recognition in his eyes. As he stood there, I slowly moved my hand towards him. He bent his head towards my hand, and tentatively started sniffing. The more he sniffed, the more he wagged his tail. With recognition, of who I was, filling his nostrils, he started to lick my hand!! I called his name again, and this time, he allowed me to touch him. I grabbed hold of him, while tears streamed down my face. I yelled to my husband "I have him, I have him!!". I crawled out from under the house, still holding on to Pierre, and all the while, Pierre was licking my face and whimpering, so happy to have found me!

We got him into the warm car and drove home. Once home, I called the vet and told her the ordeal Pierre had just been through. She told me to bring him in immediately, which I did. She said if he had been out there a few more days, he would have died from exposure. The poor dog was completely exhausted, dehydrated and suffering from malnutrition. Over the next few weeks, he ate a diet of boiled chicken and rice and he slept almost constantly. He'd fall off the sofa while sleeping and wouldn't wake. He was still so exhausted. But, slowly over time, he became stronger, till he was back to his old, spunky self.

When I look back, I realize how lucky I was and I see how persistence and.determination paid off, along with much prayer. I also see what a blessing it was, that there was snow on the ground and the temperatures stayed below freezing. If it weren't for that, there would have been no tracks to follow. Those paw tracks gave me hope everyday and caused me not to give up in my search for him.