I think I nearly lost ten years off my life

Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share
1

This afternoon I went to my folks house to do my laundry. I took along my dachshund Nathan, to play in their fenced backyard. It’s a chain link fence with two gates.

Several time my mother and I went out to play with Nathan, give him water, and so on.

Then, I’m inside, and my mom calls to me in an odd voice to come out. The back gate was open and Nathan was nowhere around. I tried not to freak out but I called for him and went around to neighbors, and nobody had seen the dog. The yard borders a sidewalk, and Nathan is very friendly, so I figure someone opened the gate and took him.

I was freaked out and approaching hysteria, although I knew I couldn’t give in. So since someone had to have come onto private property, and either stolen the dog or let him out, I called 911. After explaining to the operator, she said an officer would come by.

It was not all that long, maybe ten minutes,and the officer came. I started to tell him the tale, and then my folks pointed to the corner, where a young woman had come around the corner with a small dog on a leash, and it was my Nathan!

She’d found him a block or two over and was walking him around, hoping to find his owner. His collar had come off somehow, and she didn’t know where to call. I grabbed him and hugged him and I would have hugged the gal who found him, but I didn’t have the extra arms. I asked if there was anything I could do for her, but she wouldn’t take anything.

I explained to the officer why I had called, because of the private property issue and he congratulated me on getting Nathan back. He was probably happy not to have to file a report, but really did seem glad for me.

So, a mundane and pointless story, but a very happy ending. Right now, if I hadn’t found him, I’d be sunk in a very deep depression.

Hug your babies and be glad you have them.

2

Glad it worked out. I still miss my cat and it’s been almost two years now since she disappeared.

3

I’m so sorry to hear that, about your cats. I also have two cats at home. Do you have any others?

4

Wow, thank goodness that a kind person found him. It could have gone so differently if it had been someone who decided to just keep him for herself or even worse someone who would mistreat him. Whenever I hear about a small dog disappearing I worry about them being used for ‘bait’ in dog fighting. :frowning: I’m really happy that everything worked out okay. Hope that the little guy stays out of trouble from now on.

5

I know how much I love my little dog Lucky Louie. I am so glad you found Nathan.:slight_smile:

6

Several years ago I almost lost my cat. On the 3rd day of her missing, we heard some faint meowing while we were out putting up posters and looking for her. Turns out she had crawled through a small drainage pipe and droppd 12feet or more down into the basement/foundation area of our apartment complex. The only way to get down there was through a trap door in our neighbor’s porch closet, which of course was FILLED with priceless framed paintings. Ugh. It was a huge ordeal getting her out too, because she was so far down and we had no ladder. The fire department refused to help as well. We eventually managed it, and it was scary, but we got her back. It’s so scary losing your pet :frowning:

7

This is what I was scared of.

Right now he’s curled up in a chair looking at me with those beautiful, doggy eyes.

8

I think I shaved a month or so off my own life reading about other scenarios, unhelpful fire departments, and just imagining how you (or I’d have) felt. :eek:

Hearty congratulations on getting Nathan back! What a nice lady that was!

9

We do now. We rescued two last year, Max and Maddie.

10

We had a hamster fall down through the wall. My brother was letting her run around in the bathroom with the door shut and she crawled into the vanity under the sink. Unbeknownst to us, there was a big hole in the wall. She fell down one story and got stuck in the wall. The only reason we found her was because our cat, an expert mouser, was extremely interested in some odd sounds coming from the wall. My dad sawed through the wall where the cat was sniffing and managed to extricate the hamster, unharmed. I didn’t know a hamster could fall 12 feet without dying, but I guess it can.

It is so terrifying when you can’t find a beloved pet. OP, I’m so glad this turned out well for you. My cat is generally waiting for me when I come home in the evening and I get worried really fast if she’s not sitting in her usual spot. I can only imagine what you went through.

11

So glad this had a happy ending! Give Nathan a big hug for me!

12

My brother’s cat was missing for 8 months and he got him back.

13

Very glad it all went well in the end, Baker. :slight_smile:

14

Years ago, our Chow/Shepherd and Black Lab would escape our fenced in yard much too frequently. They would wander all day and eventually return. They always had their collars and ID on, so we hoped they would make it back to us if they strayed too far.

One day a woman called us and told us she had our dogs trapped in her yard, and to come and get them. It’s the next neighborhood over, about a mile as the [del]crow flies[/del] dog wanders. By the time we got there, they were swimming in her pool.
Since we allow them in ours, I guess they thought all pools were included.

It must have been a great pool, because she called us about 5 or 6 times over the next couple of years to come get them out! She was not happy after the first couple of visits, but luckily called us instead of the dog catcher!

Our current crop of Trained Tripping Dachsunds [sup]TM[/sup] has yet to escape unless a gate is left open. Thankfully only once!

15

When I was a kid we had 2 hooded rats–one black and white, one tan and white. Somehow, the tan and white one got out of the cage and disappeared. I was very upset about it, and figured I’d never get him back. But then a day or two later, late at night, my mom came in and woke me up. She shushed me and motioned for me to follow her. We went out to the kitchen and she pointed–there was my little rat, curled up under a chair, sound asleep!

We were amused by that story for many years afterward. :slight_smile:

Glad you found your doggie safe and quickly. :slight_smile:

16

infovore, that’s nice that your mom woke you up with the news. I’ll bet you slept better after that.

17

It’s very weird that the gate was open and his collar was missing. Sounds like someone tried to steal him but changed their mind.

18

Yup, there’s probably a dead dog theif buried under a bush somewhere. Wiener dogs are the most vicious breed of dog. I’m very happy the OP got his dog back. But it was irresponsible to allow that vicious animal loose on the neighborhood.

19

It’s one plausible explanation. Unless you think a weiner dog can open the gate all by himself.

Well, do you? :cool:

20

Is TriPolar whooshing us, saying that dachshunds are a vicious breed?

I grew up with a standard-size (actually, he was quite large-size) dachshund, and he was very high on the gregarious/friendly/lovable scale – with people and other dogs alike. Most dachshunds I’ve met are moderately high on the friendly scale, although often a little timid with strangers.

We always took him with us to a resort in the mountains (Big Bear, CA, area) where there weren’t any leash laws (or none that we new of). There were always dogs running around, and this was heavily forested area. He never got lost.

One day he went mountain climbing with us and fell off a cliff and landed in a sandy river bed. I can’t imagine how he didn’t get hurt much, let alone killed. But all he had was a bunch of bruises and minor cuts.

I saw his pedigree once when I was very young. It was full of Heying-Teckle dogs. We lived just two blocks from an orange grove in the San Fernando Valley with a sign out front in the shape of a dachshund silhouette, with the words Heying-Teckle on it. I had no idea at the time what that meant. Many many years later, I learned that this was a champion dachshund bloodline.