So it was Tuesday night and I’d just had dinner. I believe I had leftover baked honey mustard chicken and roasted potatoes. It was around 6 pm, so I headed downstairs to the basement and listen to the Mets game. About 20 minutes later, my mother came down the stairs. She said Maggie was gone. I wasn’t sure what to think at first. But I came upstairs.
I went straight to the backyard and called her name a few times, to no response. It wasn’t dark outside; we still had about two hours of light left. I checked the house and she was nowhere around. I took a drive around our street. Still nothing.
Mom seemed pretty much devastated. She had already had too much wine anyway, so I knew it was up to me to take action. And I knew that I had to get started immediately. So I knocked on at least eight doors to alert them what was going on. They didn’t know anything. Now Maggie has tags on her dog collar with our address and phone numbers. However, she was never micro-chipped. I’m not even sure I was aware of the technology until now.
My next step was to make some phone calls. Anderson Animal shelter, Fox Valley Animal Control, and the St. Charles police department. Most businesses were closed, but Animal Control left me a voicemail that they had not heard anything. I also posted on a website called Lost Dogs Illinois, which I heard was a very useful resource. Following my friend’s advice, I put her blanket on the back deck, hoping the smell might attract her. By that logic, I guess I should have put a cheeseburger outside too.
After that, I posted her picture and the news on a St. Charles community Facebook page, and the photo got shared by at least 60 people that night. I was surprised how many people were on the page that lived near me and said they would watch out for her.
My next step was developing a flyer on MS Word with a big color photo of her taking up most of it. Finally, around midnight, I headed upstairs to my room. That night in bed, I grabbed an old stuffed polar bear. I guess I just needed something to hold onto.
The next morning, Mom left for work around 3:30 a.m. As she walked past our neighbor’s to get to her car, she later said she thought she heard a single bark. Maggie rarely barks, so she let it go. But she couldn’t shake that thought.
As for me, I posted about eight flyers in various sets of mailboxes around Whittington Course before driving to work. During my break, I called the vet clinic and a local groomer to see if anything had been reported. It wasn’t my best day at work. I don’t think I made mistakes, but I just wasn’t feeling very happy or outgoing. I actually left an hour early because I was so distracted by what could have happened to Maggie. I got home around 1:30.
Mom was there as well and we started walking through the tall grass behind the house, trying to come up with any clue as to where she might be. I dressed in sweats, because I knew I’d be going through poison ivy. We explored for maybe 20 minutes. Again, no luck.
So it was back to posting more flyers. We posted at the window at 7-11, the entrances to Fox Chase Boulevard and Keim Trail, which is where the tall grass ends. I tried to grocery store, but they took down their bulletin board years ago. Somehow, I never noticed. We got home around 3 or 3:30, starting to feel a little more concerned. I just knew we were in a pet-friendly area and if someone had her, they would have contacted us. The longer it went, the deeper my concern grew.
I went back into the basement and sat in my chair. Around 4:15, the next door neighbor called and asked if we’d found the dog. I said no. He said good luck and he’d let us know if he had any news. Fifteen minutes later, he called back. I will never forget those words.
“We found the dog.”
My eyes bulged and my pulse started racing. I jumped up from the chair and loudly asked “Where?”
He didn’t even need to answer. Immediately, I heard the familiar pounding of her paws scattering across the wooden floor above me. I hurried upstairs and she was flying through the living room like she was Usain Bolt in the Olympics. She was home. Physically, she seemed fine, she just drank a ton of water. She was gone for 22 hours, but we got her home. Thank the Lord!
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