July 11th 2005 10:54 am
[ Leave A Comment ]
Well, here's Kaasama's story detailing her "vacation" in southwestern
Michigan.
It was July 3rd, and we were up visiting my grandparents' weekend home for
the holiday. There were lots of relatives, kids, food, and fun. We were all
having a good time and planning to go by the lake to see fireworks later
that night.
Kaasama and Kobe, my mother and son Shiba duo, were going to go for a potty
walk with my husband Mike. I managed to break my foot over Memorial Day
weekend (not having a good holiday record this summer) so he had both dogs
while I hobbled out on my crutches to take the my girls out to ride their
bikes. Mike had Kobe on his normal Lupine leash, and we decided to try
Kaasama on a retractable leash we kept in the car as a spare but had not
used in a long time.
As I talked with my dad, who was also visiting, and my aunts, watching the
kids play, I little knew that Kaasama had been spooked by someone unfamiliar
and managed to pull the flexi from Mike's hand. He still had Kobe, and he
darted after her. A half hour later he returned with a panting Kobe saying
that Kaasama had bolted into the woods.
This is a very rural area of MI, and the land that is owned by my family has
areas that are very deeply wooded. Everyone took off in all directions
searching for Kaasama, but she was no where to be seen. We even fired up all
the riding mowers (there are many!) and drove through some of the trails in
the woods to try to "spook" her out to see where she was hiding.but there
was not a trace of her.
The escape happened around 9pm MI time.and as it grew darker we began to
lose hope. We alerted all the neighbors in case they saw a dog running
around with a leash still attached. My greatest fear was that Kaasama would
get stuck on something and starve to death.
Monday came, and everyone packed up to head back home. We had to return too,
as my husband just started a new job and had no time off.and I couldn't
drive/run/walk through the woods with my broken foot and crutches. I cried
for the 3 hour road trip, and then jumped on the computer and began to
network once we got home. I created flyers and began faxing them to every
business I could find a fax number for in the area.the police..the
shelters..and the vet clinics. Then I called a fellow Midwest Shiba Inu
Rescue volunteer I knew lived near the area, Mary Homen. Mary was a
"dogsend." She became my legs during this whole ordeal and helped coordinate
search efforts. Day by day someone was scouring the area and posting flyers,
but there was not yet evidence that Kaasama was near.
It was Thursday morning, and I was beginning to lose hope when I awoke to a
phone call. It was a sighting of Kaasama in the same area where she had been
lost not ten minutes ago when the caller had happened to see the poster. I
was ecstatic and called Mary, who had her friend Randy head to the area.
Unfortunately, there was no more signs of her!
I felt relieved that she was alive, but frustrated that she "disappeared"
again. We then had another phone call from my newspaper ad saying they had
seen a small red dog that indeed looked like a fox an hour and a half ago.
The location was further from the earlier sighting, but we could not
discount it. Again the search continued. My dad and his wife continued to
post flyers, stop people, and drive around the area for a good part of
Thursday night.
Friday came with no more word. I was very anxious, for we were to drive back
up to MI that night and were determined to search all night if we had to.
Without any more recent sightings, however, I did not know where to begin. I
printed out a map I had made of all the possible sightings and prayed over
it, hoping we have the insight to go to the right area.
As I packed for the trip all afternoon, I kept the phone close by. It was
only when I tried to relax with a book that it rang. It was my stepmom, and
my dad had Kaasama!!!!!!!!!!!! One of my grandpa's neighbors had mentioned
hearing a dog crying earlier in a thick part of the forest behind another
house. My dad braved the brush, brambles, bugs, and who knows what else..and
screamed to my stepmom "SHE'S HERE!" Sure enough Kaasama was there, her
flexi fully retracted and tangled around numerous different trees. She was
sitting by a big log, quietly waiting for someone to come rescue her.
When I finally got to see my girl, she was grey with dirt, stinky, and much
thinner, but she eagerly licked my face and my kids were overjoyed.
Kaasama's son Kobe ran into the house and the pair of shibas ecstatically
wagged their tails and licked each others' faces. She gave Mike a look like
"So why did you do that?" as if it were his fault that she ran off!
Right now, Kaasama is stretched across the bed, her tummy full and enjoying
the air conditioning. She was not happy about the "coming home" bath.but she
sure smells a lot better and you can now see the cream along with the red
fur.
Again, I want to thank all Kaasama's guardian angels and especially Mary
Homen, her friend Randy, and all the other good samaritans along the way. We
are so happy to have our family together again.
July 8th 2005 4:01 pm
[ Leave A Comment ]
My Kaasama the naughty red shiba girl has been found! She was in some very deep woods, and her flexi was stuck on a tree…my dad was able to find her! He said she looks good considering!
July 6th 2005 1:36 pm
[ Leave A Comment ]
Help, we lost our dog when staying near Coloma, MI over the weekend. She is very scared and my family is broken hearted! Her website is at http://www.geocities.com/savingshibas/
LOST DOG: FEMALE RED SHIBA DOG; FOXLIKE, ABOUT 20 POUNDS WITH POINTY EARS AND CURLY TAIL. LOST NEAR 48TH AVE AND COLOMA NORTH ROAD IN COLOMA. HAS RED PATTERNED COLLAR W/ TAGS AND DRAGGING BLACK LEASH. CALL 765-409-4989 OR 269-598-0703 ANYTIME! REWARD!
|
My Account
