by Eileen Smith
The day began as any other Saturday morning in our household with our two German Shorthair Pointer dogs dancing around in anticipation of fun, frolic, and a training session at Crooked Creek Conservation Club in Hartsgrove, approximately 30 minutes east of where we live.
Enjoying the morning watching the Club’s dogs playing with one another in the field soon turned into three days of a desperate, endless search for one of our pointers, Smitty; something had grabbed his interest and he was gone….
My daughter Megan and I joined in the search for Smitty, encircling the radius around the Club, calling his name, placing posters at various locations and talking with anyone willing to listen. Little did we know that we underestimated the distance Smitty traveled in a short amount of time. You suddenly realized how vast the rural roads of Ashtabula County are. Where do you begin to look for your beloved dog? It was as if he vanished off the face of the earth.
Saturday evening, we left his crate and familiar smells of home along with food in hopes Smitty would return, but Sunday morning’s reality resulted in anguish of where to even begin to search. Many friends offered assistance in our search but the weather was turning nasty as a snowstorm hit the area and without a game plan we declined their offer of help. My heart sank visualizing my Smitty cold, hungry, and scared. There were no tracks to be seen, no evidence that Smitty even ventured beyond the Club’s acreage.
Talking with neighbors at Crooked Creek on Sunday afternoon, Megan learned of the first tip we had on a Smitty sighting. Even though the sighting was 24-hours old, there was hope that we would have our Smitty home with us soon.
As the day turned into nightfall, our spirits sank as we ventured home without Smitty. We did all we could: placing posters, talking with neighbors and the dog warden. We reached out to social media (there is an Amber Alert for dogs), post offices and schools. You realize what a vast, rural area we are searching in. We never gave up hope, trying to visualize that he was someplace warm and fed, his tail wagging and talking up a storm as to where are his people.
Monday brought the workweek and the hope that more people would be out and about to have a Smitty sighting. News from the dog warden’s office reported a Smitty sighting on Route 45, some 10 miles east of Crooked Creek. Not realizing it was a sighting from Saturday, my husband Brian ventured out to follow-up on this lead and others; unfortunately, all from Saturday.
Upon returning home from work, our answering machine was blinking that we had three new messages. A political message, a reminder message and then…..”Hi, I think I have your dog.” My knees buckled as the words were music to my ears. I nervously took down his information. New Lyme, Ohio. Where in the heck is that!! It didn’t matter. Someone had Smitty and Brian was out there to pick him up and bring him home.
Megan joined Brian for the Monday afternoon search. The news that someone had Smitty was triumphant, not knowing at that time, it was premature.
Arriving at the kind stranger’s home revealed that Smitty had been there, but moments before Brian and Megan arrived, Smitty took off. So close and yet out of reach. This caring person shared that Smitty would be back and pointed out his tracks in the snow. In a moment, Megan quickly followed the tracks. He was doing what he had been taught to you, running the lines in the field and tree line. Suddenly, the Smitty’s tracks disappeared. Poof! They were gone and so was any sign of Smitty.
The noise of a truck brought Megan’s attention to the road. As if he was a ghost, there was Smitty standing in harm’s way. Brian quickly headed off the driver, causing Smitty to take off once again.
Brian stood there in the street, calling for Smitty. “Hey pup!” “Smitty!” Soon he appeared but was reluctant to come to his master’s voice. Brian got on his knees, in the middle of the snowy road and encouraged Smitty to come closer. Reluctance soon turned into being inquisitive. Once Smitty recognized Brian, he ran to Brian, knocking him over with kisses and licks. Soon Megan appeared and the joyous reunion continued.
