Sometimes it takes a community to find a lost dog

On Oct. 23 our black lab, Enzo, twisted out of his collar and escaped as we were walking him behind the Blackhawk Vet Clinic. My husband was able to follow him for several miles and stopped pursuing him as he watched him enter the Turnbull Wildlife Refuge along Cheney-Plaza Road just past the Columbia Trail.

We spent the next 11 days searching for him, posting signs, running ads, passing out flyers, and calling on a friend to bring his tracking dog, Radar, whenever we had a fresh sighting. It turned out that Enzo had made his way some 14 miles south and was sighted numerous times between Wells Road, Pine Grove Road, Cheney Plaza Road, and Nealy Road. The calls from people in that area when they saw him gave us the hope to continue searching.

Finally on Sunday, Nov. 3, at dusk along Wells Road, we were able to spot Enzo as he headed back to an old barn for the night. We were able to catch him and bring him home at last. That evening I called everyone who had called us with a sighting or helped us search. I was greeted with tears of joy and sincere appreciation for letting them know that we had found him.

The truth was – these folks were our heroes. Without their phone calls and permission to search on their land, we may never have found him. Enzo is epileptic and was off his seizure meds for those 11 days. He had a tough 48 hours back at home with some 17 seizures until his meds kicked in and brought his seizures back under control.

We live in an awesome community. There are so many kind and caring folks all around us – folks we had never even met before Enzo’s great adventure. Words can’t adequately express the appreciation we feel for those who helped search, those who called us with sightings, those who posted signs, and those who kept Enzo in their thoughts and prayers.

Karen Runyon

Cheney