One Wednesday a lady
came into the Railroad Avenue office of the Rutherford County Humane Society
with a beautiful Siberian Husky in tow. She had found him at a rest stop on
Interstate-85 near Charlotte. The dog had joined her and her dogs as she was
walking them in the "Pet Area." When she was putting her dogs back into her
car, the Husky hopped in also and kept jumping from the front seat to the
back seat as she tried to get him out. She asked around the rest area and
learned that no one claimed him but that he had been there for some time.
She felt that he would inevitably be hit by a car unless she rescued him.
She brought him home with her to Rutherfordton, and then she sought help
from the Humane Society in tracking down the owner. Such a handsome dog must
surely have an owner who was looking for him!
Linda Guzman at the
Humane Society office first had to get Caesar to a secure location since our
little building on Railroad Avenue is not equipped for housing dogs. She
took him to Rutherford Veterinary Hospital, where he was boarded free of
charge from Wednesday until Saturday. Meanwhile, Linda began making phone
calls. She reported him "found" to two animal shelters, four veterinary
clinics, and three humane societies in and around the Charlotte area. Then
she waited.
Caesar's owner, Mike,
had been missing him since Wednesday the week before. He had left Caesar
under the supervision of his son while he made a business trip to Detroit,
and on Wednesday Caesar dug out of his fenced yard. He was wearing a collar
without identification on it. The son looked for him and when Mike came home
for the weekend, he continued the search throughout the nearby
neighborhoods, with no success. He took a flight back to Michigan on Monday
with a heavy heart.
From Detroit he continued calling home and calling the humane organizations;
and on Thursday morning he got the news that a missing Siberian Husky had
been reported from Rutherford County.
He immediately called
Linda Guzman and promised to pick up Caesar on Friday. Then a severe storm
caused flight cancellations in Michigan, and he was not able to fly out
until Saturday morning.
Linda Guzman picked
up Caesar at Rutherford Veterinary Hospital when the Saturday closing time
was drawing near and took him home with her until Mike called that he had
landed in Charlotte and was on his way. They met at the Humane Society
office where Linda got to witness more than the usual "happy dog" reunion.
Mike has Caesar well trained and he performed all his tricks for Linda and
the watching cats in the adoption center. His relief was evident when he was
finally settled in the back seat of his own truck and seemed to know for
sure that his long ordeal was over.
Linda learned that
Caesar has a "sister," Aja, a white Shepherd, who had been grieving for him,
and so there was one more joyful reunion when Caesar got home, eleven days
after his unfortunate escape.
We all love happy
endings, especially when a story has a beginning with all the earmarks of
tragedy. If you have ever been traveling on a busy interstate highway and
seen an animal trotting along the roadside, you know that feeling of doom
that follows you for the rest of the trip. And if you have ever lost a
beloved pet, you know the sense of grief that settles over your life while
you search in all the places you can think of and wait for news - good or
bad.
Remember to have your pet's
identification on him at all times. Caesar's collar had no identification.
You can have your pet microchipped. Caesar was checked for microchipping and
could have been reported directly to his owner had he had one.
Click on "Lost Pets" to get the names
and contact numbers of surrounding animal organizations where you can report
your lost pet. And don't give up hope. Remember the story of Caesar and
Mike. Miracles do happen!
