Missing – Coal’s Story
We placed Coal with a co-worker of David’s in NE Tallahassee, about 30 miles away from our home. Initially the reports from the new owner sounded promising, but then that phone call came: Coal had run away. The details were sketchy, but Coal had gotten off the lead. The new owner and neighbors had followed him, but in their determination to catch him, frightened him into jumping off a dock, into a swamp, down a railroad track, and out of sight.
For the next few days I roamed the neighborhood, crying, calling and searching. The woods in that area were filled with mosquitoes. It would be torture without repellant. There was no sign of him. After the usual fliers and postings, we started to get reports from further away. There must be a lot of roaming black dogs in Leon County. I went to each one, plausible or not, but never saw a dog. My mind filled with the worst images when sightings meant he was crossing highways. I went to the shelter twice a week. There was run after run of pit bulls that would never be placed, but no Coal.
After two months of following leads with nothing to show for it, I swore I would not go out on another call again unless the person had caught the dog. It was just too hard. I was actually jealous of these people who had seen the dog that was never there when I arrived. On the way to each sighting I would imagine him sitting in the open, waiting for me, and how happy David would be to see us come home. In reality, Tallahassee neighborhoods are heavily wooded, with unlimited hiding places. After each trip I returned home depressed and empty handed.
Just when I had resigned myself to his fate, a neighbor of the woman who adopted him said he had seen the same dog multiple times on the other end of the development. So I was back in the hunt again. I bought a live trap and set it up in the woods. It was so hot I was afraid for any animal caught in the trap, so I checked it once or twice a day. For a month, I drove the thirty miles to Tallahassee, doused myself in mosquito repellant and hiked to the trap, only to release an assortment of raccoons and possums. I saw footprints of a large dog, but never saw the dog that left them.
Three months after Coal disappeared, I was ready to give up for good. I pulled the trap from the woods, went home in tears, and sent in a memorial to Aussie Times. The stress of the fire and our own living situation was so difficult, but the searching and not knowing what had happened to Coal made it so much worse. I felt I had failed him.
That evening, Allied Veterinary Emergency Hospital, where I am one of the veterinarians, received calls about an Aussie lying near the road. The dog would not let them catch it, but the callers were afraid it was hurt. I was off for the week, but my office manager, Amy Gaskin, called me. Knowing how tired I was of false leads, she was willing to go out and look at the dog. When she called back, she said it might be him. So once again, this time with David, we drove to Tallahassee full of hope and a little dread.
Unfortunately, by the time we got there it was getting dark. We couldn’t really tell if it was Coal. It ran away when I approached and didn’t respond to my call. I brought out another dog in case it might recognize a friend. Initially the dog looked like it might come closer, but then took off toward the road, followed by the squeal of tires. I just lay down in the grass and cried. I knew it would be hit and killed before I could even tell if it was my dog.
The neighbors had also called a local organization called Big Dog Rescue. They had borrowed a trap and would let us use it. The trap was baited and we all left the area, afraid of scaring off the dog. David and I went to a local McDonalds to pass the time with iced mochas, chocolate being my drug of choice. When we returned the bait was gone but the door had not shut. The trap had not been set correctly. So we rebaited, fixed the trap and left again, this time to an all night Walmart. David tried to distract me as we wandered through the paint section by asking my favorite color. Not wanting to be cheered up, I said "coal". He picked up the first black paint chip and read the name on the back: "coal black".
When we returned a second time, it looked like something was in the trap. David told me to wait so he could get around to the other side, but I couldn’t. When I ran up to the trap I was greeted by Coal. This time he recognized me instantly, licking and rubbing on the one arm I could get into the bait door. We carefully got him out and checked him over. He was fine! HE WAS FAT! After all my worry about starvation, trauma and death, the worst he had was a few ticks. Coal had used his gifts at begging, stealing food and surviving on low rations. He was going the wrong direction to get home, but he had found an affluent neighborhood in NW Tallahassee, 5 miles and 3 busy highways from where he started. Several residents felt sorry for him and fed him, but he never let them touch him. He even fooled animal control into thinking he belonged there.
We made it on the news as the "feel good" story of the night. On our wonderful ride home, with then 65 lb Coal happily panting in my lap, I promised he would never leave again. But he would pay for all my worry. He was going on a diet and back to the show ring! In two months he came back in style. At the Colorado National Circuit he premiered at Nationals and one pre-show. He won 2009 High Point Altered Special for FASA, and should qualify for conformation finals in Waco. He may finish his VCH yet, but if he never does anything else, I am just happy to have my miracle dog at home. Even now, when I watch him play, steal food from the bin, or look up at me with that goofy face, I remember the joy of finding him and it brings tears to my eyes. I still find it hard to believe he made it on his own for 3 months and really wish he could tell me the whole story.
Coal and Laura in Greeley, CO, 2009 ASCA National Specialty