CASSIDY

All righty now, finally a "happy" alert.

John and Debbie were good friends. John and I worked together and his wife Debbie and I shared a love for animals. She had worked for a veterinarian but was now content to be a stay at home mom. They lived about 15 miles away in a large 5 acre parcel subdivision. It was just a bit more up scale than my area and was closer to town.

Not a picture of Cassidy but her image.

Their main pet was a white miniature poodle with three legs. Cassidy had been brought into the veterinary office where Debbie worked. The poodle had been struck by a car and the people who had hit her couldn't find the owner. Panicked they drove her to the nearest vet where her crushed leg had to be amputated. Debbie exhausted every means to find the owner and when no one claimed her, Debbie took her home rather than turn her over to the Humane Society. Thus Cassidy became a family member.

I previously had written about Twiggy who was terrified of thunder and Cassidy was the same. She would go under a bed and press herself against the wall during a storm. She hated loud noises. Then came the 4th of July.

John and Debbie were in their yard watching their neighbors fairly elaborate display and just enjoying the evening. The impressive private display was a surprise and they forgot Cassidy was out. When the fireworks were over, they went back in to find Cassidy but she was not in any of her usual haunts. Then Debbie remembered that she had been outside and the loud noises must have terrified her.

Together, she and John toured the property, looking under every building, but no Cassidy. That night they drove up and down the streets calling for their lost baby. Nothing. Debbie called me to help look and I was glad to. Cassidy was a dandy little dog and I hated to think she was somewhere in a state of terror.

We did not find her so Debbie had posters made and she stuck them up around the neighbor hood. She contacted the Humane Society, animal control and all the vets. Again nothing. Each day, she and her preschool daughter would go up and down the streets knocking on doors and looking for anyone who may have seen her little dog.

Methodically she questioned everyone she could find. It was about a 8 square mile subdivision so it took a while to cover all the territory. Debbie was closing out her first week of searching. As she started down the last street, her hopes were pretty crushed. She had the poster in her hand when the lady answered the door. Before Debbie could start her speech, the lady said. "Oh my, is that your dog?"

It seems, her daughter was visiting from Pennsylvania for the 4th weekend. On the morning of the 5th, Cassidy had been seen at her cat's water dish on the porch eagerly lapping her fill. She was covered in burrs, stickers and dried mud. She had to have run about 5 miles through the woods on those 3 legs. The daughter fell in love with her and decided that since she was so sorry looking, she must be stray. So she cleaned her up and took her home to Pennsylvania that Sunday as her new pet.

Debbie and the lady immediately called the daughter to tell her the news. It seems Cassidy was showing signs of depression and the daughter had been quite worried. When she heard the story, it all made sense. Now there was a distance problem. At first the lady said she would ship Cassidy back by air but Debbie thought Cassidy had experienced enough trauma and said she would come get her.

The lady then said she would not hear of it. Feeling responsible she insisted on bringing Cassidy back to Florida by car the following week. She said she felt badly about taking the dog with out trying to find her owner. They agreed on a compromise and decided to meet in South Carolina for the exchange.

Cassidy was so happy to see Debbie at the rest stop in South Carolina that she wagged herself right off her three legs. The woman was heart sick that she had taken the dog but Debbie just hugged her neck and thanked her over and over. Cassidy was home and Debbie had a new friend.

See, sometimes, dog stories do have happy endings.