Reunited… and it feels SO good.

Want to know what the greatest sound in the world is?

Your exhausted, probably dehydrated little dog, lapping up a bowl of water after a week-long excursion.

Zoe is home.  Zoe is home.

The spot is empty no more.

The full story when we’ve all gotten some sleep.

Day 6: Hope and exhaustion

After taking personal days Monday and Tuesday, I had to head back to work Wednesday.  But I’ll admit my head wasn’t fully there.  But it forced me to re-think how I was going to find Zoe.

I had already tried to harness the power of Twitter.  I’ve got 900 followers thanks to my other blog, so many of them have been re-tweeting my Zoe information.

And because my Twitter updates auto-post to my Facebook page, my Facebook friends started to pick up my pleas for help too.  Within two days, all of my friends, family, and a bevy of total strangers knew about Zoe’s disappearance without me calling a single one of them.

Then, I turned to the Town of Foxboro website… and their community links page.  I found Boy Scout and Cub Scout troops and emailed them.  They’re now willing to help out in the search.  I did a Google search for “Foxboro” and “Dog” and got a group hoping to bring a dog park to Foxboro (count me in!).  They have a forum, which I joined.  A quick post there and suddenly I had another group of wonderful folks ready to help.

I also reached out to Boston Terrier rescue organizations, which helped in getting the word out.

And did you know there was an Amber Alert-type system for lost pets?  It’s called the SABER alert and its run by the Animal Control Officers Association of Massachusetts.

There seem to be a million more people out there helping… so I can’t remember where they’re all from.  All I know is that now when I approach people in Foxboro to ask if they’ve seen a missing dog… many of them say “you mean Zoe?”

It’s this mega-network of perfect strangers that is leading to these recent sightings.  So as we entered Day 6, I was more hopeful then ever.  We had established Zoe seems to be calling the Hersey Field/Foxboro High area home now.  It’s just a matter of tracking her down.

My brother was in the field first, at 5 am.  Pre-dawn with a thick fog blanketing acres of openness.  It’s the kind of scene horror movie directors would kill for.  He found nothing.

I was in the field next, at 7:50 am.  I made the trip for half an hour before I had to get to work.  A slow cruise through the field got me nothing.

My father in law was next.  And then she appeared.  50  feet away from the man who was left holding her empty leash almost exactly 120 hours ago.  She stood there.  So did he.  He tried to move slowly towards her.  She moved quickly away.  6 days later and there was my father in law in the same exact situation:  watching Zoe disappear out of sight.

Not long after that, Zoe was spotted on Walnut Street by the Foxboro country club.  Then again on Mary Way, which is on the other side.  I started to call around the neighborhoods.

My brother retraced Zoe’s steps, almost literally.  Since she’s a “path of least resistance” girl, he took a path that ran the mile and a half back to where she would have gone IF she went back to Hersey Field.  Animal control laid out a trap that would catch Zoe if she went in far enough to eat.  I checked it at 7 pm.

Empty.

I have been getting to bed late, getting up early, and expending a lot of mental energy trying to get her back.  I’m exhausted.

But in the morning, my battle of wits and strategy with my canine come to a head.  We rendezvous at 9 am for an organized search.  I’m recruiting whatever help I can get.  Tomorrow, Zoe comes home.

Of course, after all this tough talk, she’s probably in that trap waiting to be picked up.  That would be just fine with me.

Search for Zoe Saturday at 9 AM

Saturday will be day 7 of Zoe’s little adventure… but we’re hot on her trail.  Now that we’ve narrowed the search area down, it’s time to organize a search.

Anyone willing to help in the search can meet at Foxboro High School at 9 am.  We’ll meet in the front, right parking lot.  From there, we’ll split into teams and patrol certain parts of town.

Tomorrow, Zoe comes home.  I’m determined to make that happen.

Why isn’t it this easy?

Wow… maybe I need to enlist the help of former North Carolina basketball star and current member of the NBA’s Indiana Pacers… Tyler Hansborough.  They found that dog in like half a day.  We’re now into day 5 of the Zoe search.

I wonder if Tyler will help if I switch to AT&T.

Third sighting today

Got a call from someone who spotted her on Paula Lane heading into a cul-de-sac on Mary Way.

If you look on that map, the cul-de-sac leads back to the country club… which could mean she’s circling BACK to her comfort zone.

However, I’m starting to worry that she could be moving away from that comfort zone too.

So here’s my advice to all of the very generous and helpful folks who have been looking:  Don’t try to grab her.  You can try pointing at her and giving her the sit command to see if she sits.  Other than that, it’s better to call  me at 401-529-4676 or Animal Control 508-384-2523.

Again… words cannot express the gratitude I feel for everyone’s efforts.  We’re so close.

Two more sightings

Just got a call from my father in law who saw Zoe in that same field.  That’s clearly her home area now.

Also got a call from a woman who saw her on Walnut St. near the Foxboro country club.  Walnut St. runs parallel to the field so this makes perfect sense.  This is clearly now the focus of our search.

Remember:  Zoe is timid and more prone to running than approaching.  Call Foxboro Animal Control at 508-384-2523 if you see her.  She does know the sit command, so that MIGHT work too.

Sighting update: Still missing

Quick update on the sighting:

A guy mowing a huge field in Foxboro spotted Zoe 3 times today.  She was just sitting there watching him mow.  When he approached her, she scurried off and then set up to watch him again.  The third time, she ran off and disappeared.

This is good for 2 reasons.

1:  She’s still ridiculously cute.  The thought of her sitting there watching is adorable.

2:  She hasn’t moved very far in the course of a 5 days.  The field is actually behind the high school, so from the Monday morning spotting at 11 am to the Thursday afternoon spotting at 2pm, she’s moved less than a mile.

Unfortunately, she’s still missing.  But we’re encouraged about the lack of movement.  She’s found a comfortable spot and she’s surviving.  From what I saw, there’s water to be found.  There’s plenty of shelter too.  She’s in a comfort zone.

That’s good for her, because she’s comfortable.  That’s good for us, because we can narrow the search area.

I’d like to take this opportunity to thank the people who are helping in this search.  Everyone I’ve talked to has been so concerned about Zoe.  It’s very heartening.

I’d also like to offer a little tip:  If you see her, please call Foxboro Animal Control at 508-384-2523 BEFORE trying to approach her.  She’s a timid little dog.  She might be more likely to run off than walk over.

Here’s hoping the saga ends soon.  Tomorrow, I’ll explain the wild internet lengths we went to that actually helped lead to this sighting.

Breaking: We might have a sighting!

Thursday approximately 2pm in large field near the intersection of Walnut and Commercial streets.

A person mowing that large field says he saw Zoe 3 times.  A couple of people who knew I was looking spent half an hour searching.  I got a call around 2:30 about the sighting and contacted animal control, who was already in the area.

My brother, mother-in-law and animal control are looking right now.  Animal control also has a couple of large traps that could catch her as she looks for food.

If this is true, then Zoe hasn’t traveled very far at all… essentially sticking to a very tight radius and staying within a comfort zone.  Lord knows what she’s been eating in those woods.

More details to come!

Day 3: A whole lotta nothing

Here’s how my weekday mornings usually go:

Sometime around 5 am, my wife wakes up.  She unzips Zoe’s little house door and I wake up as I hear her toenails click against the hardwood floor.  Then I stretch out and go back to sleep for an hour.

You’d think that would get annoying.  But try living without it for a couple of nights.  I’m dying for that sound again.

Tuesday, I took another personal day from work to head back into Foxboro.  Armed with the few hundred posters I had left, I set out for the day.   My goal has been simple:  Anyone I see who drives around that neighborhood for a living gets a poster.  Alone, I can’t find her.  Even with my brother and sister helping, there’s only so much we can do.

So every time I saw a police detail, I handed them a poster.  In fact, I went to the Police Department and they took a stack to hand out to officers during roll call.  I went to the post office, and they were nice enough to take a little stack and distribute them to the carriers before they went off on their routes. (My sister stopped one carrier in the afternoon and saw the poster on his dash… so they’re looking!)  Every school bus driver I saw got one.  I even found a driving instructor who said he’d look.

As encouraging as all that was, I didn’t get a single bite.  I spent 8 hours out there.   I felt bad because I know I scared a few people.  I’m a big, unshaven goon driving slowly around neighborhoods.  I stopped on one side street to put posters in mailboxes when a little kid who must have been around 4 years old spotted me.  I had to say something, right?

So I said “I’m looking for a lost dog.  You can go tell mommy and daddy.”

Nothing like following up pedophile-like behavior by saying pedophile-like things.  Ugh.

By the time I got back into my car and drove past the house, his mom had come bolting out.  I stopped, waved, and said “it was me… I left a poster in your mailbox.  I’m sorry if I scared you.”  I felt like crap about that.  This poor mom probably thought some looney was trying to kidnap her son.  I’m just looking for my dog.

When I stopped at a pizza place or Subway to grab a sandwich, I ate staring out the window, further solidifying my reputation as the new crazy guy in town.  I’d drift off as I imagined Zoe magically trotting up to the door looking for food… and spotting me.  I kept imagining how fast I could run if I saw her across the common.  Would I have to wait until I got past the traffic just so she wouldn’t run into it if I called her name?

None of it mattered.  I never saw her.  I never heard anything.

No calls.

No sightings.

Tuesday was a whole lotta nothing.  I now began rationalizing how she would survive.  Cool nights and warm days mean dew.  Well manicured ball fields mean they’re being watered.  She could find some moisture somewhere to keep her going.  I’ve seen her eat leaves I’d tracked into the house… and my wife pulled a bug out Zoe’s mouth once… so I’m sure she’ll find something to eat somewhere.

On Tuesday, my father-in-law pulled the bedding and toy out of the State Forest where she had gone missing.  The foot-search seemed to going nowhere.  I drove home knowing I’d have to go back to work for Wednesday.  I’ve done pretty much all I could do in town.  I’ve enlisted my own little army of searchers.

Everything about Tuesday was encouraging except the result.  I still went home to no barking.  The spot on the corner of the couch was still empty.  And my wife and I still sat there feeling numb and wondering if it was all real.

Unfortunately, it was.

If anyone sees Zoe, please contact Foxboro police at 508-543-4343.  You can also call Foxboro Animal Control at  508-384-2523.  If, by chance, she’s not in Foxboro anymore, then call your local police department.  We’ve contacted all surrounding animal control officers.  If any authorities get a hold of Zoe, we’ll end up getting contacted.

The day after: Hope… and disappointment

Zoe has her “things” that she does.  One of those is only barking when someone comes to the door.  It could be me when I come home… or the delivery guy when we’re all waiting for food.  She never barks any other time.  Ever.  So not hearing her bark when I got home on Sunday night was an empty feeling.

On Monday, I fully expected to see her sleeping in her usual spot on the couch when I got out of bed.  Instead, my wife was sitting next to an empty, untouched blanket.  After taking a few minutes to wake up, I got to work again on the search (after taking a personal day from work).

Step 1, since I was sitting in front of a computer, was trying to find local people on Twitter and hoping they got the word out.  What I found was it’s hard to find people in Foxboro on Twitter.  Most of the people I know on Twitter have been great about trying to get the word out.  And because my Twitter feed goes to my facebook page (I rarely post on facebook), my family and friends started to call me about Zoe.

By 8am, when I was starting to make phone calls to people in the neighborhoods where she was last seen, my brother Nick had already driven into Foxboro to start looking.  After making a bunch of calls and making a poster, I was off.  I made 500 copies of the missing dog poster and met my brother at the State Forest.

When we got the call about the Zoe spotting, we were both psyched.  But after an hour or so of searching, we realized it was going nowhere.  I drove around the high school, asked teachers, students, and anyone I could find about Zoe.  No one saw a thing.

At that point, I decided to go back home and start calling people in surrounding neighborhoods that Zoe might be there.  When I got back to Foxboro (I live 10-15 minutes away), I started to find anyone that would be driving around so I could give them a poster.  Bus drivers… mailmen… anyone.  The goal: enlist a team of people who would be driving anyway and give them an added task: please watch for this dog.

I mentioned in the previous post about getting a call while talking to a bus driver about the same Zoe spotting.  Of course, each person was pretty sure they saw Zoe going a certain direction.  Problem is… each was talking about opposite directions.

By dusk, I had put posters up everywhere she had been seen and also in surrounding neighborhoods.  Reluctantly, I called it a night.  Driving home, I watched the sides of the road both hoping to see her… and hoping not to.  She’s oblivious to traffic… so that scares me.  But I could picture her little stride as I drove… knowing I’d recognize it from a mile away if I saw it.  I kept imagining that at every turn, I’d see it and I could pull over and just let her into the car… end of ordeal.

I didn’t.  I made it all the way home with Zoe only in my head.  She’d be out there at least another night.

If anyone sees her, please contact Foxboro police at 508-543-4343.  You can also call Foxboro Animal Control at  508-384-2523 If, by chance, she’s not in Foxboro anymore, then call your local police department.  We’ve contacted all surrounding animal control officers.  If any authorities get a hold of Zoe, we’ll end up getting contacted.