I received the call around 9:30 p.m. on Saturday, August 9th, as I was picking out what I planned to wear to the show the next day. It was the call that no breeder or owner ever wants to get. “Shawna, Abigail is gone!” was all I remember about the frantic conversation.
Abigail was born from my second litter and from day one had her own mind about the way things were to be done. She was a favorite for sure and certainly knew it. We joked as she grew that she somehow resembled a pit bull, as she was short, squat and very muscular. As she matured we knew she would never be a show prospect and promptly had her spayed and started our long search for a forever home for her.
Now Abigail always had a strange way about her when she was called, even if she knew you well, she would curl away from you when you got close and never directly came to you. She also did not like strangers and avoided them all from a distance if at all possible. These traits did not make it easy to place her especially when she was surrounded by loving and “look at me, look at me” prospects. So, after 6 years, we finally found a couple for Abigail, ones who had had dogs for decades and were looking for an “Agility Chihuahua”. They were perfect.
So, back to the phone call…. apparently, their next door neighbor was to come over in the early afternoon and let out their standard poodle and she was left a clearly marked note stating that the two little dogs, Abigail and her sweet old Pomeranian, were to be left in the ex pen in the kitchen. Seeing the two small dogs, she felt sorry for them and promptly let them out the back door with the poodle, not realizing that the fence was not Chihuahua proof and away Miss Abigail fled. Her new owners, after returning home, realized she had been lost for almost 8 hours and made the frantic call to me.
My first reaction was nausea or that someone had just kicked me in the stomach. I reassured Jean as much as possible and immediately printed up 50 or so posters with as much information that I could get on one page and headed to town, which was about 25 minutes away. My good friend and dog sitter accompanied me and we plastered the town with the posters, taping most on the front doors of the local businesses since by this time everything was closed. I did encounter two RCMP patrol cars getting gas and gave them both a poster and a taxi driver who said she was seen by a co-worker around 5 p.m., running down the middle of a busy street, in the pouring rain and cars were swerving to avoid her . Not a good last sighting…I did not sleep that night!
After contacting my three daughters, they jumped to action and did something I would never of thought of, they created a group called “Help us find Miss Abigail” and sent it to everyone they knew on Facebook who, in turn, sent it to everyone they knew and so on, and so on.
On my second trip to Windsor, with no tips since the sighting from the taxi driver, I walked the area she was last seen and left my coat just incase she might find it and stay with my scent. I found nothing and returned home with a heavy heart.
I decided to take one more trip to Windsor to check my coat location when I received a call. It was from a girl who’s boyfriend had seen a small brown dog walking down the railway tracks not far from where she was seen last. She remembered seeing the group on Facebook and called me with the information. I was shaking so bad I wasn’t sure I would ever make it to that location in time and even if it could possibly be my Miss Abigail.
I had taken one of my other Chihuahuas with me, Abigail’s mother Delilah, and when we finally got to the tracks, she dropped her head like a bloodhound and pulled me down the tracks. Not 500 meters down the tracks I thought I could see something brown and small, but was unsure as to what it was, until I saw the white chest and knew it was Abigail. Knowing she would probably bolt if I ran towards her, I immediately sat down on the tracks and shouted to Delilah anything I could think of that might trigger her to recognize my voice. After what seemed like forever, she walked to me and collapsed in my lap. I sat on those tracks and cried like a baby, and still do as I write this.
What were the odds? First of me finding her at all as she was at least 6 kms. from where she went missing and was found on a busy railway track? She was gone for 36 hours, in the pouring rain, in a rural town, with cars, loose dogs, porcupines, and coyotes.
Abigail now lives back with me and I now know she will be with me forever. I never blamed the couple I had placed her with but we all agreed that we would never want to go through that again. I guess the moral of this story is to never give up and to ask for help when you need it. Family, friends and people you don’t even know can make a big difference in the outcome.
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